PHOENIX — With the popularity of youth sports in our state, we know severe injuries can happen to any young athlete. One Arizona family experienced this firsthand, and they were incredibly grateful to have Phoenix Children's hospital right in our backyard.
Nicole Smith is an OR nurse, but last September at her son's football game in Winslow, she was simply a patient's mother.
Her son SJ took an awful hit, with another player's helmet striking his leg.
Her husband and father were already on the field as assistant coaches.
"So, they went out to him first and I guess he was screaming, 'they broke my leg, they broke my leg!' And his thigh was completely opposite of his foot," says Smith.
There was no pulse at all in his foot so first responders had an emergency helicopter fly onto the field.
"And then they flew us right from the football field to Flagstaff Medical Center," says Smith. "And then Flagstaff Medical Center refused him because he was a pediatric patient. So, we got back into an ambulance and drove to PCH."
Doctors at Phoenix Children's saw him that night and had him in surgery the next morning.
SJ had two rods and four nails in his left femur and started his physical therapy the next day.
"It was a slow, slow recovery. He couldn't walk on it. Then we learned how to walk on it, and then he ran for the first time a month and a half ago. He just got cleared last week to play baseball," adds Smith. "He's super excited to go back because he is a three-sport kid."
Nicole tells us SJ's next surgery is scheduled for July and she wouldn't choose anywhere else but Phoenix Children's.
"It's amazing. It's one of the best things we found in a crappy situation" says Smith.
To support the great care happening at Phoenix Children's, ABC15 is hosting a telethon on Wednesday, April 12. You can also donate online at any time at ABC15.com/telethon.
