Lyndsay Green’s story
What started as a beautiful day out on the boat with my husband, Hank, ended with me receiving life-saving care at Royal Jubilee Hospital.
We were coming in to our dock at the end of the day and I did what I’ve done hundreds of times: I jumped onto the dock from the boat to tie it up. But this time, I misjudged. I hit the dock and fell, sliding into the water. I knew that I had done serious damage to myself and I couldn’t swim due to the pain. I called out to my husband with the breath I could muster. Fortunately, there was a pipe that I could grab onto while I waited for him to haul me out of the water.
The ambulance came and when I arrived at emergency, I was bleeding internally and needed to be transfused with three bags of blood. Over the next few days, a series of CT scans showed a tear in an artery to my liver. After several days of observation and consultation, the decision was made to embolize the artery, which involved plugging it with tiny platinum coils inserted through a catheter. This procedure was done by Dr. Ian Weir with what is called an Interventional Angiography System. Dr. Weir explained the whole process and answered my many questions. He was fully present with me and made me feel like we were in this together as a team.
There’s no question that the embolization procedure is the reason I am able to function today. After I was discharged, I learned that our hospitals are in urgent need of two new Interventional Angiography Systems. In recognition of the exceptional care I received, my husband and I made a donation to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation and we encourage others to join us.
You never know when an accident is going to happen. I have been boating since I was a kid. My husband and I have done a lot of challenging boating expeditions accident-free. So it was a real shock to have this accident take place under very safe conditions during one of the calmest, easiest dockings we have ever done. We have also been in a lot of remote places on our boat. If I had the accident in one of these locations, I wouldn’t be alive today to talk about it.
I received extraordinary treatment from every staff member I encountered at Royal Jubilee, and I experienced a high level of competency, care and concern at every stage of diagnosis, treatment and recovery. My husband and I feel privileged to contribute to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation and help support our healthcare professionals in doing their best work possible and saving more lives. I now realize how quickly accidents happen and I know there are going to be other people like me who could be saved by this equipment.
Learn more about our campaign for two new Interventional Angiography Systems.
