Heros Without Capes

Doug Graves © 2007
The old image of heroes wearing capes and tights took another hit when 50 heroic men and women were honored in ceremonies at the Northampton County 911 Center on Saturday evening September 15. They were wearing tuxedos, evening gowns, and business suits.
Dr. James Cipolla, a trauma surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital, conducted the awards ceremony that honored the men and women who all played critical roles in saving two lives despite the fact that many times these professionals felt they were on the verge of defeat.
Scott Skirpan had been working in the Chrin Sanitary Landfill in Williams Township on June 2006 when, about 9:30 a. m., he was run over by a multi-ton tracked vehicle that crushed both of his legs. With his legs all but severed, bone, muscle and blood vessels destroyed, Skirpan stayed conscious and called 911. It was this kind of determined will to survive that doctors would later credit with saving his life.
That was when he met his first hero, the first of many that for 21 days worked feverishly to save his life.
“It was a race against time,” said Jim Seguine an EMT and paramedic with Easton EMS who was among the first to get to Skirpan’s side there in the land fill.
Seguine and some of the men and women who worked to save Skirpan told their story in a video production shown to the audience. Their words brought the dramatic struggles to life.
EMT Donald Lippey recalled, “I was trying to clamp off [the blood vessels] as best I could . . . just hold the pressure there.”
Jodi Hogan, an EMT and flight paramedic on the rescue helicopter said, “When we loaded Scott into the helicopter, he went into cardiac arrest and was no longer breathing . . . we maintained CPR all the way to hospital.”
RN Melissa Eisenhardt, also on the team as a flight paramedic, said that when they arrived at St Luke’s Hospital she “remembers seeing trauma surgeon Dr. Cipolla look up and say ‘that doesn’t look good.’”
Dr. James Cipolla and his trauma team tried to stop the bleeding and performed CPR for 25 minutes but were making no progress in restarting the injured man’s heart. Team member Dr. Nathaniel McQuay suggested that they do an ultra sound image of Skirpen’s heart. ED Technician Lucia Dennis said “All the medications that we gave really didn’t do anything, but we looked at the monitor and saw a little something. There was something on the monitor and we resumed CPR.”
Dr. Joe Rivera was in the operating room when the trauma team sent Skirpan to them. “We were surprised they were bringing him over [to OR],” he said. “We thought he was dead at that point. His Ph was 6.5,” said Rivera. “That is incompatible with life.”
Drs. Rivera and McQuay and their team performed the surgery and did the double amputation needed.
But the trauma and the loss of blood had affected almost every organ in his body. “Every organ system had a problem,” said Dr. Hannah Mude.
The days following the surgery were a “living hell,” said his wife, Carol Skirvan.
When Skirpan did start to respond, he did so quickly. “We talked about it for weeks,” said Rivera. “Not only was this guy alive, but he was neurologically intact.”
“It was nothing short of a miracle,” said trauma surgeon Dr. Cipolla.
Skirpan took his wheelchair Saturday and participated in the five kilometer race that is part of St. Luke’s “A Night of Heroes” program.
Arielle Phillip’s story started when the 15-year old Florida resident was enjoying a vacation in the Lehigh Valley. The car she was riding in left the road and jumped across the Saucon Creek slamming into an embankment. According to her narration being watched by the celebrants, she was unaware of the extent of her massive internal injuries. She said she “couldn’t breathe.” She crawled out of the car and lost consciousness on the bank of the creek. The last thing she saw before passing out was a woman running across the bridge above her.
Lower Saucon Policeman Scott Snyder remembered a different version. When he arrived he knew she was in pain. He saw that “she was moaning and clutching her self.”
When Jonathan Nicholas, the director of Bethlehem Township’s EMT, arrived he was concerned about her complexion. “She was gray in color,” said Nicholas. “I said ‘this is just not right.’”
Once at St. Luke’s Hospital Phillips was under the care of Dr. Michael Grossman and his team. After a CAT scan he did the initial surgery to open up her abdomen. “Most of her blood volume was in her abdomen.”
Initially the operating team saw that a vein to her liver had torn away from the vena cava, a large, short vein that carries de-oxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart. She was bleeding terribly. There was a large laceration in her liver and a kidney was punctured.
Her seat belts, in restraining her body from the force of the crash, had done near fatal injuries to her internal organs.
Phillips had massive internal bleeding and was near death. Because of her youth and because so many in the operating room had children or grandchildren, everyone seemed to identify with her.
“It was a very emotional room to be in,” said Michelle Garen, an RN.
The OR team turned her over to Dr. Brian Hoey. “She was cold,” he said. “My job was to try to resuscitate her with blood products and hope to turn her around. But she did not do well. We returned her to the operating room and re-explored her.
“We found another spot on her liver that was bleeding. Dr. [Wade] Kang and I were able to get that under control.”
But the loss of blood and severe trauma had other consequences, too.
“Her kidneys, at least in the short term, were probably going to shut down,” said nephrologist Dr. Robert Gaynor. She eventually lost one kidney.
Phillips’ mother Paige Gray had flown from Florida to be with her daughter. “They wouldn’t tell me she was going to live. For a couple of weeks I heard nothing positive.”
“We ended up having to operate on her twenty five different times,” said Dr. Hoey.
Arielle Phillips spent forty-six days in the Intensive Care Unit before she could be transferred to the “step down unit” where she remained in serious condition but now also battling depression.
But with constant care from many people and the loving encouragement from her family, she improved. Her spirits got a boost when Dr. Hoey arranged for her to go in an ambulance to Musikfest with her parents.
Then one day she was sitting in the cafeteria with her family when Dr. Kang recognized her. “I said ‘Oh my God, that’s her!’ I almost cried. I could not believe it.”
And on Saturday, many of the people who touched her life, and she theirs, saw that, in deed, the demure, beautiful girl has recovered. She is a high school student in Florida.
“A Night of Heroes,” according to information provided by St. Luke’s Hospital is “an annual charity event held to celebrate the St. Luke’s Trauma Center and its many care givers. Each year two patients tell their stories during a video presentation, and members of the trauma team who touched these patients’ lives are recognized and honored for their skill and dedication.”
A quick check with the hospital’s and local emergency services’ wardrobe departments confirmed that capes and tights are not issued to heroes. They wear scrubs, white coats, orange flight suits, blue coveralls, and police uniforms.