Patricia "Pat" Williams
Due to the quick actions of the burn care team of Grossman Burn Center, 91-year-old Pat Williams was given a second chance at life.
In June 2022, the medical staff of the Grossman Burn Center at Research Medical Center received a heartfelt letter from a former patient more than a year after she left the hospital.
“This note is coming long after it should have. Better late than never they say,” it read. “I just want to express my sincere gratitude for the amazing care you took to save what you could of my hands and feet after my fall and freeze last year. The time, effort and care you took for me has truly preserved the best possibility of life for this old gal.”
What made this letter so special? The patient’s name was Pat Williams, a 91-year-old who, because of the dedicated and compassionate care she received from her care team, including Surgeon Dr. Megan Garcia, MD, and Plastic Surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman, MD, had a second chance at life after being found nearly frozen to death in her driveway.
“My husband often tells me my mother has nine lives,” Pat’s daughter, Susan Buist, said.
On one of the coldest days in February of 2021, then 90-year-old Pat decided it was trash day and that she needed to do the simple chore. She put on her parka and snow boots, but didn’t put on socks because she was only going to be out of the house for a minute or so. Unfortunately, a snow drift knocked her over and she was unable to get up on her own. With all her strength, she crawled her way to the garage but passed out before she could reach it. When she was found by neighbors nearly 4 hours later, she was frozen to the ground and her body felt as cold as ice.
After being treated for hypothermia at Centerpoint Medical Center, she was transferred to the Grossman Burn Center at RMC to be treated for thermal burns, better known as frostbite.
Members of Pat’s family were certain they were going to lose their mother due to her age and the condition in which she was found. However, due to the quick and coordinated care between hospitals and the care teams within RMC, they were told they weren’t going to have to say goodbye after all.
Dr. Garcia explained that Pat’s main course of treatment was hyperbaric oxygen and local wound care, followed by partial digit amputations as well as skin grafting on hands and feet. Dr. Peter Grossman, medical director of The Grossman Burn Centers based out of Los Angeles, flew in from California to perform the skin grafting procedures.
After Pat left the hospital, her daughter states that Dr. Garcia not only helped show her how to care for her mother, but that she was always happy to provide support over the phone when she wasn’t certain what care supplies she needed.
“She and her family are such wonderful people,” Dr. Garcia said of Pat, while Pat has said that Dr. Garcia has been so helpful and involved in her care that she feels like family now.
“They cared for what her future was going to look like,” Pat’s daughter said. “If it hadn’t been for the entire Research Medical care team who helped my mother, she never would have been able to meet her newest, and 24th, great grandchild.”
More than a year after her procedure, Pat has had opportunities to make new memories, including meeting her newest great grandchild, attending ballgames, and playing cards in her card game club.
“My family and I are grateful for the extreme care, professionalism, skill, and dedication you and your team has shown me,” Pat said in her letter. “You and your team will forever be in my heart.