Jeremiah Matlock

Date of trauma: Friday, July 30, 2005

Age at time of trauma: 21

Trauma incident: Matlock was driving his 1987 Ford F150 pickup home from a friend's house at about 11:30 p.m. on a Friday night and was about five miles from home when a vehicle with one headlight crossed over to his side of the road. He swerved and lost control of his truck, which went into an embankment, overturned and landed on its roof. A passing motorist found Matlock - still conscious and trying to crawl off the road - and called 911.

Trauma response: Matlock recalls few details. His mother, Laura Matlock, says that the Haralson County Fire Department and West Georgia Ambulance responded and transported him to Higgins General Hospital in Bremen, arriving at about 12:30 a.m.

What followed underscores the need for more trauma centers in Georgia. Matlock spent about five hours at Higgins General as personnel there contacted trauma centers in Rome, Chattanooga, and Atlanta to see if he could be transferred. He was eventually taken by ambulance to Atlanta Medical Center, a designated Level II trauma center. (Matlock could not be transported by helicopter because of bad weather.)

Matlock was sedated and breathing with the aid of a ventilator, according to his mother. His injuries included a punctured lung, a pelvis broken in 15 places, broken ribs, right collarbone and shoulder blade, a fractured vertebra in his neck, lacerated liver and, most serious, a severed artery near his broken pelvis.

When Matlock arrived at Atlanta Medical Center, a trauma team led by Dr. Mark Walker worked for about five and a half hours to inflate his collapsed lung and stabilize him. On Sunday morning, he underwent pelvic surgery. But following the surgery Matlock developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. He spent the next 25 days in a drug-induced coma. Matlock's lungs and injuries improved, and his strength returned. He spent 46 days in the Intensive Care Unit and a total of 53 days at Atlanta Medical Center before he was released in September 2005 to return home and continue physical therapy.

The trauma care difference: "I have no doubt that if Jeremiah had not been transported to Atlanta Medical Center, he would have bled to death from the severed artery or died from complications with his lungs," says Laura Matlock. "But even though they are a fantastic group of medical professionals, the trauma center there is overcrowded and they can't take care of all of the patients who need the care our son required. Something needs to be done to expand the trauma care system in Georgia."

Status: As of June 2006, Matlock had completed physical therapy and continues to work out at a gym to regain strength. He's returned to limited work with his family's business - he, his brother and father install commercial playground equipment.