OCEANSIDE — The first responders who helped save the life of a 10-year-old boy reunited with the young patient and his family at the Mercy Air base to celebrate his recovery on Oct. 18.
In June, Declan Henson was riding his bike to a friend’s house just a block down the street from where he lives in Camp Pendleton, when his mother, Jennifer Henson, received an emergency call through his watch indicating he had an accident and needed help.
Jennifer Henson saw no visible injuries when she arrived to help her son, but he kept saying, “hospital, hospital.” She immediately called 911.
When Declan had crashed his bike, the handlebars struck his abdomen and punctured a main artery that supplies blood to the liver.
The Camp Pendleton Fire Department truck that responded that day happened to have a paramedic on board who saw Declan’s loss of color and knew immediately that critical care was needed. The fire department then dispatched Mercy Air 5, an Oceanside-based air emergency medical service provider.
Mercy Air 5 is the community’s only air-based EMS provider that can carry and administer blood products before patients even reach a hospital.
The team carries liquid plasma and packed red blood cells on every flight, allowing transfusions on patients that can be continued through arrival at local trauma centers. This is exactly the type of medical service Declan needed at the time of his accident.
“I’ll never forget my first assessment of Declan, and thinking he’s in trouble, and we need to move fast,” said Amy Marquez, a Mercy Air flight nurse.
As the Mercy Air team arrived on the scene, Henson stopped breathing and no longer had a pulse. His condition was so severe that he required airway procedures, continuous CPR and rapid infusion of blood products the entire flight to Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego.
“Typically, the limiting factor in blood transfusion is time,” said Zach Fica, a medical resident from UC San Diego Health who was on call with the Mercy Air 5 team that day. “Rarely do we have time to transfuse all units on one call.”
The team successfully and efficiently transferred care when they arrived at the hospital, where Declan faced three exploratory surgeries to stop the internal bleeding over the next 12 hours.
“Declan’s loss of blood was so extreme, that the hospital had to call blood blanks to ensure they could supply enough,” said Chris Henson, Declan’s father.
After five surgeries, 55 staples in his abdomen, 181 units of blood and other products, 33 days in the hospital, lots of prayers, and ebbs and flows of physical therapy, Declan made a full recovery and is back home enjoying spending time with his parents and two siblings.
“The amount of time Declan required CPR and the great recovery he has had in a short amount of time is remarkable,” said Dr. Romeo Ignacio, trauma medical director at Rady’s, who made a surprise appearance at the reunion.
Chris Henson praised Ignacio and the other “countless doctors and nurses” at Rady’s who helped keep Declan alive.
“We found out later through others, and through proof of Declan’s recovery, that Ignacio is very well known and is a top-notch doctor in the field, specializing in trauma like this,” Henson said. “It’s truly a miracle Declan is alive today.”
While Declan has some post-traumatic stress around his accident, with some reluctance and a dose of courage, he is back on his bike enjoying leisurely rides with his family. Declan’s incredible recovery is credited to the coordinated effort of the first responder and hospital teams as well as the availability of blood products at his moment of need.
Declan’s family is grateful for the decisive actions of CPFD, the Mercy Air team, Rady’s and the impact Declan’s recovery has had on their family.
“All the stars aligned that day in June,” Marquez said. “From good, flyable weather to early activation by the fire department and landing us on scene – along with all the incredible surgeons available at Rady’s – is what led to bringing Declan home to his family and making this reunion possible. Declan is truly a miracle, and my reminder of why we do what we do every day.”
