TRAUMA UPDATE
News from the Trauma Center at Bryan Medical Center WINTER 2016
Barrel racer survives injuries to compete again in pro rodeos
O
ct. 12, 2013, Linda Kay of Lawrence, Kansas, was preparing to compete in Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) Barrel Racing at the Lancaster Event Center. As she mounted her horse, Linda’s
new jacket became entangled on the saddle horn. Unfortunately, the horse spooked and began moving around, leaving Linda unable to free herself. Linda fell approximately fifive ve feet and struck her head on the concrete. When Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR) arrived, Linda lay on the cement flfloor, oor,
Professional barrel racer Linda Kay is back on the professional rodeo circuit after recovering from a 2013 accident at the Lancaster Event Center.
unconscious and bleeding. LFR assessed and immediately transported her to Bryan Trauma Center as a Level II trauma. Upon arrival, Linda had a Glasgow Coma Scale (GSC) of 13, multiple episodes of projectile vomiting and presented with bradycardia. She sustained a left temporal supratentorial hematoma and a large left temporal cerebral contusion. In addition, there were contusions to bilateral frontal lobes and medial and lateral temporal lobe on the right. Linda’s husband, Tom, was washing the truck elsewhere on the Event Center grounds when Linda’s accident occurred. When he arrived at the Bryan Trauma Center on the Bryan West Campus, Tom learned Linda had sustained severe injuries to her brain. The medical team was unsure if Linda would be able to ride horses, let alone compete, ever again. Tom was allowed to see Linda after she was admitted to the ICU — but because of her injuries, he barely recognized her. Neurosurgeon Daniel Tomes, MD, and the Intensive Care Unit stabilized Linda over the next four days. Once she was medically stabilized, she was transferred to the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit on Bryan West Campus. During Linda’s 31-day stay in the unit, she began to wake up. She was restless and agitated and constantly