TRAUMA CHAMPION

Timeline to overcoming tragedy

On Feb. 8, 2021: Willie and Kim Mohlman and their three-year-old daughter, Aella Grace, left their home in Red Cloud to pick up semitruck parts in Hastings.

Snow was falling and at midday, the wind chill was below zero. In their warm car, the Mohlmans had no warning that these would be their last minutes together as a family.

On a highway between Red Cloud and Blue Hill, a car in the opposite lane attempted to pass a snowplow and struck the Mohlmans’ car head on. The other vehicle’s driver was killed in the crash.

Twenty-nine-year-old Kim, Willie’s wife of six years and mother of three, also did not survive the day.

Aella Grace was bruised but all right. Willie, on the other hand, would fight for his life in the hours and days ahead. It was a battle he eventually won.

Nine months after the crash, 33-year-old Willie’s back on his feet. His journey back

“I’ve healed faster than I thought I would. But I had great care, great friends and great family helping me. You just do what you can to stay positive and to physically recover,” he says.

The accident scene the Red Cloud ambulance squad came upon that day was horrific, one EMT recalls. The weather forced responders to choose between removing Willie from the smashed front portion of the car to prevent hypothermia or leave him exposed to frigid temperatures while they stabilized his neck and spine. They extricated Willie and called Hastings Fire and Rescue to meet them en route.

That put in motion the statewide trauma system that saved Willie’s life.

The Hastings EMTs stabilized Willie’s lower extremities and noted abnormality of his left chest. The trauma team at Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital in Hastings was in place when Willie arrived. They also spotted the asymmetry of Willie’s chest and were alarmed that he complained of chest pain rather than about his broken leg and dislocated ankles. An X-ray pinpointed the cause — a ruptured diaphragm. The team intubated Willie and summoned an air ambulance to transport him to Bryan’s Level 2 Advanced Trauma Center.

Willie arrived in Lincoln with a weakened pulse. “He was starting to spiral a little bit down the trauma cascade,” says surgeon Brad Kuhn, MD, of Bryan Trauma, which is part of the Bryan Physician Network. He and two other surgeons repaired Willie’s injuries; Willie survived but still faced multiple orthopedic surgeries.

Orthopedic trauma surgeon Alesha Scott, DO, of Bryan Trauma fixed Willie’s open tibial shaft fracture and ankle fractures. Because the tibia broke through Willie’s skin, it put him at risk of infection and possible amputation. But he responded well. Dr. Scott admires the physical and emotional strength Willie showed, recovering more quickly than anticipated while grieving his wife and worrying about their children at home: son Tanner Land, 10, and daughters Audrey Joe, 5, and Aella Grace, now 4. “The fact that Willie always looks Willie Mohlman, surrounded by his children forward, looking to move ahead, leaves an Tanner Land, Audrey Joe and Aella Grace, contin- impression on all of us every time he visits ues to heal from physical and emotional injuries the clinic,” Dr. Scott says. following a car crash that claimed his wife, Kim. In April, after two months in Lincoln hospitals, Willie returned home. He was 50 pounds lighter and still working to bear weight on his legs. At every step, family members lightened his burdens, from his mother sitting bedside in the hospital to his in-laws taking care of the children in his absence. His brother moved in with Willie to help care for the family. Stays thankful But there were some trials Willie faced alone. “I struggled to accept my limitations at times,” he says. And no amount of help could fill the chasm that opened up with the loss of Kim. The well-being of his young children was a strong motivator. “My mindset was: I have three kids who need their dad,” Willie points out. “I can’t just lay down and quit — although there were days I wanted to.” He worked instead, pushing himself to regain mobility and return to work. By July he could climb in and out of tractors and return to work as a truck driver. Today, he feels better physically than he expected. When the weather changes, he feels it in one ankle and has a deep ache in his right leg. “You just take Tylenol and keep going.” That’s the one thing he hopes his children take away from this tragic, upside-down year. “Don’t ever give up — keep going and know that the next day isn’t promised. Always hug your loved ones.” Willie is figuring out this new version of normal that still feels wrong. But he is here, healing, and grateful for the medical teams who saved him. “All the times I’ve thanked them can never be enough,” he says. n To watch a video about the Mohlman family, go to bryanhealth.org/traumachamps. To find out how you can VIDEO support the work of Bryan Health, call 402-481-8605.