On July 19, 2008, 4-year old Jason Riggs went shopping with some of his family, including his father and grandmother. They returned to the grandmother’s house where the family began moving bags from grandma’s vehicle to their own. In all the activity, Jason strayed into the path of one the vehicles as it was being moved and Jason was run over!

Jason’s mother, Kim, was in the house sleeping. She was wakened by screams about the accident. Kim, a nurse, took one look at Jason’s face and said “We have to get him to the hospital NOW!” They loaded Jason into an SUV and drove to the Emergency Room at Moore County Hospital. The hospital staff hurried to save Jason and prepare him for a LifeStar flight to Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS) in Amarillo.

In the ER, Jason lay still while the staff worked on him. He correctly answered every question he was asked and talked about his favorite Pre-K teacher. His responses and mental alertness were a good sign, but he complained of his tummy hurting. Kim told Jason that he was going to fly on one of the helicopters that he loved watching. The hospital staff explained that they had to intubate him before the flight to protect his airway. Within one hour of the accident, he was at NWTHS.

At NWTHS, Dr. Levy and Dr. Benjamin talked with the family about the trauma to Jason’s body. A CAT scan showed that his liver was ruptured. Jason was moved to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and within 30 minutes, Dr. Benjamin was rushing him off for surgery to repair his liver and stop the internal bleeding. Dr. Benjamin comforted the Riggs family when she said “I never do surgery without the head surgeon, Dr. Jesus, being with me.”

Jason would spend over a month in the hospital. After surgery, his parents stayed all night with him at the hospital. In the first 12 hours, Jason received 18 units of blood and blood products; his entire blood volume was replaced about 2½ times by the end of the first day. Jason had two more surgeries in the next 5 days and received still more blood before he was released.

Today, Jason is a healthy 4-year old. Thanks to the care of the NWTHS PICU Staff, the Doctors, and ALL THE DONORS who took time to donate, the Riggs family have their precious gift from God, their son Jason Russel Riggs.