Gala Honors Maryland's First Responders, Medical Professionals
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A special ceremony in Baltimore on Saturday celebrated the skilled men and women who save the most critically injured.
The 29th annual Shock Trauma Center Gala in downtown Baltimore recognized the life-saving efforts of Maryland's first responders and medical professionals.
University of Maryland Shock Trauma was the first trauma center in the world.
"Come to Shock Trauma, you have a 96 percent chance of surviving, 96 percent. You only get the worst cases, so tonight, we honor people who save lives throughout the year," said Sen. Frank Kelly, Shock Trauma Board chairman.
Among the painful stories shared by Shock Trauma patients was the historic 67 vehicle pile-up on I-95 in Baltimore that was caused by a sudden winter storm in December 2016.
The images from that day still haunt the survivors and responders. A witness captured a tanker truck fly off the overpass and explode on the ice-covered road.
The truck driver and one other person died in the horrific accident. The scene stretched more than half a mile with mangled cars and trucks, along with several dozen people injured.
"I wasn't walking for four months. I have had 16 surgeries from December until now, so it has been a lot," Shock Trauma patient Barrin Davis said.
Davis was one of the victims trapped in the ice storm nightmare and was rushed to Shock Trauma in critical condition.
"Truly, without them, I wouldn't have made it out. These guys stabilzed me, between broken hips and broken bones, they stabilized me before the army came to get me and take me to Bethesda," Davis said.
It's an inredible story demonstrating the selfless work of first responders, nurses, doctors and specialists.
"We are sort of at our best when we are pushed, that day we were pushed, we were right there," said Thomas Scalea, Shock Trauma physician-in-chief.
Proceeds from the gala support Shock Trauma's mission to invest in the future of trauma medicine and understand the outcomes of those critically injured.
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