Amic’s baby brother was just three months old, and his father and stepmom decided to have a family day to celebrate. They went out to eat, and after their meal, the Zorrella family continued their celebration in the backyard. While Amic’s father, Jesus took a picture with his brother, Amic was playing soccer. As he was running to kick the ball, Amic made a quick stop to avoid crashing into a wall but misplaced his foot and tripped. When he fell, he landed directly on top of a sprinkler.
“I remember seeing my son trip while taking a picture with my youngest son,” says Jesus. “When I looked over and I saw Amic lying on the floor, wincing in pain, I ran over. I saw a pool of blood forming beneath him, and my heart sank. There was so much blood, I could barely believe it was coming out so fast.”
When Amic fell, the sprinkler had punctured his left femoral vein. The femoral vein plays a critical role in returning deoxygenated blood from the lower leg back to the heart. A puncture to this vein can result in rapid blood loss with life-threatening consequences. If left untreated, a person can bleed out within minutes. Amic’s injury required immediate attention, and his father made the crucial decision to rush him to MemorialCare’s level II Trauma Center in Long Beach supporting both Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach.
“I didn’t have time to wait for an ambulance,” says Jesus. “His whole left leg was covered in blood, and with so much blood gushing out, there was no time to wait. I knew I had to get him to the hospital myself, or it might be too late.”
In a panic, Jesus picked up Amic and put him inside his car and rushed to find a hospital.
Jesus frantically looked through his maps and found Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital nearby.
“I remembered that hospital well,” says Jesus. “My wife had given birth there, so it made sense to go where we had already experienced great care.”
Jesus recalls how terrifying those minutes felt as he raced towards the hospital.
“I kept looking over at Amic, trying to make sure he was awake,” says Jesus. “But he kept looking disoriented. I was praying the whole time, trying to keep him awake. I was talking to him, saying his name, and trying to keep him holding on.”
When they arrived at the emergency room that is shared by both Long Beach Medical Center and Miller Children’s, Amic was unresponsive and wasn’t talking back to his father. His skin had turned pale, and he was cold to the touch. The trauma team, led by Preston B. Rich, M.D., a trauma surgeon at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, sprang into action.
“They moved fast, and I was grateful because he was unconscious and barely breathing at that point,” recalls Jesus.
Within the Trauma Center, the care team quickly brought out a gurney and placed Amic in it. The team is trained to handle both pediatric and adult cases, Amic was quickly rushed into care.
“Amic had lost nearly all his blood by the time he arrived,” says Dr. Rich. “We couldn’t find a pulse, and his blood pressure was dangerously low.”
Dr. Rich and his team immediately implemented life-saving measures, including intubating Amic to assist with his breathing and initiating the massive transfusion protocol. This involved rapidly delivering warmed blood products – red blood cells, plasma, and platelets – to restore blood volume and stabilize his condition. They also worked to control the bleeding from his femoral vein.
Amic required blood resuscitation, a process that helps restore normal tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery after severe blood loss. Blood resuscitation is often used to treat patients with traumatic hemorrhagic shock.
“Our team is trained to handle complex trauma cases like this, and it takes a coordinated effort,” Dr. Rich explains. “Within minutes, we stabilized him and stopped the bleeding. This goes to show the importance of having a local trauma center with a skilled team that can handle multiple movements at once.”
Once stabilized, he was taken to surgery to repair the damaged femoral vein. However, Dr. Rich discovered the vein was too severely damaged to repair. Instead, he performed a ligation, a procedure to tie off the vein and stop the bleeding permanently.
“Controlling the bleeding was our primary challenge, but with advanced technology from our catheterization lab, we were able to save his leg and his life,” says Dr. Rich.
Using the catheterization lab in an urgent matter was made possible by the help of MemorialCare’s Heart & Vascular Institute that works closely with the Children’s Heart Institute.
The surgery was successful, and Amic was transferred to the Cherese Mari Laulhere Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for recovery. Although Amic experienced some temporary swelling in his leg, he is expected to make a full recovery and be able to play soccer again.
He will continue his rehabilitation through physical therapy within the Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Rehabilitation Center and, once discharged, the Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village – a comprehensive pediatric outpatient center with more than 25 specialties in-house, including outpatient rehab.
“He’s an amazing kid,” says Dr. Rich. “He’s had the most positive attitude toward recovery, and I have no doubt he’ll bounce back to where he was before – a happy, healthy boy who loves his family and soccer.”
With the support of his family and the skilled trauma team at MemorialCare Long Beach, Amicis making remarkable progress. Soon, he will be able to bear full weight on his leg and return to walking. His father, Jesus, credits the hospital’s quick response and expert care for his son’s survival.
“I know with the right therapy, my son will recover and be back to the kid he was,” says Jesus.“MemorialCare saved my son’s life – the surgeon, the nurses, and everyone here treated my son so well and genuinely cared for him. Dr. Rich made sure I understood everything, explaining what had happened to his femoral vein and what to expect next. I’m so grateful I could get the hospital’s name tattooed on my chest.”
