In June 2024, 12-year-old Brigg Delukie and his 8-year-old brother were riding an ATV on their grandparents’ farm. As Brigg drove, a tie rod broke, causing the vehicle to flip over on the side of the road. Both boys emerged from the wreck, but Brigg couldn’t stand. He told his younger brother to run the half-mile back to their grandparents’ house to get help.
Brigg’s family got him into a car and drove him to Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Medical Center. His mother, Dr. Ali Delukie, was working at the nearby Baylor Scott & White OB/GYN clinic when she got the call that Brigg had broken his left leg near his ankle. Little did she know that Brigg’s injury was far more serious.
After 15 minutes in the trauma bay, Brigg was rushed into surgery. The fracture had torn the artery leading to his foot, cutting off blood supply.
Dr. Hayden Stagg, a pediatric surgeon at McLane Children’s, explained that most people have three arteries supplying blood to the foot. “Unbeknownst to anyone previously, Brigg only had one artery leading to his foot,” Dr. Stagg said. “When we didn’t find any pulse below the fracture, we immediately realized that this was a much higher level of trauma than we had expected.”
Children’s blood vessels are quite reactive, meaning that they often clamp down to stop bleeding, which can make it difficult to restore blood flow. In Brigg’s case, it took several hours to reattach the artery, fix the fracture and manage soft tissue damage. After 12 hours in surgery, doctors were satisfied with the blood flow through the repaired artery and moved Brigg to the ICU.
As Brigg was settling into the ICU, doctors checked the pulse in his foot again—and found none. Brigg had to go back into surgery.
At that point, doctors informed Ali and Bubba Delukie that Brigg might lose his foot. “Sometimes you have to choose life over limb,” Dr. Stagg said. “It’s not an easy decision to make, but we were very close to having to make that decision in this case.”
The Delukies told the doctors to do whatever was necessary to help their son.
The team called on a plastic surgeon on staff for their expertise in working with smaller blood vessels. They were able to take a vein from Brigg’s right leg and graft it into his left. It took four tries before blood flow was restored.
“Four hours later, Brigg was out of surgery again and he still had a foot,” Dr. Delukie said. “I’m so grateful that they refused to give up on my son’s foot.”
The next few days were difficult. Doctors monitored the pulse in Brigg’s foot closely to make sure the graft was working. The blood thinner used to prevent clotting also slowed the healing of his soft tissue injuries. Brigg spent a month in the ICU and additional time in a regular hospital room. When he was finally able to go home, Brigg continued to use a wheelchair for several months and recently completed nearly a full year of physical therapy.
Brigg is now back to playing soccer, his favorite sport. At 13, he’s doing well and is thankful for the care he received.
“As a mother and a physician, I’m deeply grateful to the donors whose generosity makes this level of care possible,” Dr. Delukie said. “Because of you, my son is back on the soccer field, doing what he loves.”
Article adapted from Tex Appeal Magazine. Photos courtesy of Tex Appeal Magazine.
