A hunter since the age of five, David Powell is no stranger to the outdoors. But last October, while on a hunting excursion near his home in Burnet, Texas, he tripped on a vine and fell into a creek bed. “I could hear my ribs crack. It felt like I had been shot,” he recalls.
An X-ray at Baylor Scott & White Clinic – Burnet revealed he had broken three ribs, though his lungs appeared unaffected at that time. However, David also has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The pain from his broken ribs made it difficult to breathe deeply or cough effectively, leading to a buildup of fluid in his lungs.
Over the next two days, breathing became so difficult that he called an ambulance to take him to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Marble Falls. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, hypoxia and sepsis, stabilized, and then transported to the ICU at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Lakeway.
“I was truly impressed with how the care team sprang into action,” David says. “It was a very traumatic situation for me and my family, but the entire staff was very attentive and kept me calm. They left no question unanswered.”
After a week in the hospital, David was able to go home with follow-up care from physical therapy to recover his strength and palliative care to help manage his pain so that he could breathe well enough to fight the infection.
“The proof is in the pudding,” David said. “Over the past five or six years of my medical journey, Baylor Scott & White has been incredible. If you’re giving to Baylor Scott & White, you don’t need to wonder if you’re making a difference—you most certainly are.”
