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t m c ยป p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 33 concern, especially when you're talking infection risk, which can cause per- manent damage in children. He had also torn cartilage and his quadriceps muscle in one of his knees which, with- out surgery, would hinder his ability to walk. Once we determined how severe his wounds were and what kind of sur- gery would be required, I actually went down to the emergency room and found his dad. I explained the procedures and the details involved and told him I'd come back to give him updates. I didn't want him just sitting there in the emer- gency room wondering how his son was doing and feeling helpless." Mansour noted that in a different hospital, one without expert pediatric and adult trauma care under the same roof, this kind of communication and continuity would not have been possible. "There's no better place to take a family for an injury than a hospital that can take care of the kids and take care of the adults at the same time," he said. "The last thing you want as a parent, if you're injured and your child is injured, is to be separated. You already feel so helpless, and I think it's a unique setting to be able to give updates to a family member directly at their hospital bed, or to bring a parent to his or her child's room. It gives hope that can't be replicated when you're offsite." "That interconnectedness was priceless," Linda said. "I needed to see my family during that time." Together, the road to recovery was made easier for each of them, despite the serious extent of their injuries. Jonathon's jaw was wired shut for six weeks and he was unable to walk until his knees healed from surgery. He is now back to being "100 percent" according to both his physicians and his parents. Gary, who still deals with lingering joint and back pain, required help with daily activities until his arms and elbow healed. Linda, whose internal injuries mandated further hospitaliza- tion and an additional surgery a few months later, is almost fully back to her previous level of activity. "I won't say it hasn't been tough, but we have the best family in the world and we were able to be together," said Linda. "Memorial Hermann gave us that, on top of providing the best care we could imagine. I really cannot say enough about how incredible they are. From our Life Flight team to all of our doctors and nurses, they were all such blessings. They were genuinely concerned for us, and we never once felt like we were just patients with any of them. They treated us like family." Indeed, after saving a father's life, or caring for a mother during the hardest periods of recovery, or performing skill- fully executed surgery to ensure a little boy can challenge his older brother to races again, it seems clinicians and their patients are often forever con- nected. It's a bond marked by over- whelming gratitude and a shared story that, for some, changes the course of their lives. Today, the Flynt family is back to flying. They often run into members of the Life Flight crew at Baytown Airport, home to one of the fleet's helicopter bases as well as the hangar in which the Flynts keep their new plane. Jonathon and his older brother Charles, who was away at scout camp the night of the crash, are both enamored of the shiny red aircrafts, the cutting-edge trauma equipment inside, and the crew's pilots and paramedics. Recently, Jonathon has even expressed interest in learning how to fly. And who knows? He may just end up piloting one of those red helicopters himself someday. There's no better place to take a family for an injury than a hospital that can take care of the kids and take care of the adults at the same time. ALFRED MANSOUR, M.D. UTHealth Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital Top left: Alfred Mansour, M.D., UTHealth pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, treated Jonathon's injuries the night of the crash. Middle and bottom: The Flynts often run into members of the Life Flight crew at Baytown Airport, where they keep their new plane.