(Submitted photo/Stacey Blackburn).

By Aaron Schulze

Life Saving Surgery

‘There wasn’t a moment where I was scared’: Salmon Arm mother grateful for RIH saving son’s life

May 10, 2021 | 4:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — Six hours of surgery, four blood transfusions, and 131 staples to shut the wounds.

After all that and a 15-day stay at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH), 14-year-old Seth Blackburn of Salmon Arm continues his lengthy road to recovery.

Blackburn was dirt biking in Salmon Arm on April 11, but he didn’t see a windfall tree on the corner of the trail he was riding on. He crashed into the tree and its top plunged approximately two inches into his leg.

Seth’s mother Stacey took him to Shuswap Lake General Hospital (SLGH). Stacey said the blood began to flow when staff cut off his biker pants.

The tree top that Seth Blackburn crashed into went about two inches deep into his leg. The branch took a piece of fabric from Blackburn’s dirt bike riding pants, but amazingly didn’t bring blood out with it (Submitted photo/Stacey Blackburn).

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After a blood transfusion and a cat scan, the Blackburn’s were sent to RIH in Kamloops via ambulance after the SLGH staff determined he needed more advanced treatment. It was the best decision ever, according to Stacey.

“The vascular surgeon took a look at him right away and immediately knew he had to go in for surgery, he had some pretty heavy damage in his groin and up into his abdomen,” Stacey said. “They had to take veins from his right leg to graft and repair the damage. There were six or seven major arteries that were damaged.”

Despite being 14, Seth was operated on and treated in RIH’s high observation unit, due to having severe injuries and more of an adult body.

Stacey noted as odd as it is to say aloud, the doctors and nurses in the busier, high observation unit – even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic – turned a traumatic situation into a positive experience. She wanted to publicly express her gratitude.

“They’re a ward that typically doesn’t have minors there, so they’re not used to having a parent with them,” Stacey said. “There was very limited space, and it was a very busy atmosphere, and we were treated amazingly. There wasn’t a moment where, as a mom, I was scared. They kept me informed with everything. If they put something in him, they told me what it was and why they were doing it.”

The Blackburn’s returned to Salmon Arm on April 26 where Seth continued his recovery. He must take blood thinners for a year and do constant checkups with the doctors to ensure his grafted veins grow properly.

In the coming days, Seth will begin physiotherapy on his core, although Stacey said he’s in good spirits going ahead.