Max Courtney and the Courtney family. WENT OUT REGIONAL ONE HEALTH FOUNDATION August 19, 2016, started out like any other Friday, when Evangelical Christian School squared off against Briarcrest Christian School to open the high school football season. Before the first quarter of the game had even closed, ECS junior football player, Max Courtney, collided with a Briarcrest player. It was immediately obvious he was in pain. “I could tell he was hurt and I was a little concerned,” said Max’s mother, Lisa Courtney. As team doctors helped Max off the field, Max’s brother Will began to suspect the injury was serious. “He took two false steps and then fell into a bunch of chairs. The team doctors told us to take him to the hospital and get him checked out.” What was originally thought to be a bruised rib turned out to be much more. After flatlining and losing consciousness at a nearby hospital, doctors realized the extent of Max’s injuries. “The nurse sat me down and told me they couldn’t take care of him and we’re going to have to fly him out,” said Lisa. Max was immediately airlifted via Hospital Wing to the Regional One Health Elvis Presley Trauma Center. When his family arrived, they didn’t know if he would survive. “It’s a feeling you can’t really explain when you’re about to lose your son,” said Lisa Courtney. “Our mercy was with the team at Regional One Health. I looked at Dr. Magnotti and said, ‘Please, please treat him as if he’s your own son.’ And he said, ‘I promise I will.’” Dr. Louis Magnotti performed a life-saving surgery to stop Max’s internal bleeding. Max was then moved to the intensive care unit to recover from his surgery in addition to a collapsed lung, multiple liters of blood loss, and four broken ribs. As the week progressed, Max was able to begin healing, but he was still experiencing great pain, which could have hindered his progress. Max’s father, Bill Courtney, recalled Dr. Jerry Jones explaining pain therapy could be used to help Max. “Nothing about pain is therapeutic,’ he explained, ‘but the sooner your body wakes up and we can get you off the narcotics, the sooner you can go home.” Dr. Jones was able to perform a pain procedure that relieved pain and helped Max on the road to recovery. 5 DONATE.REGIONALONEHEALTHFOUNDATION.ORG
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