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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cyclist loses spleen from after-school accident

Michael Kempton was riding his bike home from school like he does every day. But this day would end with the 8-year-old at death’s door.

The Linwood Elementary third-grader was riding down a hill on Eastmont Way about 4:15 p.m. last week when he lost control. He may have hit a rock or blown a tire.

Luckily Michael’s sister was riding behind him. She raced home to get her mom, Diana Kempton.

Michael was lying on the grass at the side of the street when she arrived on the scene.

“His eyes were getting wider and wider, and he was just staring. When I asked him where he hurt, he said, ‘It hurts all over.’ When I touched his stomach he almost threw up,” Kempton said.

Michael was wearing a bike helmet, which cracked from the impact. His mom was going to take him home but soon realized how badly he was injured.

“His eyes started rolling back in his head,” Kempton said. A neighbor called for help, and soon the Fire Department arrived, and he was rushed to nearby Holy Family Hospital.

Michael’s mom was concerned about a head injury, but that wasn’t the problem.

A CT scan taken at Holy Family revealed that his spleen had ruptured. The decision was made to send Michael to Sacred Heart Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital for trauma surgery. Computerized radiological images were immediately sent to trauma surgeon Diane McCarthy.

Michael and his mom went by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center, and by this time his vital signs weren’t good. His blood pressure was dropping. He was in shock.

Every minute counted.

“I was so impressed with the people of Spokane. Everyone got out of the way of the ambulance,” Kempton said.

After getting their other three children situated, Michael’s dad, Trevor Kempton, met them at Sacred Heart.

When Michael arrived, he was rushed into an operating room, where a team of anesthesiologists and two surgeons waited. His spleen needed to be removed.

McCarthy estimated that about half of Michael’s normal blood volume had leaked into his abdomen from the hemorrhage. Cell-savers were used to filter and recycle Michael’s blood, saving time and lowering the risk of a transfusion.

“A pediatric radiologist was right there; the operating room was ready. There was not one obstacle. It was truly a team effort,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy credits the fast diagnosis of the emergency room staff at Holy Family and the preparedness of the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital for the great outcome.

Michael will need to be on antibiotics for the rest of his life, but his prognosis is for a full recovery. He will be out of the hospital in about a week.

Meanwhile, his father, who is stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, has been “assigned” to the hospital.

According to McCarthy, it’s very rare for children to rupture their spleen. There must have been tremendous impact.

“His helmet spared him neurological devastation,” McCarthy said.