An Urgent Christmas Miracle, Marcey's Story.
From Swann Animal Clinic Urgent Care Veterinarian Dr. Heritage Enevoldsen:
I've been in veterinary medicine in some capacity for 19 years. Through that time, I have seen some pretty amazing cases. Recently, however, I had the privilege of being a part of Marcey Mitchener's story, and it has changed me for the better.
Marcey presented to our Urgent Care service early on a Friday morning. She had been attacked by a larger dog. When she came in, it was clear that she was in bad shape. She was in shock, bleeding, and struggling to breathe.
After discussing the needed treatments with her owner, we moved forward with stabilization and surgery for Marcey. Best-case scenario, we would just be clipping and cleaning the bite wounds. Worst-case scenario, the bites penetrated into the thoracic cavity. Once we were in surgery, the worst-case scenario came crashing down on us.
Just under the skin, her chest had been ripped open. I was left looking at her lungs, heart, and shredded muscle where I should be seeing healthy subcutaneous tissues. I called her mom to let her know the situation. I gave Marcey a 10% chance of survival. Her mom placed her trust in me and Jesus and told me to keep going. I will not lie - surgery was scary. I stopped my team before I kept going, and we prayed. We prayed for Marcey, for her family, for peace in the operating room, and for wisdom for me.
Medicine is a team sport. I had Dr. Ellersick scrub in, and her team joined mine for the next three hours. A chest tube, thoracic lavaging and culturing, rib repairs, and countless stitches later, we were in recovery with Marcey. She was breathing on her own, and her chest tube was working well!
I was thankful to get to call and let her mom know we made it through surgery, but we still had a LONG way to go. Marcey spent a total of five days in the hospital in intensive care. When I got to tell her mom I was ready to send her home, I cried.
Cases like this take a piece of you. This was my Christmas miracle this year. I was blessed with the trust of the family, the support of my nursing staff, the support of my fellow doctors, the support of my administration, and the peace of my Savior. We can't save all the cases like this, but when we can, it is truly life-changing. I will carry this case with me for the rest of my career. Thank you, Mitchener family, for allowing me to be a part of Marcey's story.
Author: Dr. Heritage Enevoldsen
Dr. Heritage Enevoldsen is one of our Urgent Care providers. She was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas. She had always dreamed of finding a job that would allow her to minister to and bless people but also involve her love for animals, so being a veterinarian was just the right fit! She received her bachelor of science from Texas A&M University before graduating from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in May 2017. Her goal was always to come back and serve the people of the Texas Panhandle. Dr. Enevoldsen has a special interest in emergency and critical care medicine. When she isn’t working at the clinic, Dr. Enevoldsen loves spending time with her three children and husband, reading, and doing anything with the Fighting Texas Aggies. She is also a dog mom to her pets, Mark & ‘Nilla.
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