A Second Chance

The Dominguez family often spends time fishing on their boat out on the Texas coast. On one normal Saturday during Spring Break 2015, something suddenly went terribly wrong.

Eleven-year-old Michael Dominguez was fishing with his father, Michael Dominguez, Sr., when he accidentally fell out of the boat. Before they knew it, Michael’s shorts and leg were caught in the boat’s propeller.

“The first thing that crossed my mind was, ‘Am I going to live?’,” said Michael.

“His shorts were wound up around the propeller, so his movement was restricted and I had a hard time pulling him up out of the water,” said Michael’s father. “After some struggling, I finally got him back in the boat. His leg was severely cut. I wrapped my shirt around his leg to try to stop the bleeding and raced back to our house in Rockport.”

Michael’s mother, Diane, had stayed back at the house that day.

“I remember standing in the kitchen when I suddenly heard a boat coming full-fledged down the canal,” Diane said. “I looked out the window and saw my husband. I went out on the balcony and could see blood everywhere. He was frantic and yelling for me to call 9-1-1. ”

AirLife rushed Michael to a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. Two days later, he was transferred to The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, where Dr. Ian Mitchell, trauma director, and his team of specialists were ready.

“We did one x-ray and immediately sent Michael into the operating room,” said Dr. Mitchell. “When we opened up his wounds, we found that there was a significant amount of infection. We cleaned the wounds, irrigated them with saline, and then put him on antibiotics. Eventually, he received a skin graft, followed by intense physical therapy to get him walking again.”

 

Today, more than one year after the accident, Michael is happy and healthy, fully recovered and back to fishing.

“Seeing where he was – he couldn’t walk, he wasn’t able to move – to seeing where he is today, it’s a miracle,” said Diane. “He is vibrant. He is himself again. He’s back to running and jumping, almost like the accident never happened. I can’t thank the doctors at The Children’s Hospital enough for saving Michael’s life.”

“I am very thankful for everything I am able to do,” said Michael, “I feel like I’ve been given a second chance.”

For information on how you can support patients like Michael at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, please visit: childrenshospitalsafoundation.org.