Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz seems to be out of the woods as far as possibly losing his life to a senseless act of violence in his native hometown when a gunman suddenly came up from behind him and shot him in the back.
The surgeons who operated on the baseball legend are now speaking out and revealing the scary details of how bad Ortiz’s condition and injuries were during this process.
Via The Washington Post:
Jose Smester, the surgeon who first attended to Ortiz, said that the 43-year-old suffered injuries to his liver, large intestine, small intestine and mesentery, the membrane that holds his intestines in place. Ortiz also had his gall bladder removed.
The best thing that could’ve happen fro Ortiz was that the bullet went through his back and out of his stomach, instead of breaking apart inside his body and hitting multiple vital organs.
Also, him being taken to the hospital immediately was a crucial moment in his recovery.
“The injuries he had were lethal, even separately, if they wouldn’t have been taken care of right away, especially the one on the liver,” Smester said. “But in that moment, you don’t think about death, you think about what you have to do.”
“The advantage is that he was always stable,” he added.
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Jose Abel Gonzalez was the surgical team leader and he revealed how he found a liter of blood in Ortiz’s belly when he opened the abdomen and that Ortiz lost another half-liter during the surgery.
“It’s a lot [of blood loss],” Smester said. “It’s not enough to bring him to a shock, especially someone like him who weighs a lot. But yes, when we opened him, his stomach was full of blood.”
“His life should not change,” Gonzalez said. “He should completely recover. He will have big injuries and might feel a little pain but can have a normal life.”
Ortiz was truly blessed by everybody he came in contact with after being shot. Everyone played a crucial part in his recovery and being able to save his life.
As far as the shooter and other assailants, cops are still on the hunt for the guy known as the “Surgeon” who is also wanted for an attempted murder in Pennsylvania where another guy was shot in the back.
