On Saturday, August 27, 2022, Moesha, her partner and their two children were involved in a traffic accident.

Immediately after the crash, Moesha and her partner jumped out of the vehicle to check on the children. Moesha’s daughter was fine, but their son, Gonnie, was nowhere to be found. Gonnie’s door was ripped off with the car seat empty. Realizing what had happened, they began running around the highway frantically looking for him.

A Missing Child — Found

In the distance, they heard a man screaming “Baby, baby!” They ran in the direction of his voice and found their son in front of the car severely injured and faintly crying. He had flown out of the vehicle, landed on the hot asphalt and skidded across the roadway on his bare skin.

Nearby drivers called 911 as Moesha and her partner sat on the ground in tears comforting Gonnie.

Soon, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived on the scene. They loaded Gonnie into an ambulance and allowed Moesha to ride in the ambulance with her son.

Moesha says, “Gonnie was surprisingly calm for what he had been through. The team of EMS workers were helping me comfort him, as he lay in agony.”

Expert Care at WakeMed Raleigh Campus

The EMS team drove Moesha and her son to the WakeMed Raleigh Campus Children’s Emergency Department. Immediately, the care team realized the extent of Gonnie’s injuries. They were severe, so the Level 1 Trauma Center team stepped into action to stop his bleeding and get three-year-old Gonnie stabilized.

Moesha says, “When they saw the severity of his injuries, they hurried and got him over to Trauma. That team patched him up, and then we waited for his testing. It was so hard. I was really emotional.”

Once they had Gonnie stabilized, he was taken to Children’s Imaging where child-sized equipment was available to accommodate his diagnostic needs.

Gonnie was diagnosed with extensive road rash burns over 19.5% of his total body square area (TBSA). He also had a fractured collar bone and fractured humerus in his forearm.

With a clear understanding of the extent of his injuries, the Wake Ortho team prepped Gonnie for surgery. He underwent an open reduction and internal fixation to repair his broken humerus.

His collarbone was treated non-operatively. Gonnie also had a gash in his lip that the care team sutured.

Three Firsts for WakeMed Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

The most extensive repair would be to his second- and third-degree burned skin on his arms, trunk, legs, face, scalp and hands. With WakeMed’s fairly new, state-of-the art Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery service line in operation, a team of pediatric providers determined that Gonnie’s burn injuries could be repaired in-house as opposed to through transfer to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. Surgeon, Scott Hultman, MD, MBA, FACS, WakeMed’s inaugural Chair of the Department performed the procedures.

According to Dr. Hultman, the procedures were a win for Gonnie and WakeMed.

He says, “We love this kid! Gonnie was the first patient in WakeMed Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery to receive fish skin for closure of some of his wounds. He was the very first patient to receive spray-on skin and the first significant pediatric burn admission for the hospital.

“These technologies that we have introduced have now become fairly common. It’s very exciting to build the service line and provide this needed service to our patients in this community.

“Families really benefit from being able to keep patients in their community close to home and not have to travel to other health care systems.”

Moesha, her partner and all her friends and family were very thankful for the specialized medical care they received for little Gonnie so close to home.

Moesha says, “We were told that they did the skin graft with fish to help Gonnie’s skin grow back normally. We expect him to make a full recovery and for his skin to eventually look pretty normal. I was like ‘woah.’ I didn’t even know doctors could do that.”

Gentle Care in the WakeMed Pediatric ICU

From August 27 to September 12, Gonnie was cared for in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The care team closely monitored him prior to his surgical procedures and during his recovery.

The WakeMed PICU is the only unit of its kind in Wake County. Staff offered family-centered, personalized care to Gonnie with an experienced team of pediatric specialists, critical-care nurses, child psychologists, social workers, respiratory therapists and chaplains by his side day and night to meet Gonnie’s physical as well as his emotional and psychological needs.

Dr. Hultman says, “We couldn’t have done our jobs without the PICU team. They performed all of the sedation for Gonnie’s dressings. They were able to provide pain relief and sedation every day to allow our nurses and therapists to do wound care. Without the pediatric ICU team, we would not have been able to take such good care of Gonnie.”

Kid-Friendly Support from WakeMed Child Life Specialists

Beyond medical care for Gonnie, the WakeMed care team also supported Gonnie and his family emotionally. WakeMed Child Life Specialists Austin Crowell, Mary Kate Morgan, Julie Van Veldhuizen, Madison Luense, India Brearley and Lyndsey Graham provided emotional support through toy play, tablet play, books and the pull car. In particular, when Gonnie had to undergo the painful process of receiving dressings for his burns, the Child Life team was instrumental in supporting Gonnie and his family with light-hearted distraction and explanations of care.

A Return to Fun in the WakeMed Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital

On September 12, Gonnie was well enough to transition from the Pediatric Unit where he was an inpatient in the Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital. He received occupational therapy from Ashley Frazier and Ellie Tondreau. He also enjoyed physical therapy with Laura Boose. This part of the recovery was tons of fun for Gonnie.

Moesha says, “He enjoyed running around, bouncing on balls and having a good time with the rehab team.”

After three weeks, on Friday, September 16, 2022, Gonnie was discharged from the hospital. Moesha and her family were thrilled.

Gonnie’s Life Today

He requires no follow-up procedures, and the team of providers at WakeMed expect Gonnie to make a full recovery.

Moesha says, “Gonnie has recovered very well and is a very busy three-year-old again. He is back to doing all his favorite things: playing with his sister, his race cars and his dinosaurs, along with enjoying the outdoors and spending his down time drawing and coloring.

“We are grateful for the care Gonnie received at WakeMed.”

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About WakeMed Children’s

WakeMed Children’s is proud to be the only pediatric inpatient care provider in Wake County, caring for thousands of babies and children each year and always providing the highest level of care and caring to our youngest patients.

WakeMed Children’s Hospital unites pediatric specialists, and the specialized services they offer, under one roof to ensure area families have access to the care they need and deserve.

About WakeMed Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

WakeMed Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery is led by C. Scott Hultman, MD, MBA, FACS. The specialty consists of our clinical team of board-certified plastic surgeons and our care teams — each of whom is dedicated to delivering exceptional quality in the care of patients requiring plastic and reconstructive surgery. With extensive experience and a reputation for excellence, our team offers a full range of highly specialized medical and aesthetic care at several, convenient locations throughout Wake County.

About WakeMed Level 1 Trauma Center

WakeMed features the only Level 1 Trauma Center in Wake County. Our orthopaedic trauma surgeons are the only ones in Wake County, and they bring decades of experience to treat serious skeletal injuries to the body, face and limbs for both adult and children.

And WakeMed’s comprehensive critical care services and rehab hospital round out the continuum of trauma care. From injury to rehab, WakeMed offers the best orthopaedic surgeons, trauma nurses, emergency department physicians, critical care specialists and rehabilitation services.

About Wake Ortho

Wake Ortho uses the most advanced technology to treat our patients, whether injuries are severe or minor. Some services include treatment for sports injuries, arthroscopic surgery, joint replacement surgery, fracture care and reconstruction, peripheral nerve surgery (i.e., carpal tunnel release), and occupational hand therapy and physical therapy.