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Donald Alexander meets with Dr. Patrick Kellam, an orthopedic surgeon at UT Physicians Orthopedics Trauma Monday, June 22, 2026. Alexander\u2019s leg was\u00a0severely injured in a accident and almost lost his foot.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Donald Alexander was cutting his grass in Brazoria County last summer when his riding lawn mower clipped the trunk of an oak tree that had been damaged by Hurricane Beryl<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The blade struck the trunk, ripping off a piece of wood that pierced Alexander\u2019s shin like an arrow. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI literally felt like I got hit by a school bus,\u201d Alexander, now 77 years old, said. \u201cI knew it was a serious situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: How Houston hospitals prepared for World Cup health and safety challenges like Ebola<\/a><\/p>\n He looked down and saw his foot hanging from a strip of skin. A neighbor heard him cry out and she called 911 when she realized what had happened. Alexander took off his belt and used it as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived.<\/p>\n The wound looked bad. Alexander assumed he\u2019d need a miracle to avoid amputation. But quick treatment by paramedics and emergency physicians made it possible for Alexander to undergo a series of complex surgeries that offered a good chance at saving his foot.<\/p>\n MORE COVERAGE: A study mapped Houston’s mental health deserts across ZIP codes. See how your neighborhood compares.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Alexander was flown to Memorial Hermann<\/a> \u2013 Texas Medical Center, one of the busiest trauma centers in the nation, where doctors from the UT Physicians trauma team had treated similar injuries. Alexander said a prayer with the trauma team and decided to move forward with a series of surgeries to save his foot.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI knew they were going to do whatever was necessary,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Pretty dire condition\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Alexander was in \u201cpretty dire condition\u201d after a helicopter flew him to the hospital, said Dr.\u00a0Mohin Bhadkamkar, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon with UT Physicians and co-director of the Orthoplastic Limb Restoration Program. But Alexander could still move his foot because some nerves and blood vessels remained intact.<\/p>\n Dr. Patrick Kellam, orthopedic surgeon at UT Physicians Orthopedic Trauma, looks at the recover of patient Donald Alexander\u2019s leg at UT Physicians Orthopedics Trauma Monday, June 22, 2026. Alexander\u2019s leg was severley injured in a accident to the point where he almost lost his leg.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n \u201cIf those (blood vessels) were gone, we may not have even had a chance to save his leg,\u201d Bhadkamkar said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Patients with similar injuries typically have a 10% risk for amputation, said Dr. Patrick Kellam, an orthopedic surgeon with UT Physicians Orthopedic Trauma Clinic. Alexander\u2019s age and the fact he has diabetes put him at higher risk for surgical complications, but doctors opted to skip some precautionary tests because the risk of Alexander losing his leg outweighed an infection or other problems, Kellam said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n