In Massachusetts, USA, a 35-year-old woman named Ashley Piccirilli faced a terrifying and near-deadly situation when she was buried alive while working on a construction site in Northampton, in May 2021.
Ashley, who had been on the job for less than a week, was in a ditch when a colleague warned him that one of the earthen walls was collapsing. Without time to react, she was completely buried under a large amount of earth.
US media reports indicate that her co-workers had to use an excavator to remove the dirt that covered her. Despite his efforts, Ashley remained buried for about 30 minutes.
“I remember telling the paramedics that I was having trouble breathing,” Ashley said. “They asked me what she called me, and I’m not sure I answered.”
After being rescued, Ashley was rushed to Baystate Medical Center, where a medical team was waiting to begin the necessary treatment. Although she does not clearly remember her arrival at the hospital, He was aware that he was losing a large amount of blood.
“Airway, breathing/oxygenation and circulation, which are our first steps in determining the extent of the injury for direct patient care,” the treating physician explained.
Dr. Kramer and the surgical team knew Ashley had a collapsed lung from her x-ray and immediately placed a chest tube to drain air and fluid from the lung. He had 10 broken ribs, including all ribs on the left side, a broken left collarbone and a broken glass.
The most concerning and urgent issue was that Ashley had significant internal bleeding and it was imperative to find the source. What they found was that Ashley’s vena cava, one of the largest veins that carries blood to the heart from other areas of the body, had been severely injured.
The incident happened while Ashley Piccirilli was working on a construction site in Northampton, in May 2021.
Photo:Baystate Medical Center
“When we realized what had happened, I was able to stop the bleeding temporarily with my hand. We request additional help from anesthesia, nursing and other surgeons“said Dr. Kramer.
“She stopped during that time, her heart stopped, but we were able to restart it very quickly after opening her chest. With the additional trauma surgeons, we put a clamp on the large vein and then were able to close it to stop the bleeding,” he added.
Ashley Piccirilli’s recovery
At the time of his accident, Ashley had just graduated from Army National Guard noncommissioned officer candidate school and had accepted short-term construction work for acquire additional skills while applying to militia flight school.
The doctor who followed her process noted that her physical condition played an important role in helping her survive her injuries. Ashley credits her military training for keeping her calm throughout the entire ordeal and giving her the focus she needed to achieve her goals.
Innately, he is a positive person, full of optimism, gratitude and desire to improve. With all that, Ashley began her incredible recovery.
Thanks to Ashley’s dedication and physical work at the hospital, she was able to be discharged directly home without first having to go to a rehabilitation center.
He went home with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) to receive antibiotics and a vacuum cleaner to help his wounds heal. At home, she received care from visiting nurses and an occupational therapist. to make sure you could handle your tasks at home safely.
During her recovery, she returned to Baystate Medical Center to walk outside around the hospital with some of the nurses who cared for her. “She was very dedicated and Baystate felt like her home away from home,” said Caitlin, one of her hiking companions.
Ten months after being released from the hospital, Ashley climbed Mount Washington. A year after her accident, she passed the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), which requires the ability to do push-ups, sit-ups, deadlifts, sprint-drag-carries, a plank and a two-mile run in an allotted time.
Today, Ashley is a U.S. Army noncommissioned officer with the Massachusetts National Guard and, after graduating from Army flight school, pilots the Base’s UH-72 Lakota and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. of the Barnes Air National Guard in Westfield, MA.
Ashley appreciates the everyday joys while attends his nieces and nephews’ birthday partieshugs his two beloved dogs and spends precious moments with his family and friends.
When he thinks about his accident, he says, “I’m never going to be what I was before, but I’m a different person, I’m a different kind of strong.”
What is a crush injury?
According to the medical portal ‘Mediline Plus’, a crush injury occurs when a part of the body is subjected to excessive force or pressure, usually by getting caught between two heavy objects.
This type of injury is serious and can cause significant damage to the tissues and structures of the body.
Typical damages associated with crush injuries include:
- Bleeding: hemorrhage due to rupture of blood vessels.
- Bruises: accumulation of blood under the skin, forming bruises.
- Compartment syndrome: increased pressure in a muscle compartment, commonly in an arm or leg, causing serious muscle, nerve, vascular, and tissue damage.
- Fractures: broken bones as a result of the impact.
- Lacerations: open wounds on the skin.
- Nerve injuries: nerve damage, which can affect mobility and sensation.
- Infections: risk of infection due to the entry of bacteria through open wounds.
Crush injuries typically require medical evaluation in an emergency room and, in many cases, may require surgical intervention to repair the damage caused.
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*This content was made with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from Baystate Health, and was reviewed by the journalist and an editor.
