Tragedy

“I knew my only option was, I kick out this window or I die.”

As Taylor Koob was driving during Hurricane Harvey in Texas, his car was swept away in a flash flood. With water quickly beginning to submerge his car, his only option was to kick out his front windshield. Taylor kicked his windshield 40-50 times which eventually led to a traumatic ankle injury.

Along with a shattered ankle, Taylor also had floodwater-soaked gashes on his leg but managed to escape. He was eventually spotted by firefighters, but because of the surrounding flood waters in the area, it took eight hours for him to reach the nearest Trauma hospital. Due to the severity of his ankle injury, and risk of infection, it was critical for him to get care as soon as possible once he arrived.

The Impact of Skilled Surgeons and Medical Technology

Taylor’s leg was so seriously injured that he required five surgeries, a significant amount of antibiotics and a month of recuperation at the hospital. Central to this treatment was Stryker’s Hoffmann 3 Modular External Fixation system, frame components used in conjunction with Apex Pins to stabilize the open and/ or unstable fracture. With the rods made of lightweight materials, the product allows fracture stabilization while treating the soft tissue damage with the frame in place.

After his hospital stay, Taylor was able to go home and continue with antibiotic treatment for several weeks before removal of the frame. Taylor was then able to receive physical therapy to restore his strength and range of motion. “I can’t say enough about the doctors who saved my life,” Taylor says. Noting how lucky he is, he displays his Hoffmann External Fixator in his house, as a reminder of his ordeal.