DETROIT (WXYZ) — Hundreds of trauma surgeons, doctors and nurses from across the country and some from other countries are gathering in Detroit this week. They're all here for the 72nd annual Trauma Symposium.
Unbeknownst to many, Detroit has become an epicenter for trauma medicine, and the work is saving lives.
After 30-plus years in trauma, Dr. Larry Diebel, the trauma program director at DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital, still gets emotional while talking about his patients.
"It’s do or die a lot of times, and that’s an immense responsibility," he said.
I caught up with Diebel at the symposium, taking place at MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit.
Nearly 800 trauma surgeons, doctors and nurses traveled to Detroit to hear the latest advances in trauma care. Diebel is one of the experts speaking.
"You come to a hospital after a serious injury, you’ve never met the physicians and nurses who are now taking care of you. It takes an immense amount of trust," he said.
One of his patients was also at the symposium – Maxwell McColl. Diebel helped save his life back in 2022.
Max is an amazing kid," Diebel said.
"I was in a motor vehicle, a motorbike accident in the City of Detroit when I was living down there. I got hit by a car. I was left for dead basically in the middle of the street in a pile of my own blood," he said.
McColl shared with me a photo of him at Detroit Receiving Hospital.
"They did not think I would make it through the day," he said.
After nine days in a coma and months at DRH, McColl was able to pull off a miraculous recovery because of Detroit trauma care.
In fact, Detroit has become an epicenter for trauma medicine, known across the country for its development of emergency medicine.
McColl is here to inform others about how it saved his life.
"So the trauma expertise in Detroit saved your life?" I asked.
"I wouldn’t be here today without them. It’s unbelievable what they were able to do to save me," he said.
