Since Malis Hasimovic had a motorcycle accident in August 2018, he and his family are thankful he was wearing a helmet and suffered no head injuries. The rest of his body was not so fortunate.
Trauma doctors at Ben Taub Hospital found internal bleeding, a bruised heart, a dislocated elbow, a broken arm and ribs, a fractured pelvis and foot, a ruptured bladder and smoke in his lungs because his motorcycle caught fire.
Malis doesn’t remember his accident. After working a normal day, he rested at home, then went out around 10:30 p.m. to meet friends and woke up to discover tubes in his lungs and throat. He was told he was speeding, hit a slow-moving vehicle, bounced into another rider and crossed a median.
He also doesn’t remember two angels of mercy. One was a chief medical resident visiting Houston from Baton Rouge who stopped to administer CPR. “I feel sure he saved my life,” Malis says. The other was a man who witnessed the accident and spent the rest of the night tracking down Malis’ parents, an act of mercy exacerbated because they had recently moved. Once he found their new address, he took Adijata, Malis’ mom, to Ben Taub.
The medical team was busy administering blood transfusions, trying to regulate his blood pressure and assessing the internal bleeding. Surgeons repaired his arm with metal plates.
“I’m humbled by the care I received at Ben Taub,” Malis says. “The doctors and other caregivers treated me like family. Michael Segal [senior patient liaison and encourager extraordinaire] made it a point to visit me almost every day. They cared about me.”
Adijata, who moved here from Bosnia 21 years ago, says she loves Harris Health. “I knew he was in good hands. I saw the framed pictures of other trauma survivors and prayed he would be one of them. The people at Ben Taub make me love this country even more.”
Malis was in the hospital for two weeks and in a wheelchair for two months. He continues to recover at home and gets stronger each week. He has one more surgery scheduled for his arm, and once that heals, he looks forward to getting back on a motorcycle where he feels most free.
“I believe God was telling me to slow down and live life. The accident helped me let go of distractions and focus on the positive.”