Caden Arnold – 4-wheeler Accident Survivor

Caden was driving a 4-wheeler on his family’s ranch when he cut a corner too sharply. It flipped and landed on top of him, crushing his leg. AirLIFE flew Caden to University Hospital, where the trauma team immediately went to work to stabilize him. After several surgeries, doctors knew saving Caden’s life meant amputating his leg. Losing a leg would be hard for any 13-year-old boy, especially one who loves sports as much as Caden. “You probably won’t be able to play again,” he was told. But Caden likes to prove people wrong – and that’s exactly what he’s doing.

Caden needed a hospital with the highest level of trauma care – not just a regular hospital. He needed a variety of specialists – trauma surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and anesthesiologists with advanced diagnostics and technology – to determine his injuries and immediately take him to the operating room. And thanks to our partnership with UT Health San Antonio, specialists are available and ready in the hospital at all times. That’s The University Difference.

At University Hospital, our teams caring for patients like Caden with the most complex illnesses and injuries also know there is more to healing than surgery and medicine. Helping Caden get his confidence and determination back was a team effort that included his family and ours. It worked. Caden was up and walking faster than any other patient with such serious injuries we’ve seen.

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