A race against time to save Thomas Forest

What was supposed to be just another flag football game turned into a real race against time for 10-year-old Thomas Forest. After taking a hit to the head during the game last May, the young boy seemed to be suffering from nothing more than a headache.

Nearly two hours after the incident, once back home, Thomas began experiencing severe headaches. Concerned about their son’s condition, Jonathan Forest and Marie-Josée Lévesque decided that Jonathan would take him to the Emergency Department (ED) at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH).

Upon arrival, Jonathan asked a patient attendant, Tanaisha Chapman Gomes, to watch over Thomas while he went to park the car. Thomas had started vomiting during the car ride, and his condition was deteriorating. Tanaisha noticed that he was losing consciousness in the wheelchair. She rushed him straight to the Emergency Department. During pre-triage, nurse Kristina St-Arnaud quickly realized the severity of the situation and immediately directed him to the resuscitation room.

“As soon as we saw Thomas arrive in that condition, we had to act fast. Every second counted, and the entire team sprang into action immediately,” explains Kristina.

In the resuscitation room, Dr. Ilana Bank, Division Director of Pediatric Emergency and Medical Director of Pediatric Simulation, took care of Thomas alongside her colleague, Dr. Cathie-Kim Le. Several teams worked together simultaneously. The nurses set up the monitors, established intravenous access, and performed the necessary examinations with remarkable speed.

“What struck me was how quickly everyone knew exactly what they had to do to try to save Thomas. This kind of situation requires trust, excellent communication, and a team that truly functions as a single unit,” says Dr. Bank.

Even doctors who were not on call, including Dr. Brett Burstein, immediately responded to the call. Dr. Josh Feder, from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, also arrived to manage Thomas’s airway.

Elsewhere at the MCH, teams from radiology, neurosurgery, intensive care, anesthesia, and the operating room sprang into action. The CT scan revealed significant bleeding in Thomas’s brain caused by the impact. Dr. Adriano Cattani, a neurosurgeon, arrived a few minutes later to prepare Thomas for surgery. Social worker Laura Johnston supported the family throughout the ordeal.

The speed of the response is a testament to this exceptional coordination: only 18 minutes elapsed between Thomas’s arrival at the ED and his CT scan, followed by 10 minutes between the scan and his arrival in the operating room.

For Thomas’s parents and his little sister Victoria, these moments were particularly trying, despite Jonathan’s experience as a firefighter.

“I’m used to witnessing emergency situations, but when it’s your own child, it’s completely different. Seeing the entire team rally around Thomas gave us confidence,” he says.

Today, Thomas has made a full recovery. He is left with a large scar on his head from this ordeal, and his injury required 112 stitches. For his family, it now serves as a reminder of how far he has come and of the immense gratitude they feel towards all those who rallied around him to save his life.