Oak Brook, Illinois (PRWEB) December 01, 2012
A Chicago police officer who was shot in the chest in the line of duty and whose life was saved due to the efforts of emergency teams at two hospitals within the Advocate Health Care system will join in activities preceding the Dec. 2 Chicago Bears home game as a special guest of Advocate.
Officer Del Pearson will participate in the coin toss prior to the Chicago Bears-Seattle Seahawks game during Advocate Day at Soldier Field. Advocate Health Care is a sponsor of the Chicago Bears.
Joining Pearson at Advocate Day festivities will be Mary Ann Brooks, RN, of Oak Forest, Ill. She was the officer?s primary critical care nurse during his five days of hospitalization in intensive care at Advocate Christ Medical Center, 4440 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, last March. Top police officials frequently praised Brooks for the compassionate way in which she cared for and met everyone?s needs: the wounded officer, his family, and the many fellow officers who visited with him during his time at the hospital.
Officer Pearson lost nearly three-quarters of his blood at the crime scene when a bullet ripped into the left side of his chest just above his chest protector and pierced an artery under his collarbone. He was initially rushed by a fellow officer to Advocate Trinity Hospital, 2320 E. 93rd St., Chicago, where an emergency team there provided initial treatment and prepared him for immediate transport to Christ Medical Center?s Level I trauma center. At Christ Medical Center, he underwent five-and-a-half hours of emergency surgery to repair the artery.
?What stands out in this case is that a life was saved because two hospitals within the Advocate system played such an integral part to provide the necessary emergency care. We are honored to have Officer Pearson join us today,? said Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of Advocate Health Care.
