‘Miracle’ Girl Defies Medical Odds in Surviving Rupture of Major Artery

Five-year-old Desiree Ferguson was not expected to survive when a tractor ran over her head, crushing her skull and rupturing a major artery at the base of her brain.

Doctors who treated her say they know of no other patient who has stayed alive after that artery has been torn. But three weeks after surgery, the little brown-haired girl says she feels great and is planning a trip to Disneyland.

Dr. John P. Laurent, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Texas Medical Center in Houston, says Desiree could have been expected to die right away.

“This artery supports the body’s life-support system,” he explains. “This is not an easy vessel to get to. You have to have a little luck and skill to get into there quickly.”

Doctors at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix repaired the basilar artery by cooling Desiree’s body temperature to 59 degrees and stopping her heart and brain functions for 42 minutes. They closed the artery with three small clamps that will remain in her body, Dr. Robert F. Spetzler said.

Desiree and two playmates were in a stable owned by friends on Jan. 18, when a tractor carrying animal feed knocked her to the ground. The tractor backed over the girl’s head, but luckily it was cushioned somewhat by the soft, muddy ground.

When Desiree first came to the hospital, she went right into surgery to repair a severe cut caused by a metal object on the tractor.

Doctors didn’t notice the artery tear until she underwent a CAT scan days later. The tear didn’t kill her immediately because a blood clot formed near the rupture.

“If it didn’t wall off, we wouldn’t be here today,” said Spetzler, who performed the surgery.

Stacy Ferguson, Desiree’s mother, believes something more powerful is responsible for her daughter’s recovery.

“The Lord took her under his wing. I was always confident she would recover,” Ferguson said. “It’s just a miracle.”

Desiree, who was released from the hospital Feb. 17, held her grandmother’s hand as she looked out at the television cameras and lights. Her lip quivered as reporters began questioning the family, and she said only that she felt “great” and wanted to visit Disneyland.

“I think she is kind of shy,” her mother said.

Desiree’s once-long hair was close-cropped and a scar runs from her left temple to her ear. She has no movement in her left eye, and doctors don’t know if she will ever regain control of it. Otherwise, she has made a full recovery from the accident and the surgery, which was performed Feb. 6.

The family says they don’t blame the driver of the tractor, who said he was distracted by another child and didn’t see Desiree.

“He is real torn about it,” said Debbie Ferguson, Desiree’s grandmother. “It was an accident. She’s OK. That’s all we care about.”