ZACCARE When 23-year-old Zac DiGiorgio volunteered to install some shutters at his parents’ home, he never imagined his kind gesture would nearly cost him his life. A loud noise brought Zac’s dad Chris running to find his son had fallen from the ladder and was having a seizure. Emergency responders delivered Zac to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital where he was diagnosed with a life- threatening traumatic brain injury. Surgeons at the Kennestone Neuro ICU performed successful cranial surgery. But treatment, including use of a ventilator, had badly damaged Zac’s lungs. With their son in amedically induced coma, his parents agreed to an experimental procedure known as ECMO to oxygenate Zac’s blood. It worked. Weeks after the fall, Zac woke up, 80 pounds thinner and eternally grateful to his care team. Within months of his final procedure, Zac had completed a half-marathon and was on his way back to the life he loves.
“Thanks toWellstar, the only person who can tell that I had a life-threatening brain injury is my barber who sees the scar when he cuts my hair.” – Zac DiGiorgio
3 | 2019–2020 COMMUNITY REPORT
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