We always say the same thing, "Love you," then hang up. Right before I get to the stadium, Alex gives me a call. We'll jump in the car, pick up friends and family in D.C., then head to the stadium. The kids and I, we wake up, do our breakfast, shower, get ready. He spends the night before the game at the team hotel. 18, 2018, started out like any other home game day. And anything beyond that is a miracle." How'd we get here? And then we're going to do our best to save his leg. And right now, our first priority is we're going to save his life. She said: "Elizabeth, we're doing the best we can. We need to make sure he's OK."Īnd these were her exact words. I can't go home to my children without him with me. I just need to know - why can't we just - cut it off? I need to know if I'm going to be able to leave this place with him with me. I said, "Please, can you just break this down for me? My husband is laying here. We head to the cafeteria annex, which had become my private escape. I send Robin (West) a text and ask her if we can meet privately and talk. I need someone to sit me down and tell me exactly what's going to happen. Family, friends, everybody is on high emotion.Īnd I just need some grounding. We're being inundated with medical language. So Alex has a flesh-eating bacteria that's eating away his at his leg. There is one really rare bacteria in his bloodstream, aeromonas hydrophila, a bacteria typically found in freshwater or brackish water. Then, the cultures came back and, sure enough, it's necrotizing fasciitis. Now it's Friday, and they are going back in to cut out more tissue. Necrotizing fasciitis? Like, flesh-eating bacteria? This was something I only knew about from reading about it online. We think this looks like necrotizing fasciitis." "So, is it fine? Is it done? Is the infection gone? "Well, we had to take off a lot of skin, a lot of muscle tissue." We removed a big portion of the anterior compartment." "There was colonization of the bacteria all through his soft tissue. The doctors finally walk in, and they look defeated. I couldn't even tell you how long it was, but it felt like we were waiting for an eternity. Robin West, the head team physician, flew back from Dallas to join in on the surgery. The Redskins were in Texas playing the Cowboys that day, but Dr. We have to take him into surgery again."Īlex's parents are there. It's something I couldn't fathom seeing in a war movie, only now it's my husband. At that time, it looked normal, at least as normal as post-surgical fracture sites look.īut now his leg is black. He unwraps the bandages from Alex's leg, even though it had been unwrapped just a few hours before. He would tell us later he came in because he couldn't sleep. Steve Malekzadeh, one of Alex's trauma surgeons, comes in early the next morning. But we don't know what type of infection it is."ĭr. The doctors are telling me, "He's septic. His blood pressure is dropping.Įveryone - the nurses, the doctors - every person is in this room and can hear me asking, "Is everything going to be OK?" They are saying, "We just need to find the root of the problem." Throughout the night, it's test after test after test. They're thinking he has a blood clot, a pulmonary embolism. It's been 57 hours since my husband was carted off the field with a compound fracture in his right leg in a Week 11 game, but now it's Wednesday at midnight and he's not just an injured football player - he's the patient who's drifting in and out of consciousness as doctors try to figure out what's wrong. "Our first priority is we're going to save his life. Warning: This story contains graphic images. Smith was released by Washington on March 5, 2021, and is now a free agent. This piece originally published on May 1, 2020. This is a first-person account, from Smith's wife, Elizabeth, to ESPN's Stephania Bell, of the untold story of what happened next. 18, 2018, Washington quarterback Alex Smith was injured in the third quarter of a Week 11 game against the Houston Texans. NFL, Washington, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĪlex Smith's comeback: Inside the fight to save the QB's leg and life
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