MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. – A rare intestinal transplant saved a father’s life after he was gored by a bull.
Caleb Brooks and his young family live on a small farm in Alabama. Caleb Brooks was feeding hay to a bull named Cash when he was gored by the bull
“Caleb pushed the hay bale in there. Cash just kind of puts his head down and I mean, like, the snap of a finger darts right into his stomach,” his wife Madeline Brooks said.
Caleb Brooks was thrown into the air and smashed into a tree. He was rushed into surgery and transported to a nearby hospital.
“Never in a million years would I have thought that my intestines were, you know, just completely ruined,” Caleb Brooks said.
Caleb Brooks was flown to the Cleveland Clinic and considered for an intestine transplant.
“If there’s anything wrong with the intestine there could be significant issues with maintaining that balance of fluid, electrolytes and nutrition. He had nothing. He had only his stomach to about 10 centimeters of his duodenum. So there’s no way he could be eating anything. That was just not possible,” Cleveland Clinic Dr. Anil Vaidya said.
About three months after the incident, Caleb Brooks was put on the transplant waiting list. A few weeks later he got a call that he would be getting a transplant. The surgery took 10 hours. Caleb Brooks has made a quick recovery.
“Bryar, my oldest, is playing coach pitch baseball. I’m the head coach. Ya’ll see me out there, hitting the ball and throwing him the ball. It’s just awesome to be able to actually be able to do that,” Caleb Brooks said.
Caleb Brooks is now back to work as a sheriff’s investigator. He will need to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life.
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