Saving Nick: The 274-unit miracle and the team that saved him

On a summer afternoon in 2024, Nick Jackson was out riding motorcycles with friends near Castle Rock. He doesn’t remember what happened next. His friends say that the 30-year-old Air Force space operator hit a patch of gravel and was launched into a field.

“It’s by the grace of God that (HCA HealthONE) Swedish was the nearest trauma center,” Nick said. “I was put in the best hands from the first EMT to the first surgeon to the nurses. They gave me the best chance at a second chance at life.”

Nick may hold a national record for the number of pints of blood he received — 274 pints — pulled from six Denver-area hospitals. He scored a 66 on the hospital’s trauma severity scale; most patients don’t survive if their score is 25 or higher.

“But Dr. Banton never gave up on him,” said Nick’s mother, Michelle Williams. Dr. Kaysie Banton is the trauma medical services director and a trauma surgeon at HCA HealthONE Swedish. 

“It was very obvious when Nick arrived that he was in critical condition,” Dr. Banton said. “We were able to stop the normal surgical bleeding, but Nick had lots of injuries that you could call ‘road rash,’ not only outside, but internally.”

Nick’s injuries bled so profusely — including from a bone fracture — that he bled away the factors that allow blood to clot, Dr. Banton explained.

“We were just dumping blood into him, blood and all the factors, dumping it back in,” she said. “In situations like that, looking at every statistic, the mortality rate is 100%. I’ve never given a patient that much blood who survived.”

Nick had the tiniest sliver of hope because, despite all the injuries, he didn’t have a major brain injury, she said. “That meant, to us, that if he survived, he would be able to have a normal life someday.”

Dr. Banton sat by Nick’s bed for 24 hours as coolers of blood were constantly delivered. When the team ran out of room on the dry erase board, they began covering the windows, then the walls, with Nick’s vital information.

“We’re losing the battle, but we’re not quitting,” Dr. Banton kept telling Nick’s family. When trauma surgeon Dr. Glenda Quan arrived the next day, Dr. Banton said to her, “The seat’s warm; we’re going to keep going.”

When Dr. Banton arrived back 24 hours later, Dr. Quan told her, “Yep, we’re still going; the seat’s still warm” as they traded places. That afternoon, Nick began to stabilize. At the end of three long days, the doctors began to high-five.

HCA HealthONE Swedish has six very seasoned trauma surgeons, Banton said, “and if we know we have that shot, even if it’s narrow, we’re going to try to get them through.”

HCA HealthONE Swedish has a three percent mortality rate for trauma patients — in other words, a 97 percent survival rate; the national average mortality rate is seven percent. The American College of Surgeons also lists the hospital as the highest — tier Level I Trauma Center in the top 10 percent of hospitals nationally for survivorship.

“That speaks to the dedication, the experience, the entire culture of the hospital,” Dr. Banton said. “That we’re here when not everyone would be. I think in most places this wouldn’t have been the story.”

“Every team member from the surgeons to custodial was a professional,” said Michelle. “Everyone was skilled, focused and coordinated with each other. But at the same time, they all had a great bedside manner. They never left us in the dark; they kept us informed every step of the way. Whether it was the early shift, the late shift or the handover, it was seamless. And it wasn’t just us — we saw that same level of care for every patient on our floor. But for them (the care team), it was just the norm.”

“I’m so grateful to everyone at (HCA HealthONE) Swedish. I think of them as family now,” said Nick. 

After a year of surgeries and rehabilitation, Nick is getting his life back together. He’s walking, driving and soon to go back to work and to graduate with an IT degree. But, he said, he’s done with motorcycles.

Emergency Care in Denver 

With our larger HCA HealthONE network, advanced emergency care is never far away. We're proud to be the ONE you and your family can rely on when you need advanced care. We offer 14 ERs in the Denver area, find 24/7 ER care near you.

As extensions of our emergency departments, our trauma centers are open 24/7 and staffed by highly-trained physicians, specialists and critical care nurses. This ensures you receive the high-quality treatment you need to heal. Trained in advanced life-support and emergency treatment for traumatic injuries, we also work with paramedics and first responders to ensure you receive seamless care.