On Oct. 28, 2024, Mark La Grand had just returned to work at his family’s business in American Canyon after a trip to Italy to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful fall day and shortly after work, he took a ride in his brother-in-law’s newly purchased restored 1933 Ford open-top roadster.
His life changed course when, on the way back to the office’s parking lot, the car crossed railroad tracks and hit a pothole, causing the light-weight vehicle to spin 180 degrees and slide backwards up a telephone guidewire, flipping the vehicle.
Mark was wearing a five-point harness seatbelt, but the roadster didn’t have a roll bar over the passenger side, and Mark suffered serious head injuries. Paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMT’s) quickly arrived and alerted Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center’s trauma team of the extent of the injuries.
When he was admitted to Queen of the Valley’s Emergency Department by ambulance, the trauma team was fully mobilized and ready to care for La Grand, who was critically injured, suffering from 10 separate severe skull fractures, a detached ear and other serious injuries.
“During traumatic events like this, our trauma surgeon, ER doctor, respiratory therapists, nurses, pharmacists, the blood bank, and many others, are all activated,” explained Dr. Matthew Shepherd, Medical Director of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.
Mark was in the best of hands; as the county’s only level III trauma center, the Queen sees 33,894 patients every year in its emergency department. Last year alone, the hospital cared for 598 trauma patients and 285 motor vehicle crashes. The trauma team includes around-the-clock coverage from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) neurosurgeons, giving patients immediate access to top notch brain and spine care.
During triage, it was clear that the head injuries had to be addressed first. “You go with what’s the most urgent,” Dr. Shepherd explained. “In Mark’s case, that was the bleeding from his head wound, his ear -- we worried he could lose it—and the bleeding from the scalp laceration. He needed immediate surgery.”
A miraculous recovery
After Dr. Shepherd and Neurosurgeon Dr. Nguyen Do performed emergency surgery, Mark spent three days in the Queen’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Though he lost sight in one eye and has some lingering neck issues, he understands how much worse it could have been.
“I’m very blessed. I’m walking, talking and back to working out. During physical therapy I realized there are so many people who weren’t as lucky as I was,” Mark said. “It made me understand how fortunate I am. I’m so grateful for Dr. Shepherd and the team who saved my life.”
“He had a remarkable outcome,” said Dr. Shepherd, who reconnected with Mark in May during the 11th annual Napa County Survivor’s Reunion. Hosted by the Napa County EMS Society, the reunion brings together emergency crews and the people whose lives they saved.
A new chapter
Today, Mark’s passion for classic cars remains strong. Mark and his brother-in-law plan to restore the ’33 Roadster and then start work on a 1967 Chevy Nova.
“It was an accident, a fluke thing. We’re all dealt a deck of cards, and you never know what you’re going to get any given day. You just have to keep moving forward.”
