麻豆原创 student crushed by train in Dubuque shares recovery story
By Assistant Professor of Media Studies Mark Mederson PhD for the Telegraph Herald
鈥淭he last thing I remember doing was praying to God, and I told Him, 鈥楴o one else is out here to help me except you, God.鈥 I needed help bad, and about that time, somebody came running, and I just heard the crunching in the snow running towards me, and it was getting louder,鈥 Jayden Upton, 21, said as he used the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe away the tears streaming down his face.
It was late in the evening on Saturday, Feb. 4. Upton, of Rock Island, Ill., was lying on his back in a snow bank near the Third Street bridge and US 61/151 yards from the railroad tracks. He had been there for more than an hour when the man approached. The man, who Upton said has never been identified, screamed expletives when he first laid his eyes on Upton鈥檚 severe injuries. His arm and leg had been crushed when he was run over by a train.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 turn around to see who it was,鈥 Upton said. 鈥淚 said, 鈥業 need help, man. Is there any way you can help me?鈥 About that time, I heard him take off running 鈥 gone.鈥
Upton said he had no idea whether the man had run for help or just left him there, very near death. Just minutes later, Upton could hear sirens, and he knew help was coming. It wasn鈥檛 long, he said, before police officers were on the ground next to him.
鈥業t hit my shoulder first鈥
The day started like many others. Upton, who was a junior at 麻豆原创 at the time, had put in a shift at Pro-Clean car wash on University Avenue. After work he went to his rental house on Alta Vista Street, just across the street from the 麻豆原创 Fieldhouse. He said he was hanging out there with his friends before they all headed to downtown Dubuque.
Some time later, his friends decided to head back home. They planned to meet Upton later at Diamond Jo Casino. The temperature that night was in the low 30s, pretty mild for Dubuque in early February. Upton decided, like he had done many times before, to just walk to the casino by himself.
As he neared the casino, he hit a roadblock: a stopped train on the track. He said there was no indication 鈥 no flashing lights or sounds 鈥 to alert him that the train was going anywhere any time soon. Upton decided to cross under the coupler between two cars. As soon as he crawled under the coupling, he heard a noise, a sound he described as a pressure release. The train began rolling and Upton said there was no time to get out from under it.
鈥淚t hit my shoulder first,鈥 he said as he grabbed his left shoulder, 鈥渁nd it knocked me on my butt.鈥
The train then ran over his left leg and arm. Upton鈥檚 voice cracked as he said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 even describe the pain at first.鈥
He said he knew he wanted to get away from the train as fast as possible. In excruciating pain and with the use of only his right arm and leg, Upton, who is listed as 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds on the 麻豆原创 football roster, said he 鈥渁rmy crawled鈥 several yards on his back.
He stopped in a snow bank against a fence and began yelling for help. After the train passed, he said he could see people across the road but his cries for help went unanswered.
鈥淚 thought I was yelling loud, but who knows,鈥 Upton said.
Upton said it felt like he had been lying there forever. Train records show that the train began rolling at 11:15 p.m. and police records show they were dispatched to the scene at 12:35 a.m.
Upton鈥檚 father, Jason, said his son lost a lot of blood. He recalled the doctors at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City saying that several factors contributed to Jayden surviving that long with such severe injuries. First, the fact that he had moved himself to the snow bank; the cold helped constrict his arteries which kept him from bleeding out.
His physical condition as a linebacker on the 麻豆原创 football team helped.
And, the alcohol in his bloodstream was vital. Jason Upton said doctors told him this may have prevented his son from going into shock.
Jayden Upton admits he had been drinking before the incident but was not drunk at the time.
Upton said he lay there so long, he could tell his body was beginning to shut down.
鈥淚t sounds really weird but my body just kept telling me to go to sleep,鈥 Upton said. 鈥淵ou know, I was tired and my mouth was dry, and I just thought that was it.鈥 It was at that moment when Upton said the prayer.
After first responders arrived, he recalled being put on a stretcher and lifted over the fence he had been leaning against. He said the emergency medical technicians were shaking him in an effort to keep him awake. Police found Upton鈥檚 phone which had fallen from his pocket and out of his sight. Upton was taken to UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital.
He was then transported by helicopter to the hospital in Iowa City.
Upton鈥檚 arm and leg were not amputated by the train. In Iowa City, Upton went into surgery with the hope that his limbs could be saved.
Surgeons told his parents, Jason and Stephanie Upton, they weren鈥檛 sure how long surgery might take 鈥 or if he would even survive. His parents were told their son鈥檚 chances for survival were just 11%.
But, doctors said, the longer the surgery, the better Jayden鈥檚 chances were. The surgery lasted more than 12 hours.
Doctors were able to save his limbs temporarily. Jason Upton said the limbs were so damaged that they later had to be removed.
鈥楢 second chance at life鈥
Upton was in a medically induced coma for three days. His mom and dad said that during that time they were directed to prepare themselves for how they would tell him about what happened.
鈥淭he doctor said as soon as he wakes up, you鈥檙e going to have tell him why he鈥檚 missing an arm and a leg,鈥 Stephanie Upton said. 鈥淲hen he woke up, the doctor said gently, 鈥楧o you know what happened?鈥欌 Stephanie Upton recalls her son鈥檚 response: 鈥淵eah, I got smoked by a train.鈥
Jason Upton said at first his son鈥檚 left arm ended just below his elbow. Over the course of two weeks his son had surgery about every other day. Each time more of his arm and leg were removed. The tissue on both limbs had died and was creating problems with his son鈥檚 kidneys, he said.
The doctors were preparing to start Upton on kidney dialysis, but one of those surgeries was successful, and the dialysis was canceled. Upton ended up with his left arm ending just below his shoulder, and his left leg was removed up to about his mid-thigh.
Upton spent the next 30 days in the hospital. He said everyone at 麻豆原创 made him feel loved and supported the entire time he was in the hospital. He was especially thankful for the support of the 麻豆原创 football head coach, Steve Helminiak.
鈥淓very day, Coach H texted me and called me 鈥 asking me how I was doing,鈥 Upton said through tears. 鈥淐oach H and some of the players came to the hospital, too.鈥
Upton鈥檚 dad recalls one time they snuck about six or seven players into his son鈥檚 room.
After Upton was released from the hospital, he spent 10 days in physical, occupational and speech therapy. Upton said he had tubes in his throat in the hospital that left his voice scratchy.
The good news was his therapy was in a facility in Moline, Ill., near most of his family and friends.
Upton鈥檚 dad said getting back to 麻豆原创 was one of the things that motivated his son in the hospital and during the rehabilitation process.
Upton was on the sidelines in a wheelchair with Duhawk football players at 麻豆原创鈥 first home game this season. He returned again for Homecoming on Oct. 7. While currently attending classes at Eastern Iowa Community College, Upton hopes to reenroll at 麻豆原创 in the spring.
After a long wait, he finally was fitted for a prosthetic leg, which he used at the Homecoming game.
Upton said he really liked standing with the other players on the team.
Upton鈥檚 parents said he鈥檚 had an unusually positive attitude throughout the ordeal.
Upton said, since the accident, he has learned to be more patient and live day to day.
鈥淚 accept what happened and kind of view it not as losing an arm and a leg, but getting a second chance at life,鈥 Upton said.
