Alcides Moreno, the 37-year-old window washer who fell 47 stories from scaffolding of a high-rise apartment building last month, is awake, alert, and expected to make a substantial recovery, according to his physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Dr. Philip Barie (center) and Dr. John Boockvar (second from left) update the press on the condition of Alcides Moreno at a press conference held Jan. 3.
Moreno is still in critical condition in NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell's surgical intensive care unit, where he has been recovering since the Dec. 7 accident.
Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, was joined at a press conference yesterday by Rosario Moreno, Alcides' wife; Dr. Philip S. Barie, chief of the Division of Critical Care and Trauma, Department of Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell; Dr. John Boockvar, assistant professor of neurological surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, and other members of the medical team.
"We are extremely excited about what medicine like this can do," Dr. Pardes said. "If you're looking for a medical miracle, this certainly qualifies."
Rosario Moreno, wife of Alcides Moreno, thanks the doctors, nurses and staff who helped save her husband.
Dr. Barie said Moreno sustained injuries to his brain, spinal column, chest, and abdomen, as well as fractures of his ribs, right arm and both legs.
Intense bleeding from several open fractures and lacerations was the most pressing concern in those first few hours, Dr. Barie said. Within the first 24 hours, Moreno received 24 units of blood and 19 units of plasma, as well as platelets and a medication to replace one of his blood clotting proteins. A catheter was inserted in his brain to reduce swelling and he underwent emergency abdominal surgery.
In total, Moreno has undergone five abdominal operations and nine orthopedic procedures. He is expected to undergo a spinal operation today by Dr. Boockvar, with another abdominal operation to follow in a few weeks. Moreno is breathing on his own, receptive to commands, and is comfortable, doctors say.
He was able to share his first words since the accident with his wife on Christmas day.
Rosario Moreno and Dr. Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Mrs. Moreno had taken to lifting her husband's hand to stroke her face and hair, hoping the sensation would stir him. Apparently, Mr. Moreno later reached up to touch the face of one of his nurses, prompting a playful reprimand from his wife when she was told of the incident.
She told him that he was supposed to be touching only her.
And then he offered his first words since the accident.
"'What did I do?'" Mrs. Moreno said her husband responded. "It stunned me because I didn't know he could speak."
Rosario Moreno and the medical team.
Since then, Mr. Moreno has been able to talk a bit with his children as well.
"The doctors and nurses here, they have been amazing," Mrs. Moreno said. "They never gave up. If he had been taken anywhere else, he probably wouldn't have made it. I know that."
Photography by Richard Lobell. --------