ike all doting parents, Mr Robin Friday was worried sick when he first received news that his daughter, Dallas Friday, was injured in a sports event.

Dallas, a 20 year-old Orlando native and four-time X-Games champion, was competing in the HSBC Wakeboard World Cup in Singapore on 30 September 2006. Known for her daredevil aerial stunts, she was attempting a “whirlybird” – a back flip with an overhead 360-degree turn – when she had a bad landing.

“As soon as I landed, I felt the worst pain ever in my life and I knew immediately I had snapped my femur,” she says. Dallas was rescued and brought to CGH on 1st October.

An ex-athlete himself, Mr Friday knew the seriousness of a broken femur and had thought the worst of his daughter’s injury. It was especially trying for him to subdue negative thoughts as he was then in Taiwan on a business trip.

When he finally reached CGH and saw the medical attention given to her, his fears eased. He was particularly impressed with the coordinated way the various medical disciplines got together to treat her.

“There was a brilliant medical team watching over Dallas 24-hours a day, along with dedicated nursing staff, dieticians, therapy specialists, room attendants and even administrative personnel who went far above and beyond their call of duty to see that every need Dallas and I had were addressed,” he says.

Dallas had a comminuted fracture of the left femur and underwent surgery performed by Mr Low Cheng Ooi, Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery to fix the fracture. After the surgery, she developed breathlessness and was diagnosed with acute Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) due to aspirating water, for which she was warded in ICU.

ARDS is a severe form of lung injury that occurs either as a result of a process involving the lung (lung infection or near drowning) or a process outside the lung (long bone trauma or severe infection outside the lung). The condition has a mortality rate of around 40 to 50 per cent.

Dr Vijo Poulose, Consultant, Medicine, who treated Dallas’ respiratory problem, said: “Dallas’ respiratory problem was quite challenging. We did not hesitate to institute the prompt supportive care for her lung injury.”

Dallas spent 17 days recuperating in CGH, and flew home to Orlando accompanied by Mr Friday on 17 October.

Her vascular surgeon in Orlando “was very impressed with Dallas’ records and her recovery”, said Mr Friday. “Her doctors are confident of her recovery and are considering she may be able to get back on the water as soon as April next year.”

The news lifted Dallas’ spirits tremendously. Already the energetic young lady has set her mind on competing in the first Pro Tour event in Georgia and the Masters Championships in 2007. She is now undergoing physiotherapy twice a week to strengthen her quadriceps and accelerate the healing of her femur.

Said Mr Friday before they left: “We are very grateful to all the CGH staff for what they have done for us. We also like to thank the Singapore Sports Council and HSBC (the competition’s main organiser and sponsor)… it was certainly their behind-the-scenes efforts that were instrumental in assuring Dallas received the best care and accommodation in Singapore… they chose the best – Changi General Hospital!”

Dallas’ remarkable recovery was possible through a team effort: the anaesthetists,
intensive care physicians, radiologists, physiotherapists, nursing and support from business development. Well done CGH. Remember that collaboration can produce better results than individual effort.
- Prof Fock Kwong Ming, CMB, who supervised Dallas’ treatment in ICU.