Local Surgeon Rescues Kenyan Gored by Elephant
By Wood Simpson
[as published in Chevy Chaser Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 9 (September, 2000), Lexington, Ky.]
For Kenyan rancher Peter Sylvestri, it was a combination of bad news and good news. Not long ago, he was attempted to capture a young bull elephant when the animal suddently turned on him and severly gored him in the back of both legs. But the good news soon arrived in the form of Dr. Mary Lloyd Ireland, a Lexington sports medicine orthopedist, who just happened to be vacationing at a nearby game preserve.
It was early afternoon on Saturday, July 15. We had just flown in to a dirt landing strip at a remote game preserve in central Kenya called Ol Malo and were greeted by the ranch owner, Colin Francombe. As we were riding through the gate to the ranch, I noticed about 30 or so women and children of the Samburu tribe gathered around the entrance.
I asked Colin what was going on, and he told me that the drought in Kenya -- an African country about the size of Texas -- had gotten so bad that people were literally starving and that the people milling around the gate were simply waiting to be fed. Being ever the helpful and generous husband that I am, I immediately volunteered my wife's medical services in the event they were needed.
"What kind of doctor is your wife?" Colin asked.
"Well, she's actually an orthopedic surgeon," I said. "She specializes in sports medicine, but I'm sure she would be happy to help any of the women and children out there, and we have some medical supplies with us."
"Thanks very much," he said. "I'll keep that in mind."
A couple of hours later when George Norment, a friend and member of our safari group who lives on Queensway Drive, rushed into my room, his eyes as wide as silver dollars. "You won't believe what's happened!" he exclaimed. "Some guy has been gored by an elephant and Lloyd is getting on a helicopter to go help him."
"Bloody hell!" I yelled. "I'd better get up there right away and go with her." But at that very instant the helicopter whizzed over the roof, and as my eyes followed it over the distant horizon, a flood of questions ran through my mind. Who was hurt? How badly? What could she possibly do? And, since an appalling percentage of the natives have AIDS, would she herself be safe in dealing with such an emergency?
Ireland returned about six hours later with answers to all my questions. Sylvestri, the owner of the ranch, had gone into shock by the time she arrived and was unable to move. He had multiple, very deep lacerations in both legs and was bleeding profusely. She suspected he had also suffered a broken back and serious internal injuries because the elephant had crashed into the man from the rear and gored him repeatedly. To make matters worse, we were several hours from the nearest medical facility in Nairobi. Catastrophic infection, even death, were distinct possibilities.
"I've seen a lot of injuries in my time," she said, "but we don't get many elephant goring victims in Kentucky." Using the medical supplies she had brought with her, she stopped the bleeding and started an IV drip with a solution to bring the injured man out of his coma. 
She then irrigated and cleaned the rancher's wounds, almost certainly preventing a serious infection problem, bound them up with steri-strips and then supervised several workers who transported the man in a makeshift litter to the waiting helicopter.
"I'll tell you what really made my day," she said later. "Getting that IV in on the first stick. Haven't done one of them in a while."
At last report, Sylvestri had survived the injuries and was recuperating in a Nairobi hospital. And Ireland, who is the owner and medical director of Kentucky Sports Medicine, has performed nearly 5,000 surgeries during her 14-year career in Lexington and is the team physician for numerous high schools and colleges. And speaking as her husband, if I may be permitted a personal comment about this brave and beautiful woman, "Way to go, Doc!"
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