University Hospital Foundation Connecting Your Generosity Summer 2015 | Page 2

Elie Yazbek

As the only Level One
Trauma Centre in
Northern Alberta, the
University of Alberta
Hospital provides
life-saving care to
more major trauma
patients than any other
hospital in Canada.

MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY MINUTE
Elie, age 20, remembers lying on the highway after the
car accident. It was the middle of a very cold night.
He was shivering. He couldn’t feel his toes. And there
was a lot of blood.

The Yazbek Family
PAGE 2

stop the bleeding and save Elie’s
life. Over the next six weeks, Elie
went through five more surgeries,
and started intense rehabilitation.
Today, less than a year after the
accident, Elie is doing great.
He’s looking forward to starting
classes at MacEwan University
this September.

“Everything changed so quickly.
One minute I’m on my way home.
The next, I’m bleeding to death on
the highway.”

Through your support, you
are a partner in that care.

Elie and his friend had been driving
home. Both were very tired, and
Elie’s friend fell asleep at the wheel.
Although Elie was wearing a seatbelt,
the force of the crash was so strong
that he was thrown through the
windshield. He broke his back,
shattered both legs and had a
near-fatal wound to his stomach.

Elie’s story could have turned out
very differently. Your generosity
ensures patients across northern
Alberta, northeastern BC,
Saskatchewan and the northern
Territories have access to the very
best care, when they need it the most.

It took 12 hours of emergency
surgery at the University of
Alberta Hospital for surgeons to

Connecting Your Generosity