GW Hospital hosts 13th annual Trauma Survivors Day

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, George Washington University Hospital hosted its 13th annual Trauma Survivors Day program.

"This day of the year is the best day of my professional year. I never miss it," said Dr. Anton Sidawy, the Chair of Surgery at George Washington University Hospital, talking to a packed room on GW’s campus as the hospital.

The event honors those who have endured so much. Six survivors were honored and each got a chance to share their gratitude and appreciation to the first responders, doctors, nurses, therapists and hospital staff who helped them survive.

"Today was really about them, it wasn’t about me. But we need more people like that. We need people like that in every hospital in America. We need first responders that get there in five minutes. Those first responders got there like superheroes. They wasn’t supposed to get there that fast. It was like they were around the corner or something," said Brandon Davis.

Davis was shot on Sept. 9, 2023.  He was in town from Pennsylvania to see if he might potentially be a match for a friend who needed a kidney. Police say he was shot in the stomach.

He was taken to GW Hospital, where he went into a coma.  He would end up spending six months in the hospital.

"Brandon had a really critical injury," said his Doctor Stephanie Streit.

Streit says she was amazed by Davis’s humility and how gracious he was. A sign of his humility: they’ve known each other for a year but she just found out why he was in D.C. in the first place.

"My first reaction was to be gobsmacked. But my second reaction was, of course he was doing that. Because that’s exactly who Brandon is. He’s always thinking about other people," Dr. Streit said.

Streit and Davis spoke for a while today. She told Fox 5 the job is difficult, but days like this, patients like the six featured Wednesday are a reminder of the good she and her colleagues do.

"To bear witness to the worst day of someone else’s life over and over and over again can really take a toll on us. So to get to see them thriving after everything they’ve been through, it truly keeps on going. It keeps us showing up to work," Streit said.

First responders from various agencies across the district and DMV were at today’s event.

GW Hospital officials said their work is ongoing to improve and help save lives like the six who were saved today.

For one patient, the hospital consulted with Walter Reed Medical Center experts, for a few of the patients, the district’s new field blood transfusion program is credited with helping save their life.

Brandon Davis says he’s grateful to make it to this moment.

"Seeing them was a long-awaited moment, because all I could think about was how much I wanted to say thank you, and show my appreciation," Davis said.