PLEASANTON – The scars run deep along Scott Mussey’s arm.
“It’s mostly functional. I still don’t have any nerve feeling in my index finger or my thumb,” Mussey said, gesturing to his hand.
All things considered, it’s a small price to pay after a farming accident on April 14th, 2021 nearly took Mussey away from his family.
“I was almost done working on my little project and I heard a loud noise and it was just like a big pop,” Mussey said.
His arm was severed down to the bone and Mussey was bleeding heavily.
His medical team later said he lost nearly half of his body’s blood while his wife Melissa applied pressure to the wound.
It’s a historic day for two reasons; 1) Scott Mussey was able to donate blood for the first time after nearly dying as the result of a farming accident.
— Leigh Waldman (@LeighWaldman) May 1, 2022
2) @connectforlife unveiled their new Alyx machine.
I’ll have the whole story tonight on @ksatnews #NightBeat pic.twitter.com/mK7QdRd5bO
“I had conversations with him. I had conversations with the 911 operator. I had conversations with God,” Melissa Mussey said.
Mussey was flown to University Medical Center by San Antonio AirLife.
He was given two transfusions of whole blood on the way, thanks to the Brothers In Arms program.
“I can 100% say without that blood, his outcome would have been different. It would have been obviously a lot more detrimental,” Rolando Longoria, the clinical-based lead for AirLife 4, said.
Mussey’s surgeon told him as a safety protocol, he had to wait before he could donate blood.
“It’s been one year since my accident and so I’m ready to roll up my sleeve today,” Mussey said.
Mussey’s donation was also special because it was on the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center’s brand new Alyx Machine.
“It’s kind of our machine that collects the door donations that can collect plasma and red blood cells. It has a smaller needle,” Roger Ruiz, South Texas Blood & Tissue Center’s senior corporate communications specialist said.
The STBTC has eight of these machines, which allows them to collect more blood cells and plasma needed.
These machines can help a greater number of patients, giving others like Mussey a second chance.
“There’s things that he would be missing and we’re so grateful that he’s not going to have to miss anything,” Melissa said.
Ruiz said they’ll have the Alyx machines on four of their mobile donation sites next month. They’re able to perform a plasma-only collection, which will add another option to their mobile procedures.