Megyn Kelly broke down on the air after sharing the major accident her son Thatcher was involved in that sent him to the ICU with internal bleeding from lacerations to his spleen.
During the Sirius XM “The Megyn Kelly Show” podcast Monday, Kelly opened up the show talking about how people noticed she was gone Thursday and Friday the prior week, before she shared that “something happened” to her “little guy,” Thatcher, her 8-year-old son while the family were skiing in Montana. It starts at the 1:22 minute mark.
“Thank God he’s okay, so let me start with the lead,” Kelly shared, noting that Thatcher is a good skier and was on an advanced run when the accident happened. “And did the run just fine. … But was inspired by this cave-like structure that was on the run to check it out.”
The former Fox News host said her son was with his instructor at a place people like to “hike up to … and take a little break.” The host shared that it was at the end of the day, her son was tired and “apparently didn’t have the strength to make the climb.”
“And he fell,” Kelly shared, as she explained getting a call from her husband Doug, that Thatcher needed to go to the hospital. “And I get in the ambulance. He seems okay. He’s speaking he says he fell ten feet and landed on some rocks while hiking up this part of the mountain. But he’s got an IV in him.”
She said at that point she wondered what was going on and the emergency crew said it was “protocol” when there was an internal injury. Kelly said she questioned the person further, and they explained that given the fact that he fell on rocks and the “pain he’d been complaining of,” it was warranted.
“So we get to the hospital and they say they need to run some tests,” the host shared about how an ultrasound on belly was first done and came up with nothing. Then she said the hospital did a CT scan …” and lo and behold there was internal bleeding.”
“And he had lacerated, had to two severe lacerations to his spleen and a third the size of which they weren’t able to determine, she added. “So, three tears of his spleen…and he was bleeding internally and they said you need to go to a more serious hospital right now.”
She said they got back in the ambulance, got to the other hospital and they “whisk him into the ICU” and she said at that point she wondered what the heck was going on. Kelly said a very nice nurse finally sat her down and explained the tears to the spleen were “very severe” and that there was a good chance he would loose his spleen. The host said the surgeon came in and said he hoped Thatcher wouldn’t “lose his spleen” but that if the “bleeding continued” they were going to take it.
At that point, Kelly and Doug reached out to their doctors back home to get some guidance on what to do, admitting she didn’t know what to do. Her doctor said without question they were advised “don’t lose the spleen” and told other options they could do instead.
The hospital said that it was a level 3 trauma center, not a level 1 trauma center and at one point, they were getting suggestions to order a med-evac to transport him to a level one trauma center with a pediatric specialist or at least an “interventional radiologist” which she said was needed to “repair the spleen.”
We had a scare w/our youngest over spring break (he’s ok, thank God). But one is reminded of what matters in those moments, and it’s not partisan B.S. https://t.co/XWZcpysOyf
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) March 28, 2022
“Our surgeon was saying ‘don’t move him … he needs to be in the ICU, he needs to be in the hospital bed,'” Kelly shared. “‘And he is not allowed to even get up and go to the bathroom. He can not leave the bed.’ Because the bleeding’s not stopping. We don’t want him to lose the spleen. If there’s anyway of repairing it we’d like to do that. But it’s not safe to move him. We’re looking into the med-evac flights.”
They decided not to move him and the trauma center found an interventional radiologist, who was not a pediatric specialist, but if things “went south” that person would be there. After a few more scary moments, but things leveled off and he got better. After six days, the former NBC host said her son got to leave that hospital and go home.
It was then that Kelly broke down during her show and got emotional about the traumatic experience their whole family had gone through.
“You know, the amount of stress and the love that you have for your children,” Kelly said through teary eyes. “And the frigility of these little bodies who totally depend on you. And the enormous responsibility you have for their well being you know for making huge decisions. And the importance of family and friends right, and good colleagues.”
She grabbed a tissue and blotted her eyes and explained that it left her thinking about the saying a guest once mentioned to her — that the only thing that matters in life is “within 15 feet of you” — and she said she found that to be true as she thanked her audience for the “connection” she said was “valuable” to her as well.
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