Far from Home: One Traveler’s Trip to a Life-Saving Surgery

In September 2024, 33-year-old Kelsey O’Connor set out with her best friend on a weeklong adventure to Belize. What should have been a dream getaway became a nightmare when a car accident forced Kelsey and her friend off the road and into emergency care in a foreign country, kicking off a long road to recovery that led her from Belize to Texas to back home in Kansas City at Saint Luke’s. 

“I’ve always been a traveler,” Kelsey says. “I love getting out of my box and experiencing new cultures. My friend and I had been in Belize for a couple of days and were looking forward to seeing a new part of the country, but life had other plans.”  

The two were exploring inland when their car was struck head-on by another vehicle that had lost control. The impact sent them into a ditch on a remote highway, and they both sustained serious injuries. Locals helped stop traffic and call an ambulance, which took them to a small regional hospital. With limited resources and no surgical team, the hospital wasn’t equipped to deliver the care Kelsey and her friend required, and the two advocated to be transferred to a bigger hospital in Belize City. 

It took them over an hour to arrive in Belize City, where Kelsey was rushed into abdominal surgery. Doctors believed she had an injury to her pancreas and performed an exploratory surgery to identify the issue. By that time, she had connected with family back home and arranged for an air ambulance to bring Kelsey and her friend back to the United States. 

The air ambulance could only take them as far as San Antonio, Texas, but that was enough for them to breathe a short sigh of relief. The two were hospitalized there for several more weeks as doctors worked to uncover the extent of their injuries. Kelsey had a broken clavicle and compressed vertebrae that required back surgery. She also underwent multiple abdominal procedures, including a stent placement in her pancreas before doctors concluded that the two sides of her pancreas were not communicating.

“They tried several different things, but nothing was working,” Kelsey says. “I was pretty exhausted by that point, but you have to stay positive and keep fighting.”  

As Kelsey’s condition stabilized and she was cleared to travel home, one of her doctors referred her to Matthew B. Wilkinson, MD, at Saint Luke’s Hospital Abdominal Transplant & Multi-Specialty Clinic. The clinic includes some of the most experienced surgeons in the Kansas City region and provides a full range of services for gastrointestinal conditions, abdominal surgery, and abdominal transplants. 

“It was a small-world moment,” Kelsey says. “One of my gastrointestinal doctors said he had a colleague at Saint Luke’s who might be equipped to treat an injury like mine. That gave me hope.” 

Dr. Wilkinson met with Kelsey and committed to identifying the root cause of her continued abdominal issues. He and his team discovered a small, 1-centimeter cut in her pancreas that was preventing the two sides from communicating and causing fluid buildup around the organ. Dr. Wilkinson walked her through several options and recommended a hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery to connect part of her pancreas to her intestine, giving her pancreatic fluid a place to properly drain. 

“Kelsey’s case stood out to me because pancreas surgery is something we’re taught during surgical training, but don't often see in practice,” Dr. Wilkinson says.  “We try to avoid it whenever possible, especially in younger patients. Our goal here was to preserve as much of Kelsey’s pancreas as possible."

Kelsey agreed and underwent the surgery on Dec. 5, 2024. 

“I call Dr. Wilkinson my knight in shining armor,” Kelsey says.  “He stepped up and fought for me at a time when I wasn’t getting clear answers from anyone.”

“Comments like that are always deeply humbling,” Dr. Wilkinson says. “I believe we are all endowed with unique gifts, and our mission is to use those abilities to better the world. Here, I was able to use my gift to help Kelsey.”

She spent another week at Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City to recover and monitor for any complications. Now months after discharge and follow-up appointments, Kelsey is back to her normal life that once seemed so far away. Kelsey’s friend also made a full recovery, and the two are already planning their next adventure—even if it’s closer to home. Despite everything she went through, Kelsey has found moments to be grateful for the experience and her own courage. 

“I’ve come to realize just how many people are in my corner,” Kelsey says. “Friends, family, nurses, surgeons, random strangers on the side of the road—it’s humbling to know you always have people looking out for you.” 

Saint Luke’s Hospital Abdominal Transplant & Multi-Specialty Clinic surgeons have deep experience treating a wide range of common, complex, and rare conditions of the pancreas, liver, bile duct, and gallbladder. Learn more about the clinic and its board-certified surgeons here.