Our friend & family member, Morten Pedersen, was involved in a serious road bike crash on Saturday, October 17 near Cascade Springs, UT while descending part of the Alpine Loop, a favorite & familiar ride of his. After hitting unexpected gravel, Morten’s bike was laid down & he collided at high speed with a large retaining boulder on the side of the road, his left kidney bearing the brunt of the impact. While his injuries were otherwise limited to superficial contusions, road rash, & a minor facial fracture, Morten’s left kidney literally exploded, leading to immediate & massive internal bleeding.
After being taken by ambulance to Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Morten was in extremely critical condition as a result of the internal blood loss. Despite receiving many transfusions in the ER, his blood pressure continued to drop dangerously low. The bleeding had to be stopped immediately, achieved by embolizing or blocking off the renal artery.
The thought was that he might need to have the kidney & all of the blood collected in his abdomen removed. But it could also simply be reabsorbed by his body over time, which was the least invasive & Morten and Beth’s preferred option. Despite a lot of abdominal discomfort, pain, & the inability to eat or drink, Morten stabilized over his first week in ICU & was transferred to a regular post-surgical bed.
Early Sunday, October 25, the pain & pressure in his abdomen increased rather suddenly along with other concerning symptoms. Repeat imaging of his belly showed that though the left kidney was thought to be obliterated, pieces of it were still trying to work, which was causing issues. The decision was made to move forward with the surgery to remove the kidney & get rid of the hematoma to relieve some of the pressure that was also slowing down his ability to return to eating & drinking – a big part of him being able to get back home.
Surgery seemed to have gone well initially. By post-op day two, though, it became apparent that something was very wrong. Both his abdominal pain & pressure were up again dramatically, and he was unable to tolerate even limited amounts of liquids by mouth. Another round of imaging showed that loss of blood flow to the vast majority of his GI tract had occurred during the kidney surgery.
Emergency surgery was required to take out all of the dead tissue & to establish a natural vascular graft to restore blood flow to what was left of his intestine & liver. This was a catastrophic complication requiring three further surgeries, return to the ICU, very close monitoring and round-the-clock care. Morten remained intubated for a week on a ventilator to help his body rest & recover from this devastating turn of events. Ultimately, his entire small intestine, his gallbladder, and most of his large intestine (colon) had to be removed. He has since regained healthy function of his solitary kidney, and his damaged liver is also recovering. Morten is now awake, breathing independently, and finally able to communicate again.
As much of his digestive tract is now literally missing between its short remaining ends, Morten will need a multi-visceral transplant, a procedure that can only be performed at a few specialist centers throughout the U.S. Until then, his only means of consuming nutrition is through a vein that bypasses his GI system. He also relies on nine external drains in his abdomen to provide an outlet for his intestinal fluids. His condition remains tenuous and there are still many things that could easily change.
Morten, Beth and their families are doing the best they can to navigate this unthinkable and life-changing situation. After several days of careful research, deliberation and consulting with various transplant centers, the decision has been made to transfer Morten by Medevac to Indianapolis as soon as possible to continue his treatment and recovery under the supervision of the director of intestine transplant at Indiana University Health and start paving the way for his future transplant. The duration of Morten and Beth’s relocation is unknown, but will last several months at least.
Morten’s trauma team of surgeons, PAs, PTs, NPs, intensivists, vascular specialists, nurses, dieticians, and many more reiterate that Morten’s recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint. There will be ups and downs in his progress for a long time to come, and the future is still very uncertain. But those who know Morten the cyclist know that he lives and breathes for the very hardest, steepest climbs. The climbs that would intimidate and demotivate most people. This will undoubtedly be the hardest climb of his life, but if anyone can do it, Morten can!
And so we are asking for your help to raise money for Morten & Beth to assist them with covering the ongoing medical expenses and cost of living. All donations are truly appreciated as well as the continued love and support by their community of family and friends.
After being taken by ambulance to Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Morten was in extremely critical condition as a result of the internal blood loss. Despite receiving many transfusions in the ER, his blood pressure continued to drop dangerously low. The bleeding had to be stopped immediately, achieved by embolizing or blocking off the renal artery.
The thought was that he might need to have the kidney & all of the blood collected in his abdomen removed. But it could also simply be reabsorbed by his body over time, which was the least invasive & Morten and Beth’s preferred option. Despite a lot of abdominal discomfort, pain, & the inability to eat or drink, Morten stabilized over his first week in ICU & was transferred to a regular post-surgical bed.
Early Sunday, October 25, the pain & pressure in his abdomen increased rather suddenly along with other concerning symptoms. Repeat imaging of his belly showed that though the left kidney was thought to be obliterated, pieces of it were still trying to work, which was causing issues. The decision was made to move forward with the surgery to remove the kidney & get rid of the hematoma to relieve some of the pressure that was also slowing down his ability to return to eating & drinking – a big part of him being able to get back home.
Surgery seemed to have gone well initially. By post-op day two, though, it became apparent that something was very wrong. Both his abdominal pain & pressure were up again dramatically, and he was unable to tolerate even limited amounts of liquids by mouth. Another round of imaging showed that loss of blood flow to the vast majority of his GI tract had occurred during the kidney surgery.
Emergency surgery was required to take out all of the dead tissue & to establish a natural vascular graft to restore blood flow to what was left of his intestine & liver. This was a catastrophic complication requiring three further surgeries, return to the ICU, very close monitoring and round-the-clock care. Morten remained intubated for a week on a ventilator to help his body rest & recover from this devastating turn of events. Ultimately, his entire small intestine, his gallbladder, and most of his large intestine (colon) had to be removed. He has since regained healthy function of his solitary kidney, and his damaged liver is also recovering. Morten is now awake, breathing independently, and finally able to communicate again.
As much of his digestive tract is now literally missing between its short remaining ends, Morten will need a multi-visceral transplant, a procedure that can only be performed at a few specialist centers throughout the U.S. Until then, his only means of consuming nutrition is through a vein that bypasses his GI system. He also relies on nine external drains in his abdomen to provide an outlet for his intestinal fluids. His condition remains tenuous and there are still many things that could easily change.
Morten, Beth and their families are doing the best they can to navigate this unthinkable and life-changing situation. After several days of careful research, deliberation and consulting with various transplant centers, the decision has been made to transfer Morten by Medevac to Indianapolis as soon as possible to continue his treatment and recovery under the supervision of the director of intestine transplant at Indiana University Health and start paving the way for his future transplant. The duration of Morten and Beth’s relocation is unknown, but will last several months at least.
Morten’s trauma team of surgeons, PAs, PTs, NPs, intensivists, vascular specialists, nurses, dieticians, and many more reiterate that Morten’s recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint. There will be ups and downs in his progress for a long time to come, and the future is still very uncertain. But those who know Morten the cyclist know that he lives and breathes for the very hardest, steepest climbs. The climbs that would intimidate and demotivate most people. This will undoubtedly be the hardest climb of his life, but if anyone can do it, Morten can!
And so we are asking for your help to raise money for Morten & Beth to assist them with covering the ongoing medical expenses and cost of living. All donations are truly appreciated as well as the continued love and support by their community of family and friends.
Organizer and beneficiary
Beth Hoenisch Pedersen
Beneficiary