From life support to full recovery: Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center patient’s story highlights power of trauma care

On National Trauma Survivors Day, Kallen LeBlanc celebrates and reunites with her care team for the first time since her near-fatal crash.

LAFAYETTE, La. May 21, 2025 – Wednesday, May 21 marks National Trauma Survivors Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the strength and resilience of individuals who have survived life-threatening injuries—and the healthcare professionals who help them recover.

This year, Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center (OLGMC) is spotlighting one remarkable survivor whose journey embodies courage, faith and the expert trauma care that helped her survive.

On July 8, 2023, Kallen LeBlanc, then 17, was critically injured in a car accident just minutes from her destination. She was airlifted to OLGMC with fractured ribs, a bruised lung, multiple broken bones and dangerously low oxygen levels. Her condition declined rapidly, eventually requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment—a specialized form of life support used when the heart and lungs are too weak to function on their own—at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. She returned to OLGMC weeks later to continue her recovery.

“I don’t remember much from the early days after my accident, but I’ll never forget the care and love I felt from my family and my medical team,” LeBlanc said. “Coming back to see the numerous caregivers who got me through the scariest time in my life and to thank them was emotional for me. They didn’t just help save my life—they gave me the strength to keep going when I came home.”

Recently, Kallen returned to OLGMC for a surprise reunion with several members of her care team.

“What makes trauma care so unique is how fast everything happens—and how long the road to healing can be,” said Dr. Willard Mosier, trauma surgeon, OLGMC. “Survivors like Kallen remind us why this work matters. It’s about getting patients through the worst day of their life and then walking with them through the rest of it.”

National Trauma Survivors Day serves as a reminder that survival is just the first step. At OLGMC, patients have access to an integrated team of trauma surgeons, critical care specialists, nurses, therapists and rehabilitation experts—all committed to helping patients recover.

“The care I received changed my life in more ways than one,” Kallen said. “I just finished my first year of college as a nursing major at UL because of the incredible ICU nurses who took care of me. I want to be that kind of person for someone else one day.”

National Trauma Survivors Day also offers an opportunity to reflect on the need for specialized trauma services. OLGMC, the only Level II Trauma Center in Southwest Louisiana, cared for 3,834 trauma patients in 2024 and has treated more than 1,300 trauma patients so far in 2025.

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ABOUT OCHSNER LAFAYETTE GENERAL  
Ochsner Lafayette General has more than 5,500 employees and serves 220,000 patients per year. The organization includes Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center (Ochsner LGMC); Ochsner Lafayette General Orthopedic Hospital; Ochsner Lafayette General Surgical Hospital; Ochsner St. Martin Hospital; Ochsner University Hospital & Clinics (Ochsner UHC); Ochsner Acadia General Hospital; Ochsner Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital; Ochsner American Legion Hospital; and several clinics, urgent cares and professional centers. Ochsner LGMC is the only Level II Trauma Center in Southwest Louisiana. Both Ochsner LGMC and Ochsner UHC are major teaching hospitals, providing graduate medical education across many disciplines. To learn more, visit Ochsner.org/Lafayette.