When Trust Becomes Treatment

By Tara McCormick

For every mother, there is one nightmare more terrifying than all the rest; the moment your child is in danger, and you’re powerless to stop it.

For Brittany Parker, that nightmare became her reality in an instant.

One ordinary morning preparing for work turned into a scene she will never forget as her five-year-old son, EJ, stood before her with blood pouring from his arm, glass shattered at his feet, and the horrifying realization setting in that she might lose him, or at least a part of him, before her eyes.

Just minutes earlier, EJ Locklear had been playing with his 12-year-old sister, Alayla. Their game led them toward an old glass door inside the house.

Trying to catch his sister who was already on the other side, EJ pushed on the glass instead of the doorframe. With force, his small arm went straight through the panel, slicing deeply into both the upper and lower arm.

Brittany heard her daughter crying first, “Mama, it’s EJ!” before walking into a scene she could hardly comprehend: her son drenched in blood.

“I just froze,” Brittany recalled. “I was so scared. I didn’t even think. I just grabbed a towel, wrapped his arm, and ran. I even left the house without my shoes.”

With young Alayla keeping pressure on EJ’s wound in the back seat, Brittany drove straight to McLeod Health Dillon, praying silently the entire way.

By the time they arrived, blood was already soaking through the towel. Brittany, in shock, remembered only pleading, “Please help him,” as she rushed him inside.

Hearing her pleas, McLeod Dillon Emergency Department Physician Dr. Amid Hamidi stepped in.

After assessing EJ’s injuries, he gave Brittany news no mother ever wants to hear: waiting for a surgeon to arrive from Florence might cost EJ his arm. The blood loss was too extensive; the lacerations were too deep.

“He told me that if we waited, EJ might have to have his arm amputated,” Brittany said. “I told him to do whatever he needed to do. I trusted him completely. I didn’t want my baby to lose his arm.” 

In a race against time, and with EJ’s blood loss increasing by the minute, Dr. Hamidi prepared to perform the necessary repair. 

“This was a severe wound, and the case required me to call in an extra provider to cover the rest of the ER while I focused on closing up his arm,” Dr. Hamidi recalled. “It was all hands on deck, and it took 83 minutes to close the wound. This was a real surgery.” 

For Brittany, those 83 minutes felt like a lifetime. “I held him the entire time. I don’t think I stopped crying,” she said. 

But through everything, it was Dr. Hamidi who anchored Brittany’s hope. "He told me he would treat EJ like he was his own son. And I believed him. I put all my trust and faith in him,” she recalled. 

Around her, a team of seven nurses worked seamlessly to stabilize EJ and assist Dr. Hamidi. 

Once EJ’s arm was successfully repaired, a nurse brought him a small teddy bear with a red bow. This is now one of EJ’s most treasured possessions. 

During the next several weeks, Brittany brought EJ back to McLeod Health Dillon every two days for wound checks. 

For nearly a month, Brittany balanced work and childcare, and helped her daughter, Alila, navigate the guilt she felt from the accident. 

Meanwhile, EJ formed an undeniable connection with the physician who saved his arm. 

“He didn’t want anyone else to touch his arm,” Brittany said. “Only Dr. Hamidi.” 

EJ’s grandmother even made custom Spiderman arm sleeves to cover the healing scars, which he wore faithfully until he was ready to look at his arm again. 

Today, EJ has full use of his arm. No pain. No limitations. Just a scar, a brave story and a childlike resilience that continues to amaze his mother. “It’s like it never happened,” Brittany recalls. 

EJ still sleeps with the teddy bear given to him by the nurses, and each time the family drives past McLeod Health Dillon, he asks if they can stop inside to visit his friend, Dr. Hamidi. 

“EJ would run down the hall to find him during our check-ups,” Brittany said. “He would always give him the biggest hug every time.” 

When reflecting on the experience, Brittany had this to say: “I want to tell every single person who helped us thank you from the bottom of my heart. They saved my son, and they were there for me every step of the way. As for Dr. Hamidi, God put him there that night for a reason, and we are so very thankful.”