Multiple surgeries, a caring team, and a boy’s will to heal

Cody Leavens is a Miracle Kid

Days before Thanksgiving, Sabrina Ann Leavens received bad news that rapidly turned worse.

Sabrina was at work at a day care center in Bath, NY, when she got a phone call from the after-school program that her 11-year-old son, Cody, attended. She was informed that Cody might have broken his wrist when he fell from a low branch of a tree. Sabrina and her seven-year-old daughter, Alyssa, rushed to Cody’s side.

An ambulance was already at the scene. Cody was lying on the ground gasping for breath. Cody said his stomach hurt, too, but he was still coherent enough to tell his mom about the 90 he got at school that day. He was airlifted to Golisano Children’s Hospital (GCH) while Sabrina and her daughter drove there.

Within the next few days, Sabrina was informed that a tree had actually fallen on Cody while he was outside with friends.

The night of the accident, Yulia Vabishchevich, MD, was working in the Pediatric Emergency Department. She received a phone call from the flight crew, letting her know that they were about ten minutes away from the hospital with a child who appeared to have broken his arm but —more concerningly—had low blood pressure. Vabishchevich knew that it would be very unusual for a child to have low blood pressure from a broken arm alone, and immediately suspected other injuries. She prepared her team for the worst-case scenario.

Vabishchevich and her team rapidly performed a physical exam and placed multiple intravenous lines to help Cody receive fluids and blood transfusions. Although the extent of Cody’s injuries was not yet known, the pediatric emergency room caregivers acted quickly to stabilize his heart rate and blood pressure to give him the best chance for surviving.

Cody’s arm was obviously injured, but his physical exam was also showing signs of very serious abdominal injuries. Once his blood pressure was stable, he received a CT scan which revealed multiple injured organs, including the liver and kidney, pancreas, and intestines. Sabrina and Alyssa arrived just as Cody was being pushed into surgery. Marjorie Arca, surgeon-in-chief at GCH, filled Sabrina in on the extent of his injuries. Although Arca was just finishing her shift, the surgery was so critical and intricate that she stayed around to work as a team with incoming surgeon David Darcy, MD.

In the operating room (OR), Cody was found to have full transection (severing) of his stomach in addition to the injuries already seen on the CT scan. “Our first priority was to stop the internal bleeding in his stomach,” said Darcy, “and fix anything that was life-threatening before we could address the other organs.” Once Cody was stabilized, Arca left the OR at one point to let Sabrina know what was found. Over the next few days, Cody remained sedated in GCH’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) while he had four other surgeries to fix all the injured organs.

A series of intricate surgeries

Cody had his stomach, intestines, and liver laceration repaired, and his spleen and 80 percent of his pancreas were removed. The rest of the surgeries were to repair additional damage to his intestines. “The stomach is a very resilient organ,” said Darcy, “but the pancreas is not. Luckily the wound did not involve the head of the pancreas, the most important part, and Cody can live a full life with the part that remains.”

“Cody’s injuries were very dramatic,” said Arca. “In fact, in my 25 years as a pediatric surgeon I had never seen a stomach injury that Cody had.” Sabrina received photos of the tree that had fallen on Cody and shared them with the doctors. Arca hypothesized that the impact of the tree trunk falling on Cody’s abdomen caused the severe injuries.

In addition to his internal injuries, his forearm fracture had to be treated. Drs. Arca and Darcy engaged Andrew Dubina, MD, pediatric orthopedic surgeon, to come to the OR during the initial surgery. Dubina set the arm in a loose cast because swelling is anticipated after a serious surgery like Cody’s.

Cody required a change to a splint that allowed room for more swelling, but when that subsided, he was back to a cast for five weeks. “Cody’s forearm injury was a common one and usually easy to treat,” said Dubina. “But we had to anticipate swelling in his case, watch the arm closely, and make appropriate adjustments. It will take a little time, but as Cody grows, his arm will function great, and eventually you won’t even notice that it was even broken.”

Cody was sedated and intubated in the PICU for several days and was hospitalized for more than three weeks. During that time, Sabrina and her daughter stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. “The people at the Ronald McDonald House are amazing,” said Sabrina. “We were able to eat and sleep there so we could spend all our time with Cody instead of traveling back and forth to Bath. They also have a playroom so Alyssa could have a little down time there.”

Next step: Motivation and healing

Cody’s surgeries were successful, but healing is always an important part in the process. “Our mission is to care for our patients and get them home safely,” said Arca. “In addition to surgeons, Cody’s team included the pediatric emergency department team, pediatric OR and hospital nursing team, pediatric anesthesiology and pain team, pediatric intensive care team, pediatric psychiatry, child life professionals, physical and occupational therapists, and social workers. We are here to support Cody, his family, and all who turn to us for care.”

It was important that Cody work hard toward recovery so he could leave the hospital safely. At first, he seemed to have little motivation and would just lie in bed. “We worked with his mom to figure out what motivated Cody to do chores and schoolwork so we could meet him where he is,” said Arca. Conversations with Sabrina found that a rewards system worked best with Cody.

Dr. Arca, Sabrina, and child life specialists put their heads together and found a goal that Cody embraced. He wanted to be home for Christmas so that Santa didn’t have to go looking for him! Inspired by that goal, Cody worked with physical therapists, child life specialists, doctors, and nurses to get better. In particular, he got motivated to get out of bed to look out the window and see “Good Night Lights,” an annual event led by the Rochester Police Department. First responders line up outside of the hospital and turn on their flashing lights to wish kids and families staying in the hospital a goodnight during the holiday season.

Cody was also motivated to draw and color pictures for his family and caregivers and enjoyed visits from friends, family, and teachers. He even had social visits with children who had been at GCH for a while and showed others his artwork. These experiences led Cody on his way to recovery, and he eventually made it home in time for Santa.

A true Christmas miracle

Today, Cody is thriving. He will be on medication for the rest of his life, but he is an active young boy again. He is able to eat regular food with the help of medicine for digestion and is gaining weight. Sabrina is thrilled that Cody is back in school at Greater Southern Tier BOCES Phoenix Academy and will graduate soon from fifth grade.

“As parents, sometimes we think our biggest problem is how to get our kids to do their homework,” said Darcy. “Then something like this happens, and things can go south fast. Cody is really a strong kid with a great family. The last time I saw Cody in follow-up clinic, he brought his new robot and displayed his progress with the therapy on his left wrist. He lit up the room with his enthusiasm and smile.”

“There are no words to express how I feel about everyone at Golisano Children’s Hospital,” said Sabrina. “While Cody was in the hospital, they kept me updated every step of the way, and they involved me in his care. As a mom, your first priority is to protect your child, and things happen that you can’t control. We are lucky to have this great hospital in our region. They gave me back my boy! He is full of smiles and energy again. I am incredibly grateful!”

—Story by Marianne Benjamin, May 2025