Nearly four years since he first entered the doors of NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx (NCB) in Norwood, patient Rohmearo McFarlane is amazed at how far he has come, both medically and personally. Back in July 2021, he was recovering from a traumatic injury when he slipped in the bathroom and was rushed to North Central Bronx Hospital. As a token of his appreciation of key members of his medical team, McFarlane, an artist, has since painted portraits of them.

 

NYC Health + Hospitals (NYC H+H) officials said McFarlane was initially injured in November 2020, back in his home country of Jamaica. They said that at the time, he was en route to paint a mural in another part of town in Kingston, Jamaica when he was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight.

 

They said he sustained gunshot wounds to his face, abdomen, arms, and back, with shrapnel fragments hitting his eye, wrist, elbow, and other areas. They said he spent 21 days in the hospital receiving emergency surgery and inpatient care. As he was right-side dominant, the injuries, in addition to his impaired vision through his eye injury, left him unable to use his right arm according to NYC H+H officials and, thus, unable to resume his career as a painter.

When he was released, they said he was without full use of one of his arms, had blurred vision, and had to wear a colostomy bag. Still recovering from his injuries, McFarlane decided to temporarily relocate to The Bronx to be closer to his family, who could assist with his care.

 

NYC H+H officials said that as he was showering one day in July 2021, he slipped and fell, causing injury to his abdomen and colostomy bag. They said his aunt urged him to go to the local emergency room at NCB. They said upon arrival, it was clear that the extent of McFarlane’s injuries would require multiple surgeries and extensive care. He was taken up to meet with surgeons to consult on the comprehensive care he would need to recover.

 

After initial treatment, the first specialist to examine him was Dr. Moshe Szlechter, an ophthalmologist at Jacobi Hospital. Szlechter determined that McFarlane had metal in his left eye that was causing a cataract as well as intraocular inflammation, both contributing to his diminished vision. The doctor undertook two surgeries on McFarlane, the first cataract surgery with an intraocular lens implant to help improve his vision, and the second to remove the bullet fragment from inside his eyeball. As a result of both operations, McFarlane’s vision was fully restored.

“Rohmearo is a kind person who had his entire life upended in an instant,” said Szlechter. “His vision was essential not only to his life and livelihood, but it’s also essential to pursue his passion. I’m thrilled the operations were such a success, so he can pursue what he loves to do.”

 

After completing his eye surgeries, McFarlane visited Dr. John McNelis, who he had seen during his initial hospital visit. McNelis is chair of surgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | North Central Bronx, and he shared with McFarlane that his colostomy bag posed a potential danger for infection and that, with another operation, it may not be needed.

 

McFarlane then allowed McNelis to complete an additional operation on his abdominal area, tightening the abdominal wall, connecting his colon, and repairing his intestine, making the colostomy bag unnecessary. Finally, a year later, McNelis used the DaVinci Surgical Robot to repair McFarlane’s complex hernia and make additional repairs to his abdominal wall.

“Situations like this renew your faith in people. When you see what people face and the odds they overcome, it’s easy to get cynical in today’s world, but Rohmearo and his family were inspirational,” said McNelis. “His portrait will hang in my office as long as I’m here.”

 

During the surgeries, NYC H+H officials said McFarlane’s medical team recommended intensive physical therapy to help in his recovery. They said that as an artist, McFarlane had always been right-side dominant, and his injuries had hindered his ability to practice his craft. After a nerve conduction study to assess the functioning of his muscles and pathways, it was recommended that he undergo two surgeries on his elbow, wrist, and hand.

 

These two surgeries were led by Dr. Laurie Hirsh, an orthopedic hand surgeon at Jacobi Hospital, in August 2022 and July 2023, respectively. In the first surgery, Hirsh removed shrapnel and past prominent hardware from McFarlane’s right elbow, enabling him to gain further elbow motion. She also removed bullet fragments and hardware from his head and upper extremities. In the second surgery, Hirsh undertook a tendon transfer to restore McFarlane’s thumb and fingers’ ability to extend, rerouting tendons that typically aid the wrist to instead power tendons that straighten the fingers and thumb.

“It is gratifying to help restore Rohmearo’s ability to pursue his passion – painting. To see his artwork now after his surgeries shows the important impact we as physicians can have in healing our patients,” said Hirsh.

 

After these latest surgeries, McFarlane regained his ability to paint with his right hand again and resumed all prior activities, including lifting weights and exercising. Amazingly and unexpectedly, during his recovery, he became proficient in painting with his left hand as well.

 

“Jacobi is an amazing place, not only are the doctors great, but they are great for being caring people who looked out for me as I continued on my recovery process,” he said. “Recovery is a constant process; you have to push past the pain. I’m always working on my physical therapy, and my transformation is still ongoing.”

 

As reported, in January 2023, NYC Health + Hospitals Jacobi | North Central Bronx was named a “surgical quality partner” by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). According to hospital officials, the designation means Jacobi met the highest standards of surgical care by minimizing complications, improving outcomes, and saving lives.

 

“Jacobi is widely known in The Bronx as the Level 1 Trauma Center for our region,” said Christopher Mastromano, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi‘s chief executive officer in December 2023. Though overall crime rates are down across New York City, The Bronx sees some of the highest rates of gun violence across the five boroughs.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | North Central Bronx officials said it founded the first emergency medical residency program in New York City. They said to this day, it remains a respected leader in emergency medicine, trauma surgery, burn care, and neonatal care. It has 457 beds, has handled 335,169 clinic visits, 121,176 ER visits, and 1,559 births to date.

 

While NCB is based in Norwood, Jacobi Medical Center is based in Morris Park. In a bid for faster patient service, the two public hospitals merged in 2019.

 

If you or a loved one are suffering and potentially in need of surgical care, you can call NYC Health + Hospitals at (718) 918-5000.