Noah Stepaniak
A local man who survived being hit by a car in October of 2019 is thanking the community and supporting the local blood supply with a blood drive hosted with Hoxworth Blood Center.
Noah Stepaniak, a driver for Rumpke, was hit by a car in the early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2019 while on his route in Delhi.
“The Iliac artery in his left leg was severed in two places and he also had internal bleeding,” recalls Kate Reverman, Noah’s fiancée. “The first responders had to use a tourniquet on his leg to help stop some of the bleeding, the best they could. Once Noah was transported to UC, we were told he was not expected to survive, due to the amount of blood loss.”
Noah spent 26 days in the hospital and had multiple surgeries in the months following the accident, requiring several blood transfusions. He lost his left leg above the knee, suffered kidney damage, a broken arm and an injury to his right knee.
"The amount of blood they had to give Noah while at UC (26 days), was a lot!" says Kate. "He was in and out of surgery every other day - he had over 10 surgeries, and was needing blood product, during and after just about every single one of them."
The road to recovery long, but months later, Noah was able to go home and continue planning a spring wedding with his fiancée. But in addition to their nuptials, Noah and Kate decided to plan a blood drive celebrating his survival on February 15th, 2020.
“Once I was able to grasp everything that was happening and was able to realize all of the amazing people and blood product that was able to save his life, I knew it was now our turn to show our gratitude and help replenish the blood product that was used to save Noah’s life, in hopes to save others,” says Kate. “It is an absolute honor to be working with Hoxworth, setting up this successful blood drive, to bring awareness to the fact that blood donation is needed. Donating blood saves lives of the people we love.”
Cara Nicolas, spokesperson for Hoxworth Blood Center, noted the importance of community involvement in regards to the blood supply.
“There is no artificial substitute for blood. It has to come from volunteer donors, and we need people to donate regularly so that there is blood on the shelf and ready to go at a moment’s notice,” said Nicolas. “Because of the generosity of local donors, Noah was able to get the blood he needed to survive. Stories like this make the hard work of blood banking worth it!"
Kate agrees. “I will forever be grateful to the people who donated their blood so my fiancé could get a second chance at life,” said Reverman.
To donate at the “Honoring Noah Stepaniak's Survival” blood drive, visit https://hoxworth.org/groups/noah. Donors can also schedule appointments by calling (513) 451-0910 or visiting https://donateblood.uc.edu/donor/schedules/centers.
