SAN ANTONIO – In the rush of an emergency room, time hardly stands still. But Jason Clarke said that’s exactly how it felt two years ago.
“I remember about 45 seconds of the drive,” Clarke said. “And next thing I know, I woke up two and a half weeks later and heard people mumbling about whether they could save my arm or not.”
In August 2022, Clarke was a passenger in a bad car crash. He was pinned in the vehicle and suffered major injuries. Just weeks later, doctors had to amputate his arm.
“It’s been a challenge, but I take each one of them in stride as best I can,” Clarke said.
This wasn’t his first time in the hospital. Clarke was an emergency room nurse at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital before the crash. But after 18 surgeries, he didn’t know if he’d ever return to work.
“Every minute’s different,” Clarke said.
But he found a way. September 2024 marks one year since his return to the Baptist Health System. Now, he’s a shift supervisor.
“To be back in this role and to be back in this hospital, what does it mean to you?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.
“It means the world to sit here and return back to being able to help,” Clarke said.
Clarke said he’s sharing his story to inspire people with hope and raise awareness of the need for donations in San Antonio.
“No one will truly understand the impact,” Clarke said.
And he’s not the only one in the hospital system seeing the need.
“You might think, ‘well, I’m never going to need blood,’ but that nurse that’s taking care of you when you come to the hospital needed it,” Erik Frederick, the president of Mission Trail Baptist Hospital said. “He had it when he needed it. But we needed a lot of it. And we need a lot more to make sure that those kind of stories keep happening.”
Right now across the country, the need for blood is critical.
“Our blood supply is always in jeopardy,” Frederick said. “It doesn’t take much to tip you over the edge when you have a low blood supply to start with.”
Over the summer, Mission Trail Baptist Hospital had a patient use nearly 50 units of blood, which Frederick said is more than the hospital keeps on hand.
That’s why Jason Clarke is coming forward and sharing his story, showing how his life has changed and showing how his life can still move forward.
“That’ll be part of my legacy,” Clarke said.
To donate blood, click here.