Full-Circle Moment: Doctor and Patient Reunite After a Decade for Powerful Birth Story
By: Gina Edwards
Before the accident, it had been a gorgeous day of summer fun at Raystown Lake near Huntingdon, PA. Along with family and friends, teenager Madison Murray was out enjoying the water on a jet ski. Then trauma struck.
Madison had been sitting on the back of the jet ski while it idled with two other passengers in front of her. An unexpected throttle from the jet ski jolted her balance and she fell headfirst into the lake.
Powerful surges of water propelled by the jet ski ripped into her body, resulting in tears in her vagina and rectum, and perforation of her internal organs.
“It kind of blew everything up,” Madison says. “I remember everything from coming up out of the water, laying with my legs up on a tree, waiting for EMS, being in the life flight –– all of it. I never lost consciousness.”
Madison arrived at UPMC Presbyterian trauma unit via life flight, where she received the vaginal repair portion of her surgery on June 30, 2011. But that was only the beginning of her care experience post-accident.
"It kind of blew everything up."
A then-third year-medical student at Pitt Med and future ob-gyn, Dr. Erin Rhinehart was one of the many doctors and trainees rounding daily on Madison’s case. She also attended several of Madison’s multiple follow-up surgeries after the accident in the forthcoming years.
“I could really put myself in the shoes of being a teenager and having this happen... being in the hospital on a trauma unit and really wondering what life would be like afterwards,” says Dr. Rhinehart. After graduating from medical school, she would still think back to Madison’s case and ponder what happened to her after their paths had crossed.
As years passed, Madison went on to become a Physician Assistant for UPMC, which she describes as a “full-circle moment.”
"I could really put myself in the shoes of being a teenager and having this happen... being in the hospital on a trauma unit and really wondering what life would be like afterwards.”
Little did she know that another powerful re-connection would still be in store.
In 2023, over a decade after the accident, and despite years of hearing ‘You may not be able to have a baby...’ –– Madison got pregnant.
She started her prenatal care at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, where she knew she wanted to deliver her baby. But about halfway through her pregnancy, scheduling changes led Madison to switch doctors. She eventually met the ob-gyn she thought was a brand-new provider: Dr. Erin Rhinehart.
Madison didn’t recognize Dr. Rhinehart initially, so she wanted to fill her in on the backstory: “My history is pretty complicated –– I’m not allowed to have a vaginal delivery.”
But Dr. Rhinehart already knew –– earlier that morning she had read Madison’s chart –– and evaluated whether this patient’s history of a traumatic jet ski accident could have been the very one on which she had rounded more than a decade ago.
The dates lined up... and how many jet ski accidents happen in Pittsburgh?
She replied to Madison: “I know your story, and I remember your case. I was a medical student who rounded on you when you were injured in 2011.”
Madison got instant chills. She remembers feeling an immediate trust, connection, and relaxation with Dr. Rhinehart, who then said she would be honored to do Madison’s C-section. They planned the date of delivery –– it would be a Tuesday.
But babies don’t always follow schedules.
"I know your story, and I remember your case. I was a medical student who rounded on you when you were injured in 2011."
During her 37-week appointment, Madison’s blood pressure was slightly elevated, so she went to Labor & Delivery for a nonstress test. They decided it would be best to deliver the baby later that day, but Dr. Rhinehart had gone home. Upon hearing the update of Madison’s progress, she turned back around to UPMC Magee to deliver her baby.
Madison’s son, Miles Murray, was born in the fall of 2024 at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. Madison describes her experience as “incredible –– the easiest experience and recovery, ever.”
For Dr. Rhinehart, Madison’s story is a reminder of why she is an ob-gyn.
“We all want to be there to help people heal and to be there for the hard times and the amazing times, and obstetrics is a particularly unique field in that way,” Dr. Rhinehart says.
“It is moments like these when you get to connect with another person and be there to share those events––that remind me why I come to work.”
In a thank you note to Dr. Rhinehart after the delivery, Madison shares her gratitude for helping her fulfill her dream of becoming a parent.
“I was not 100% certain that I could have a baby, and she allowed me to,” Madison says. “It really means the world that I was able to become a mom.”
