A Waltham, Massachusetts, company began to develop a trauma foam to stop internal bleeding; years later, it saved an Alabama man’s life. 

Ronald Farms remembers his car flipping upside down and then a white light in what can only be described as a near-death experience.

“There was this light that was so bright. It was literally a light from heaven. It was white, so bright, but it wasn’t blinding,” Farms said.

But when the 34-year-old regained consciousness, he was on his way to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital (UAB) and suffering from severe abdominal bleeding.

“They told me I had a laceration to my kidney, a laceration to my liver. My spleen was completely ruptured. They had to remove that. Part of my colon was taken out,” Farms said.

When he got to the hospital, Farms says the trauma surgeon, Dr. Preston Hewgley, told his family that he had 20 minutes to live.

Within minutes, Hewgley decided to use a tool that had never before been administered in a patient, a futuristic foam to stop internal bleeding.

“There was a very intense moment of injecting the foam into Ronald’s abdomen that was palpable,” Hewgley told WBZ-TV.

UAB is the site of an FDA-approved clinical trial for ResQFoam, developed by Waltham biotechnology company Arsenal Medical. It is administered by cutting a small incision below the patient’s belly button and inserting what looks like a calking gun into the abdomen, then shooting foam, which expands inside the body cavity.

“It wraps around injured tissues and injured organs and puts pressure on them, which temporarily slows or stops hemorrhage,” said Dr. David King, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital.

ResQFoam is the brainchild of King, who knows how deadly internal bleeding can be. He is a Colonel in the Army Reserve and has performed surgeries in combat.

“Intra-abdominal hemorrhage remains a leading preventable cause of death on the battlefield,” King said, “From the combat surgeon standpoint, it remains a very exciting horizon.”

The successful administration of the foam in Farms is a giant step forward for Arsenal Medical, but President and CEO Upma Sharma is cautiously optimistic with a clinical trial ongoing.

“We have a first safety cohort that we need to get through to demonstrate that the foam isn’t doing anything totally unexpected,” Sharma said.

Ronald Farms credits the foam with saving his life and he believes there is a higher reason why he is now sharing its story.

“I would highly, highly endorse it because it saved my life,” Farms said. 

InDepthNH.org scans the websites of New Hampshire funeral homes each week and selects at random some of our friends, relatives and neighbors to feature in this column. The people listed here passed away during the previous weeks and have some public or charitable connection to their community. InDepthNH.org is now offering obituaries through the Legacy.com service. We view this as part of our public service mission. Click here or on the Obituaries tab at the top of our home page to learn more. And if you know of someone from New Hampshire who should be featured in this column, please send your suggestions to NancyWestNews@gmail.com.

Mary M. Blaisdell, 84, of Concord, died May 10, 2026. She was a lifetime achievement honoree of the East Concord Lamplighters, a member of the Concord School Board, and organized Concord High School Class of 1960 reunions as class treasurer. (Bennett Funeral Home)

Dorothy (Meade) Campbell, 84, of Grafton, died May 7, 2026. She had been a teacher and principal at Indian River and had served as selectman and treasurer for the Town of Grafton. (Chadwick Funeral & Cremation Service)

Socrates James Chaloge, 90, of Manchester, died May 7, 2026. He owned Leslie Studio, which he once operated with his father, Perry Chaloge. photographing more than 5,000 weddings throughout Manchester, in addition to countless portraits, schools, and pageants. His original oil photography portraits may still be viewed at the Hampton Historical Society, where he was recognized for photographing Miss Hampton Beach during the late 1950s and 1960s. He served in the Air National Guard.  He taught photography classes at the YMCA in Brockton, Mass., and founded and was president of the New England Trade Institute (NETI). (Legacy.com)

Norman A. Colburn, 80, of Laconia, died May 8, 2026. He served on the Laconia Fire Department for 21 years, advancing from driver to deputy fire chief. In retirement, he worked in loss prevention for the N.H. Municipal Association. (Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home)

Charles Henry Cummings Jr., 77, of Greenland, died May 10, 2026. He was a U.S. Army veteran. He worked at Pease Air Force Base in civil engineering positions and later as head of the Reports and Analysis Branch in the 509th Transportation Squadron. In 1991 he transferred to the Industrial Relations Office at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He worked as a labor relations specialist for 12 years and was chief spokesman for management while negotiating the collective bargaining agreement between the shipyard and the American Federation of Government Employees. He served 12 years on the Greenland Budget Committee, three years on the Conservation Committee, two years on the Land Use Advisory Committee and four years as a selectmen, from 2008 to 2011. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home)

David Holmes, 88, of Durham, died May 7, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran, he volunteered with the Peace Corps in 1963 andhelped establish savings and loan banks in Peru. He later become a Peace Corps administrator in the South Pacific islands of Tonga and Samoa. He was a career counselor at Fordham University, St. Lawrence University and UNH. (Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home)

John Linke “Jack” Lewis, 81, of Peterborough, died May 8, 2026. He spent his career with Chemical Bank in New York City, later JP Morgan Chase Bank, retiring in 2001 as senior vice president. He and his family moved to Dublin in 2002, and in 2020 to Peterborough. He was treasurer of the Peterborough Players and the Dublin Riding and Walking Club, and chaired the Dublin Conservation Commission. (Jellison Funeral Home & Cremation Services)

David Linatsas, 74, of Nashua, died May 10, 2026. He started his teaching career in special education in Nashua elementary schools. He then obtaining his doctorate in chiropractic at Life Chiropractic College in Marietta, Ga., andopened Nashua Family Chiropractic (known today as Lyphos Family Health). He retired in 2016 when his son, Brandon, took over the business. (Davis Funeral Home)

Robert Marquis, 72, of Stratham, died May 7, 2026. He was a counselor at Amesbury (Mass.) Middle School and then worked at SAU 21 in Hampton as a school psychologist. He was director of pupil services in Deerfield, special education director in SAU 56 in Somersworth, and assistant superintendent in Somersworth. He became superintendent of schools in Milford. (Remick & Gendron Funeral Home-Crematory)

Eric Paul Rochette, 55, of Nashua, died May 12, 2026. He was the owner of Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Nashua. He followed his father Paul into the funeral profession and had been a licensed funeral director and embalmer since 1991. He purchased the funeral home from his father in 2014, and he and his wife Deanna, became co-owners in 2019. He was a New Hampshire state representative for District 31, Ward 4 from 2005 to 2006 and for District 28, Ward 1 from 2007 to 2008. He served on the New Hampshire State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers from 2015 to 2020. He was a member of the Actorsingers of Nashua. (Rochette Funeral Home & Cremation Services)

Jack Tatirosian,M.D., 94, of Atkinson, died May 9, 2026. He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force and began his medical practice in 1966 in Haverhill, Mass. He was an internist and founding member of Pentucket Medical Associates. He retired in 2000. He was a staff member of Hale Hospital where he was also the chief of medicine for two years. (H.L. Farmer & Sons Funeral Home)

Scott Evan Trexler, 61, of Moultonborough, died May 8, 2026. He worked at Trexler’s Marina on Lake Winnipesaukee since he was a child. The marina was bought by his parents in 1972, and when his father died in 1980, he became more involved in the business, eventually assuming the role of general manager. (Mayhew Funeral Home) 

Ronald P. Voveris, 81, of Nashua, died May 13, 2026. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a social studies teacher at Nashua High School and then Elm Street Junior High School, where he dedicated 34 years. He Ron coached the “Twins” Babe Ruth baseball team for a decade and freshman baseball for Nashua High School. (Farwell Funeral Service)

WORDS OF WISDOM: “Life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met – obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.” — John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. President, May 29, 1917, to Nov. 22, 1963

WAYNE, New Jersey (WABC) — A swim team in New Jersey says it’s getting kicked out of its pool.

The Rebels Aquatic Team says the Wayne Community Center told them the team can no longer use the facility, leaving more than 100 youth swimmers without a pool in the middle of the season.

The team has been using the pool for practices and meets.

The organizers thought they had a five-year commitment based on the contract but found out this week it was not enough to save them a space to use the pool.

The swim club was told this week that they have to shut down on June 24, but their swim season does not conclude until August 5.

The organizers began this effort to get kids into swimming at the height of the COVID lockdowns, and it has grown ever since.

Parents went online after getting word about being booted from the community pool and expressed a lot of frustration.

They have a practice Thursday afternoon and feel their kids are not getting a fair shake from the town.

Eyewitness News reached out to the mayor’s office and the Wayne Department of Recreation, who said they had no comment about this pool controversy.

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