Nicole Clancy was on a run less than half a mile away from her home when she was hit by a car while 28 weeks pregnant.
The car was traveling more than 40 miles an hour when it ran the red light. Nicole stayed conscious but does not remember the impact.
Scans showed Nicole had no internal bleeding, but fetal monitoring revealed her baby was in distress. The care team acted quickly and performed an emergency C-section.
“I’m proud of the work we do every day, but never more than on that day,” said Dr. Jonathan Kohler, UC Davis pediatric trauma medical director. “I walked into the OR and watched as our trauma surgeons helped our obstetricians deliver the baby so neonatologists could begin resuscitation while NICU nurses and transfusion specialists were preparing blood product for a transfusion. At the same time, our anesthesiologists were orchestrating care for two critically ill patients in one operating room.”
Both mother and daughter survived and were expected to recover, but baby McKenzie was born 12 weeks prematurely, weighing only 2 pounds, 10 ounces.
As McKenzie began her NICU journey, Nicole began her own recovery journey with a broken humerus, clavicle and hairline nasal fracture. She spent six days in the hospital before going home and later returned for orthopaedic surgery.
Fast forward a few months and both mom and baby are doing great!
