A life full of small joys

Samantha Daly is a Sacramento native who works in IT at UC Davis Health, a job she found her way to after a career shift during the pandemic. Her husband, Kevin, teaches and coaches baseball, and their two young sons enjoy playing on the field with him after games. Sundays are sacred too, when family and friends gather at their house for football, a tradition Sam looks forward to every week.

At home, Sam calls this “the prime of parenthood,” full of creative play, pillow fort castles, and slow weekends spent adventuring. She’s more introverted by nature, finding peace in journaling and crocheting, while her husband is the outgoing one.

“I’m kind of at a point in my life for the slow days,” Sam says. “I really just love hanging out at home with my family and building little memories together.”

That sense of steadiness would soon be tested by something Sam never expected to carry twice.

Grief emerging twice

Both of Sam’s pregnancies were shadowed by profound loss. Her father passed away around the time she was expecting her first son. Then, during her second pregnancy, her mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away shortly after.

“With both of my kids, both of my pregnancies and deliveries were surrounded by grief,” Sam says. “My dad passed with my first son, and then my mom passed with my second son.”

The weight of it was compounded by a sense of isolation. Even surrounded by a newborn and a loving family, Sam often felt like she was carrying it alone.

“It was so lonely,” she says. “It was the happiest time, but also the saddest time.”

A care team that noticed

During her second pregnancy, Sam spoke with her primary care physician about the grief and postpartum feelings she was experiencing. That one conversation set the next steps in motion faster than she realized.

“I do feel like they were always kind of two steps ahead, without me even knowing about it,” Sam says.

Her OB team referred her to Dr. Shannon L. Clark, a high-risk prenatal and postpartum specialist at UC Davis Health. Dr. Clark became the first person Sam felt she could be completely honest with.

Meet Sam’s OB provider, Dr. Shannon L. Clark

“She was just really the first person that I really opened up to and felt comfortable telling her my whole story. She provided so many resources to me that I still use today.”—Samantha, patient

Support built entirely around her

Dr. Clark’s team connected Sam with a psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Andrade, who she has now worked with for almost two years. His care extended beyond postpartum, following her through her mother’s cancer diagnosis and hospice care.

“He really advocated for me and knew where I needed to stop,” Sam says. When she felt pressure to keep working through her mother’s final months, Dr. Andrade stepped in and insisted she take some time to focus on family.

It was a level of care that went far beyond any appointment. He helped her get the flexibility to work from home during her pregnancy while also spending precious time with her mother, and later, more time at home with her newborn after her mother passed.

“He just really rallied for me,” Sam says. “He always showed up for me.”

Working through hard emotions

Grief didn’t disappear once treatment began; Sam still carries it every day. But with Dr. Andrade’s support, she’s learned healthier ways to move through it — journaling, crocheting, and simply allowing herself to feel it, rather than staying busy to avoid it.

She works in the same building as her mother’s former hospice team, a detail that once made her run out of the room in tears.

“Now I can hug them,” Sam says.

It’s a small moment, but one that reminds her how far she’s come.

A story she hopes helps others

Today, Sam is present for the small, ordinary joys again, Sunday football with family, carefree afternoons with her boys, quiet moments that reset and center her. She credits her UC Davis Health care team with helping her get there.

Looking back, her only regret is not reaching out sooner.

“I wish I would have just spoken up sooner. It’s scary to start that conversation. But postpartum is scary, and it doesn’t have to be. You can get help and let the doctors do what they do best.”—Samantha, patient

For Sam, sharing her story is its own kind of healing.

“I hope it helps somebody else too,” she says.