Pregnant mother survives life-threatening HELLP syndrome after emergency C-section

Eleven days before her expected delivery, recruiter Candice Davis felt nausea that progressed to severe upper-abdominal pain and high blood pressure, prompting a visit to the obstetric ER at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Florida. Tests revealed elevated liver enzymes, and physicians identified HELLP syndrome, a rare but dangerous form of preeclampsia. Within hours, they induced labor and performed a C-section, during which a 17-centimeter liver injury began to bleed uncontrollably.

A surgeon was on standby, but the bleeding could not be halted, so the team packed the area and waited for Davis to regain strength. After about 24 hours the hemorrhage stopped, and she was able to breathe unaided the next day. Complications included blood clots in her left hand, leading to the loss of her thumb and parts of four fingers, requiring multiple surgeries and rehabilitation. One year later, Davis uses adaptive devices and has returned to caring for her son and resuming daily activities.