Quick Response from Parents and Beaumont Caregivers Saves Baby’s Life

For Kate Strada of Royal Oak, it was a typical summer afternoon. Her four children were playing, when Marion, her 10-month-old daughter, curiously approached an open door that leads to the basement.  Before Kate could reach her, Marion quickly fell down a flight of uncarpeted stairs.

Kate saw Marion crying at the base of the stairs, picked her up immediately and began checking for broken bones. 

“Marion appeared to be fine,” she recalls.

Dr. Gilmer examines Marion Strada

Kate made a phone call to her husband to tell him what happened. He suggested that she should take Marion to the hospital just to be certain she was fine, advice that undoubtedly saved her life. While they were waiting for Kate’s mother to come over to watch the other three children, Marion had vomited. Without hesitation Kate called 911 for an ambulance to transport them to the Emergency Center at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak.

“I was amazed at how many people were waiting for us when we arrived,” says Kate. 

Although she had become lethargic in the ambulance, Marion’s arrival at Beaumont sparked some activity and she regained some color. The EC doctors ordered a head CT scan as a precaution. 

“At this point, I thought we would get negative CT results, they would watch Marion for a few hours and we’d be taking her home,” explains Kate. “We had no idea what was about to happen.”

The CT results showed an acute epidural hematoma compressing her brain and an associated skull fracture with midline shift.

“An epidural hematoma is a collection of blood in the potential space between the brain and the skull. It is usually from a hemorrhaging artery and accumulates rapidly with increasing pressure on the brain, requiring immediate diagnosis and surgical intervention,” says Holly Gilmer, M.D., chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Beaumont Children's Hospital.

Kate explains, “As they wheeled us back to the Pediatric EC, the transporters broke out into a sprint and I could hear a trauma being announced over the PA system requesting staff to respond.”

Little Marion’s heart rate was dropping.

The EC doctors explained they had found a bleed on her brain and she was losing consciousness. Marion was showing no signs of fight as they inserted her IV and she was losing a significant amount of blood. Dr. Gilmer reviewed the CT images and instructed the 10-month-old be transferred to the operating room immediately.

“We honestly thought we were going to lose her,” recalls Kate.

It was within the first hour of surgery when Kate inquired about her daughter’s status and was quickly relieved when she learned the surgery was a success.

Thanks to the coordinated care efforts of Dr. Gilmer and the trauma team at Beaumont, Royal Oak, in less than three hours after Marion’s arrival, she was out of surgery and on her way to recovery. Within 24 hours, Marion was sitting up, alert and moving all over as any other 10-month old would.

Both mom and dad attribute Marion’s flawless treatment and recovery to the emergent care she received by everyone they came in contact with at Beaumont. However, those involved in Marion’s treatment agree that the quick action of her parents to get her to the EC is the real reason Marion is fully recovered.

“Everyone who sees her is amazed at how well she’s doing and can’t believe how quickly she’s bounced back after such a terrible accident,” Kate says. “We can’t thank Beaumont Hospital, the EC’s amazing trauma team, Dr. Gilmer and the pediatric ICU nurses enough for all that they did to help treat Marion.”