Karla Perez was 22 weeks pregnant when she suffered a massive brain hemorrage. Her state worsened to the point of clinical brain death — but a determined medical team managed to maintain the pregnancy so her son could survive.
On Feb. 8, Perez – who was pregnant with her second baby – came down with a headache so extreme that she fell unconscious at her home in Waterloo, Nebraska. She was taken to Methodist Women's Hospital, where doctors declared Perez clinically brain-dead. Her baby was safe — but not ready for delivery.
"It was then that we had decisions to make," said Dr. Andrew Robertson of the hospital's Perinatal Center in a statement. "Karla's baby was fine, but its gestational age was too young to consider delivery. That's when the team and Karla's family agreed to attempt to provide somatic support and maintain Karla's pregnancy until her baby reached a viable gestational age."
