{"id":87287,"date":"2025-12-08T10:34:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=87287"},"modified":"2025-12-18T07:54:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:54:29","slug":"quick-action-estes-park-er-trauma-induced-stroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/quick-action-estes-park-er-trauma-induced-stroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick action in a mountain ER saves woman after rare trauma-induced stroke"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Amy
Amy Davis was visiting Estes Park when a car accident in Rocky Mountain National Park sent her to the local ER. In the next hour, the swift action of medical experts not only saved her life but likely spared her from severe deficits caused by a rare trauma-induced stroke. Photo by Joel Blocker, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When nurses examined Amy Davis in the emergency room in Estes Park, she thought she’d emerged from a car accident pretty much unscathed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was more concerned about my other family members at that time,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought I was OK and just being checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

It turned out that Davis was experiencing a far more serious health emergency. Quick-thinking medical providers at what is now UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center<\/a> recognized the signs of a very rare type of stroke and acted immediately to get life-saving help for Davis.<\/p>\n

When every second counts, having access to advanced trauma and stroke experts can mean the difference between recovery and lasting damage.<\/p>\n

A crash in the mountains leads to unexpected trauma and stroke symptoms<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Davis, who lives in Tennessee, was visiting her daughter and son-in-law in Estes Park when their vehicle was struck by another just outside the gates of Rocky Mountain National Park<\/a>. With only one ambulance available in Estes Park and emergency crews still working to free Davis\u2019 son-in-law from the wreckage, emergency responders transported Davis and her daughter first to the town’s hospital \u2014 a 23-bed critical access acute care facility. Shortly afterward, the ambulance transported her son-in-law to the hospital, while the North Colorado Med Evac helicopter<\/a> remained on standby.<\/p>\n

\"Amy
Amy Davis, far left, with her husband, daughter and son-in-law in Tennessee, about six weeks before her stroke. Photo courtesy of Amy Davis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Jennifer McLellan<\/a>, a general surgeon at Estes Valley Medical Center, jumped in to help three nurses and an emergency medicine doctor who were staffing the ER that day. With three patients already needing care, the arrival of Davis and her family made for an unusually busy day in the town\u2019s small ER.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 chest and pelvis X-rays showed no signs of injuries. She had mild tachycardia (a fast heart rate) but no neck pain. Medical experts moved Davis to a smaller trauma bay to keep an eye on her while turning their attention to other family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe seemed the least injured of the three,\u201d McLellan said.<\/p>\n

McLellan was accompanying Davis\u2019 son-in-law, who had suffered a head injury in the crash, to the hospital\u2019s only CT scanner for imaging.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Davis told a nurse about tingling in her right leg. The nurse rushed to alert McLellan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I examined her, she could no longer move her left side,\u201d McLellan said. \u201cIt was very concerning. She was having some sort of event, whether a stroke, hemorrhaging or something else. We knew it was something related to the trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLellan said she briefly considered waiting for the CT scanner to open but knew it wouldn\u2019t change the course of action. Regardless of what Davis\u2019 scans revealed, the hospital lacked the resources of a larger hospital, like a staff neurologist, to treat what she suspected might be the diagnosis.<\/p>\n

McLellan made a critical decision: \u201cLet\u2019s get her to MCR<\/a>,\u201d McLellan said, referring to UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies<\/a>, a close partner of the Estes Park hospital, and a Level I Trauma Center in Loveland, Colorado<\/a>, less than a 30-minute helicopter ride away. \u201cThat\u2019s where she needs to be ultimately.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the flight crew loaded Davis into the medical helicopter, McLellan called colleagues in Loveland. She talked with Dr. Christopher Mitchell<\/a>, a trauma surgeon, and alerted him that the patient he was about to receive could have a large vessel occlusion, or LVO, sustained from the trauma of a vehicle crash.<\/p>\n

Davis was showing signs of a stroke.<\/p>\n