A Florida woman, Candice Davis, underwent emergency surgery and subsequent amputations following a diagnosis of HELLP syndrome during the final days of her pregnancy. The condition, a rare complication related to preeclampsia, led to severe liver bleeding and the loss of her thumb and parts of four fingers on her left hand.
Davis reported that her pregnancy was routine until June 14, 2025, when she experienced nausea and upper abdominal pain. After consulting with her husband and her OB-GYN, Dr. Susan Passarella, Davis sought care at the obstetric emergency department at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. Medical staff identified elevated blood pressure and rising liver enzymes, prompting an immediate induction of labor.
Due to the rapid escalation of her symptoms, doctors delivered Davis' son via cesarean section. During the procedure, surgeons discovered that the infant had been placing pressure on a 17-centimeter injury in Davis' liver. Once the pressure was removed, the liver began to bleed extensively. Davis was placed under general anesthesia and required emergency surgical packing to stabilize her condition overnight.
The scale of the impact for Davis included six follow-up surgeries to remove damaged tissue and an extended recovery period involving intensive physical therapy. A person facing similar complications would notice a total shift in daily living; Davis reported being unable to change her son's diapers or clothes or feed him without assistance during the initial weeks of his life. These events also necessitate the use of specialized medical equipment, such as the hyperbaric oxygen chamber Davis utilized, and long-term reliance on adaptive devices like prosthetic digits.
The knock-on effects extend to the healthcare system and the workplace, as patients require significant rehabilitation to return to professional roles. Davis used a prosthetic thumb to resume her duties as a recruiter and return to the gym. Following her recovery, Davis now advocates for pregnant women to monitor symptoms closely and seek medical evaluation for any unusual pain, rather than dismissing it as a standard pregnancy symptom. Davis has since returned to independent care for her son and planned to participate in a relay race in late 2026.