How crash saved life of Ohio woman, her unborn baby

OHIO (WJW) — An Ohio woman gave birth after a shocking cancer diagnosis during her pregnancy.

Ironically, she said it was a car accident that ultimately saved her life.

“I had multiple fractures in my pelvis,” said Gabrielle Mayer, 22, of Lisbon. “I had a lumbar fracture and basically, I was in a wheelchair.”

Mayer said nurses discovered a four-centimeter mass in her throat while in recovery, which turned out to be thyroid cancer. The mass was so large that doctors feared she would struggle to breathe while delivering the baby.

While 31 weeks pregnant, Gabrielle underwent surgery to remove the cancerous mass. Sh gave birth to a healthy baby boy this past weekend at Akron General Hospital.

William III was born at just over seven pounds. Gabrielle said if it weren’t for the accident, she and her baby would not be here today.

“In a way, this past year has been the best and worst year of my life,” she said. “People hear cancer, broken pelvis, car accident. Like, that all sounds horrible. But I also met my husband and I also have a baby now.”

The mother of two is now cancer-free and will not need chemo or radiation. She said the cause of her cancer diagnosis remains a mystery. Her mom died of heart disease when she was nine, and her father is adopted.

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