Tanica stood at her daughter’s bedside in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, seemingly trapped in a nightmare.

Hours earlier, in a freak accident at the family’s home, 3-year-old Tracii had been pinned between the car and the wall of the house. Her injuries were extensive.

“I was so scared, just devastated,” Tanica says. “I didn’t want to lose my baby.”

Even as Tracii had been rushed to a nearby emergency department, the little girl was focused on comforting her distraught mom.

“It’s OK, mom. I’m OK,” the toddler insisted. But she wasn’t OK.

Tracii was airlifted by the LifeLine critical care transport team to Johns Hopkins All Children’s to receive the advanced level of care necessary to save her life.

Pediatric trauma surgeon Christopher Snyder, M.D., then a surgical fellow, will never forget his first encounter with the child. With a medical background in trauma, as well as military experience, Snyder had seen severe traumas of all kinds. But he had not seen anything like this in a 3-year-old.

“Tracii’s pelvis had been crushed and there was extensive injury to her perineum, her private area,” Snyder says. 

The skilled surgical team, including Snyder, attending surgeon David Kays, M.D., as well as teams of urologists and orthopaedic surgeons worked in concert to stabilize the young trauma patient before she was transferred to the PICU.

This first medical victory marked the beginning of a long road to healing for Tracii and the family who loved her.

Overcoming Obstacles

To repair her injuries and to provide a path forward that would give her the very best quality of life, Tracii would require many subsequent surgeries and a high level of specialty care.

Early on, surgeons performed a colostomy to prevent her stool from leaking into her abdominal cavity. 

Because her urethra had torn from her bladder, her urine needed to be surgically diverted as well. 

To reassemble her pelvis and allow it to heal properly, orthopaedic surgeons implanted something called an external fixator. This involves drilling pins into different parts of the pelvic bones and then securing those pins to each other with metal rods on the outside. 

For the first month, the fixator kept Tracii largely confined to her hospital bed. But the little girl rarely let it dampen her spirits. In short order, she charmed her doctors and nurses on the seventh floor of the hospital and beyond. 

“She was a little fireball,” Snyder says. “Tracii had a very enthusiastic personality. I think that helped her get through that difficult time.”

As the weeks ticked by, Tracii gradually made progress. Her supportive family was a vital part of her care.

Some days were extraordinarily hard. But on other days, Tanica would get updates that felt miraculous. Doctors were gratified to share that despite Tracii’s extensive injuries, many of her pelvic organs were still intact. She had retained some vital muscle function as well.

Tanica celebrated when doctors told her Tracii no longer needed a wound vac (vacuum-assisted closure), a device designed to promote wound healing that, in Tracii’s case, had required frequent surgeries.

After 10 long weeks in the hospital, Tanica was able to take her daughter home, at least for a while. On the occasions when Tracii needed to be readmitted, either for signs of possible infections or other issues, she was excited to return, to see care providers who now felt like family.

“It was amazing care,” Tanica says. “Her doctors and nurses loved her, and they made her feel happy.”

Meanwhile, Tracii had been receiving physical and occupational therapy both in and out of the hospital. Her sciatic nerve had been severed in the accident. Her physical therapist, Whitney Walker, P.T., was focused on helping the little girl get stronger and to maximize her mobility.

Tracii worked diligently, and Walker tried to make it fun by providing her with obstacle courses, climbing challenges, and games that engaged her muscles and her mind.

“The goal was for her to run, jump and play as other kids do,” Walker says. “Just to be able to get out there and be a kid again.”

Major Milestone

When Tracii turned 5, it was time for major reconstructive surgery that would make the biggest difference for her future.

It required meticulous planning by her surgical team as they created a roadmap for reconstruction — taking into account the existing anatomy of her pelvic region and assessing what muscles were still functioning. 

During the 15-hour surgery, doctors were able to bring the intact pelvic organs, which had retracted higher into Tracii’s abdomen back into place and reconstructed them where necessary, bringing them as close to normal as possible.

Because muscles around the bladder that control urination were not reparable, surgeons performed a procedure called a Mitrofanoff, using Tracii’s appendix to create a connection from her bladder to her belly button. That way, Tracii would be able to use a small tube to empty her bladder at her convenience.

The complex surgery was a success.

What happened the very next day amazed Tracii’s mom.

“She just got up out of bed and started walking,” Tanica says. “I said, ‘Tracii, you just had reconstructive surgery!’”

True to form, her child was energized and looking for fun, ready to get to the playroom. 

It was a sweet, victorious moment after such a long medical journey for Tracii and especially for her devoted mom, who never left her daughter’s side.

“Her mom had to deal with a tough time,” Snyder says. “But they came through it together. She was everything Tracii needed her to be.”

Tracii Today

The young girl who triumphed over trauma walks into the hospital’s bright new physical therapy space and embraces some of those who’ve helped nurture her recovery. 

Tracii is 12 years old. She is lovely, with dark eyes and a warm smile. Other than a small brace on her left foot, there is no other visual hint of her former injuries. As she grows into a young woman, Tracii’s life won’t look exactly like those of her peers. Her medical needs will be different. 

But she doesn’t have to miss a beat.

“I hope she lives a long, happy life and she gets to experience a child of her own, if she’d like that,” Tanica says. “I believe her life will inspire people.”

After all, Tracii knows something about overcoming. 

And she’s ready to take on the world.