Ohio Woman’s Accident Reveals Thyroid Cancer, Saving Her and Her Unborn Child
An Ohio woman recently gave birth after receiving a shocking cancer diagnosis during her pregnancy, which she credits a car accident for ultimately saving her life.
Gabrielle Mayer, 22, from Lisbon, experienced multiple fractures in her pelvis and a lumbar fracture due to the accident, leaving her in a wheelchair. While recovering, nurses discovered a four-centimeter mass in her throat, which was later diagnosed as thyroid cancer. Doctors were concerned that the mass’s size could complicate her breathing during childbirth.
At 31 weeks pregnant, Gabrielle underwent surgery to remove the cancerous mass. She welcomed her healthy baby boy, William III, this past weekend at Akron General Hospital, with the newborn weighing just over seven pounds. Gabrielle believes that if it weren’t for the accident, neither she nor her baby would be alive today.
“This past year has been the best and worst year of my life,” she shared. “People hear ‘cancer, broken pelvis, car accident,’ and it all sounds terrible. But I also met my husband, and now I have a baby.”
Now cancer-free, Gabrielle will not need chemotherapy or radiation. The cause of her cancer remains unknown, as her mother passed away from heart disease when Gabrielle was just nine, and her father is adopted.
