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Katie McClanahan (center) and her husband thanked the UAMS Trauma Team, Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) and the Little Rock Fire Department for saving her life. Image by Bryan Clifton

Grateful Patient Thanks UAMS, MEMS, LRFD for Rescue, Encourages Blood Donations

Nov. 17, 2025 | LITTLE ROCK — Katie McClanahan, a 32-year-old wife and mother of two young children from midtown Little Rock, says she wouldn’t be alive to share her story without the extraordinary efforts of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Trauma Team, Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) and the Little Rock Fire Department.

She gathered with representatives of these agencies at UAMS this morning to share her story and encourage others to donate blood.

McClanahan was alone at her family’s new home on the morning of April 5 when a strong storm blew through the neighborhood, causing a massive tree from her neighbor’s yard to crash into her bedroom. Paramedics and UAMS Trauma Team members spent three hours caring for McClanahan while firefighters worked to remove tree limbs and debris so she could be transported to the hospital for treatment.

“I was unpacking in the kitchen when I heard a loud cracking sound from the bedroom,” said McClanahan. “I went to see what it was and was looking over my shoulder by the bay window. Then everything went dark. When I opened my eyes, I was face down in a frog leg position with this huge tree crushing me. I was all alone, and I screamed for what seemed like forever, but I think was about 15 to 20 minutes.

“It started to rain, and I felt this heaviness pressing down on me as the attic insulation on my face began to absorb the water,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was going to drown or die from being crushed, but I knew I was going to die. I surrendered my life to the Lord and prayed that I would be able to look down and watch my kids grow up and for the Lord to give my husband the strength to raise our kids alone. Then I laid my head down to die.”

A neighbor heard the crash and went out with his dog to investigate. McClanahan heard the man say, “Wow! That’s a big tree,” and screamed as loud as she could. The dog heard her, and the dog’s continued barking convinced the neighbor that someone might be trapped. He went home and called 911.

Another neighbor brought McClanahan’s mother to the house, and McClanahan’s husband arrived a few minutes later. When Little Rock firefighters from nearby Station 12 arrived on the scene, they were skeptical that someone could still be alive under the four-foot diameter tree.

“Before they started rescue efforts, they wanted to make sure someone was actually there and alive,” said McClanahan. “They asked for complete silence and turned off all the engines. It was completely silent, and I screamed ‘Please help me!’ as loud as I could.”

“Our immediate reaction was that there was no way anyone could still be alive under there,” said Capt. Aaron Slater of the Little Rock Fire Department. “Our first step was to determine whether this would be a rescue effort or recovery one. As soon as we heard Katie’s screams, we immediately called for a rescue unit.”

While the rescue unit worked to reach McClanahan, others started calling for medical help, and someone contacted Michael Cross, M.D., a family friend and cardiology fellow at UAMS. He immediately called his colleague Ben Davis, M.D., a UAMS trauma surgeon who took extraordinary measures to save McClanahan’s life.

“Based on Michael’s description of the scene, I knew Katie would die if we didn’t get blood to her right away,” said Davis. “I made sure we had adequate staffing if I left and then went to the Emergency Department to get blood to take with me. Carrie Knauer, who was on duty as the nursing director that day, gathered all the other supplies we’d need in the field and insisted that she come with me.”

Davis and Knauer drove 2.7 miles to the McClanahan’s home and arrived with the blood and supplies needed to keep McClanahan alive. Rescuers were able to climb through the debris and get access to a vein in McClanahan’s arm. Knauer was then able to begin the blood transfusion and give McClanahan medication for pain and to help protect her heart once blood began to flow through her body again.

McClanahan said she lost consciousness after this and doesn’t remember being put onto a stretcher or loaded into the ambulance. “I just remember Carrie next to me in the ambulance holding my hand and telling me to ‘stay with us,’” she said.

“Katie was in a pretty fragile state when she was rescued,” said Davis. “The same tree that crushed her acted as a tourniquet and kept her from immediately bleeding to death. We knew she would start bleeding badly the moment she was out from under the tree. Her only hope was getting blood right away and then into the care of the UAMS Trauma Team as quickly as possible. In the ambulance, I wrapped a sheet tightly around her shattered pelvis to reduce internal bleeding.”

Shortly before McClanahan arrived at the UAMS Emergency Department, she had no pulse. She was taken into surgery within minutes of arriving at the hospital. Following surgery to stop the bleeding and repair her broken bones, she was at UAMS for 17 days before being discharged to a rehabilitation facility.

Beating all the odds, McClanahan was able to walk again three months after the accident and continues her recovery today.

“Our mission is to enable more patients like Katie to tell their survival story,” said UAMS Interim Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D. “As the state’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, UAMS is where Arkansans look for help in emergencies. Dr. Davis and Carrie demonstrated that our team will do whatever it takes to save lives, and orthopaedic trauma surgeon Dr. Regis Renard literally put her shattered body back together.

“Katie is fortunate that she was so close to our Emergency Department in Little Rock, but you shouldn’t have to know a UAMS doctor and live within three miles of our hospital to get this type of life-saving care. Our entire UAMS team is committed to working with our first responder colleagues across the state to ensure this level of care is available to everyone.”

“Little Rock’s first responders are the real-life superheroes who put service above self and do whatever it takes to save lives and protect our residents,” said Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. “We are proud of the firefighters, paramedics and everyone who played a part in Mrs. McClanahan’s rescue. Her story is an example of hope, determination and resiliency despite seemingly insurmountable odds. We appreciate her efforts to draw attention to the dire need for blood donations across Arkansas. We look forward to working together with Mrs. McClanahan and all our partners to develop a better system for helping trauma victims in this state.”

Key to McClanahan’s survival was the administration of prehospital blood products. UAMS is working with the Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), the Arkansas Trauma Advisory Council and blood suppliers that serve Arkansas to enable more prehospital blood transfusions to help save lives across the state.

“Blood loss is the leading cause of preventable deaths among trauma victims,” said Davis. “If you’re bleeding to death, every minute increases your mortality by 2%. If you are 50 minutes out from a hospital, which about half of Arkansans are, that means your risk of dying is doubled.

“Currently in Arkansas, helicopters carry blood products because they have a nurse on board, but ambulances do not,” he said. “This results in countless lost lives. Just a few weeks before Katie’s injury, a young woman was critically injured in a traffic accident on the interstate. Bad weather meant she had to go by ground rather than helicopter, so she couldn’t get blood en route. She lost too much blood before getting to UAMS, and we couldn’t save her. I think prehospital blood would have made a difference. Katie is a perfect example of how prehospital blood transfusion can save lives.”

“This is an initiative we have been working on for several years, and there are several obstacles we must overcome,” said Brandon Morshedi, M.D., emergency medicine physician at UAMS and EMS medical director for MEMS and Air Evac Lifeteam, who is also appointed to the state’s EMS Advisory Committee. “First, we need more blood donors. We use about 60% more blood in Arkansas than we receive through donations, which causes severe shortages and doesn’t leave products available for rescue efforts.

“Even with ample supply, we need to develop a closely monitored system to maximize use of blood available in ambulances to ensure it’s stored at the right temperature and used before it expires, and this is expensive,” he said. “Secondly, we need legislative change, which we have support for. The final component of enacting change is ensuring appropriate payment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for blood products and the administration of transfusions so ambulances in communities across Arkansas can afford to carry this precious resource. We want the same resources that were available to save Katie’s life to be available for every person in the state.”

“I’m so thankful for this team for saving my life,” said McClanahan. “They are all like family now. I want to thank them by making sure that saving my life will save many more. I’m committed to working with UAMS and these agencies to encourage more blood donations and adoption of prehospital blood transfusions in Arkansas.”

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,553 students and 902 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.

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