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Doctors say unborn baby helped pregnant Nebraska woman survive life-threatening crash injuries

Doctors said Kate's higher blood pressure from pregnancy and stem cells from the unborn baby played a part in her miraculous survival.

Doctors say unborn baby helped pregnant Nebraska woman survive life-threatening crash injuries

Doctors said Kate's higher blood pressure from pregnancy and stem cells from the unborn baby played a part in her miraculous survival.

MOTHER鈥橲 LIFE AT RISK. FIGHTING TO KEEP HER BABY ALIVE AND BATTLING A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY TO. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN. SAMANTHA PASTORINO INTRODUCES US TO THE YOUNG WOMAN WHO HAS INCREDIBLE RESILIENCE. IN THIS STORY, YOU鈥橰E SEEING ONLY ON SEVEN. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS YOU DIDN鈥橳 FALL OVER. YEAH. KATE VALLEY SPENDS THE DAYS BEFORE THE BIRTH OF HER FIRST SON RELEARNING HOW TO FUNCTION. LOTS OF CONCENTRATION. LIFE FOR KATE WASN鈥橳 ALWAYS LIKE THIS. HAVE YOU GOT IT? GOOD JOB. THE 23 YEAR OLD MARRIED THE LOVE OF HER LIFE LAST APRIL. A FEW MONTHS LATER, THEY LEARNED A BABY WAS ON THE WAY. WELL, HOLY MOLY ME. OH, MY. BUT EVERYTHING CHANGED. THE EVENING OF NOVEMBER 21ST, 2024, WHEN KATE WENT ON A DRIVE TO PICK UP A PREGNANCY CRAVING INGREDIENTS TO MAKE AN ORANGE JULIUS. WE GOT A PHONE CALL AND IT SAID THAT IT WAS THE CHAPLAIN FROM BERGAN MERCY HOSPITAL AND SAID OUR DAUGHTER KATE WAS IN A. HORRIFIC ACCIDENT WITH LIFE THREATENING INJURIES. KATE WAS 20 WEEKS PREGNANT. WHAT WAS THAT MOMENT LIKE? EVERY PARENT鈥橲 WORST NIGHTMARE. YEAH. HER CAR COLLIDED WITH A SEMI. THE CRASH WOULD LATER BE DEEMED NO FAULT. PARAMEDICS RUSHED KATE TO BERGAN MERCY WITH FOUR BRAIN BLEEDS AND A LONG LIST OF BONE FRACTURES. IN THE MOMENT I SAW HER, IT WAS LIKE THE ROOM WAS EMPTY AND JUST OVER NEXT TO HER. AND I REMEMBER JUST KIND OF HITTING MY KNEES NEXT TO HER. AND DESPITE THE LONG LIST OF INJURIES, DOCTORS SAY SOMEHOW BABY MADE IT THROUGH THE CRASH UNHARMED. BUT KATE REMAINED IN CRITICAL CONDITION FOR WEEKS. DOCTORS PUT HER IN A MEDICALLY INDUCED COMA. I REMEMBER ASKING SPECIFICALLY TO THE NEUROSURGEON, I SAID, IS MY DAUGHTER GOING TO SURVIVE? AND THE NEUROSURGEON SAID, YOUR DAUGHTER鈥橲 BRAIN IS VERY ILL. KATE鈥橲 FAMILY STRUGGLED WITH THE THOUGHT THAT SHE MAY NOT RECOVER. BEING TOLD THAT SHE THERE鈥橲 A GOOD CHANCE THAT SHE WOULDN鈥橳 MAKE IT. KATE鈥橲 FAMILY WAS BY HER BEDSIDE EVERY MOMENT, EACH DAY, AS SCARY AS THE LAST. IT WASN鈥橳 UNTIL A MONTH LATER, WHEN DOCTORS LOWERED KATE鈥橲 SEDATION LEVELS TO TEST BRAIN ACTIVITY, THAT HER FAMILY FINALLY SAW A GLIMPSE OF THEIR GIRL. I ASKED MY MOM AND DAD, LIKE, WHAT HAPPENED TO ME? AND WHY AM I HERE? KATE鈥橲 FIRST THOUGHTS FOCUSED ON HER LOVED ONES, SO HER FIRST WORD WAS BABY. AFTER SHE CAME OUT, BABY. AND THEN MOM. IT WAS IN THIS MOMENT THAT DOCTORS DISCOVERED KATE HAD A FIGHTER ON HER SIDE. HER UNBORN BABY. THEY SAID THAT THE BABY KIND OF SAVED ME A LITTLE BIT. DOCTORS SAID KATE鈥橲 HIGHER BLOOD PRESSURE FROM PREGNANCY AND THE STEM CELLS FROM THE UNBORN BABY PLAYED A PART IN HER MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL. BUT WAKING UP WAS JUST THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS DISCOVERING HER NEW NORMAL. SHE COULD STILL BARELY SPEAK AND COULDN鈥橳 WALK. MYSELF LIKE, SIT UP. I JUST FALL WITH A BABY COMING IN THREE MONTHS. MADONNA REHABILITATION NEEDED TO HELP HER GET PREPARED. EVERY DAY KATE GAVE IT HER ALL. HER DRIVE IS AMAZING AND SHE鈥橪L HAVE A STORY TO TELL TO THIS BABY. TO SAY YOU FOUGHT FOR ME AND I FOUGHT FOR YOU. SHE CELEBRATED MILESTONES LIKE HER FIRST STEPS, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY CELEBRATING GENDER REVEALS. SOMETHING SHE GOT TO SHARE WITH HER TWO SISTERS, WHO WERE ALSO EXPECTING. HAVING TO RELEARN EVERYTHING WHILE BEING PREGNANT. LIKE IT鈥橲 INCREDIBLE. KATE IS STILL RELEARNING SOME SKILLS, BUT NURSES SAY SHE鈥橲 IMPROVING EVERY DAY. I TRY TO MARATHON NOT A RACE, AND I鈥橪L GET THERE TO WHERE IT WAS BEFORE KATE MOVED TO OUTPATIENT THERAPY LAST MONTH AND JUST IN TIME TOO, BECAUSE KATE GIVES BIRTH TO HER BABY BOY THIS TUESDAY. ALL RIGHT, LET鈥橲 GO. I鈥橫 JUST EXCITED TO SEE THIS LITTLE GUY. I DON鈥橳 KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, BUT I KNOW IT鈥橲 GOING TO BE A BLESSING. THERE鈥橲 CHALLENGES TO COME, BUT I鈥橫 READY TO FACE THEM WITH HER. SAMANTHA PASTORINO KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN. AND ACTUALLY MET HIM SOONER THAN THEY THOUGHT. BECAUSE WE JUST GOT NEW INFORMATION FROM KATE鈥橲 MOM TODAY SAYING KATE DELIVERED HER BABY. BOTH ARE STABLE. KATE, WE鈥橰E PULLING FOR YOU. HER FAMILY HAS SET UP A DONATION FUND TO HELP THE COU
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Doctors say unborn baby helped pregnant Nebraska woman survive life-threatening crash injuries

Doctors said Kate's higher blood pressure from pregnancy and stem cells from the unborn baby played a part in her miraculous survival.

A crash puts a soon-to-be mother's life at risk, leaving her fighting to keep her baby alive but living with a traumatic brain injury, too.Kate Via has spent the days before the birth of her first son re-learning how to function. Life for Kate wasn't always like this. The 23-year-old married the love of her life last April. A few months later, they learned a baby was on the way.But everything changed on the evening of Nov. 21, 2024.When Kate went on a drive to pick up groceries in response to a pregnancy craving 鈥� ingredients to make an Orange Julius."Got a call from the chaplain at Bergan Mercy, saying our daughter Kate was in a horrific accident with life-threatening injuries," said Kate's parents, Chryssi and Steve Zeleny. Kate was 20 weeks pregnant."Every parent's worst nightmare," Chryssi said Her car collided with a semitrailer. The crash would later be deemed no fault.Paramedics rushed Kate to Bergan Mercy with four brain bleeds, damage to her carotid arteries, and a long list of bone fractures."The moment I saw her, it was like the room was empty. I remember just kind of hitting my knees next to her," said Kate's husband, Josh Via.Despite the long list of injuries, doctors say somehow, the baby made it through the crash unharmed.Kate remained in critical condition for weeks. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma."I remember asking specifically to the neurosurgeon, I said, 'Is my daughter going to survive?' And the neurosurgeon said, 'Your daughter's brain is very ill,'" Chryssi said.Kate's family struggled with the thought that she might not recover. They were by her bedside every moment, each day as scary as the last.It wasn't until a month later, when doctors lowered Kate's sedation levels to test brain activity, that her family finally saw a glimpse of their girl."I asked my mom and dad, 'What happened to me? Why am I here?'" Kate said. Kate's first thoughts, when she came out of the coma, focused on her loved ones."Her first word was 'baby' after she came out, 'baby' and then 'mom,'" Josh said.It was at this moment that doctors discovered Kate had a fighter on her side: her unborn baby."They said the baby saved me a little bit," Kate said. Doctors said Kate's higher blood pressure from pregnancy and stem cells from the unborn baby played a part in her miraculous survival.But waking up was just the first step toward discovering her new normal.She could still barely speak and couldn't walk."I'd sit up and just fall," Kate said. With a baby coming in three months, Madonna Rehabilitation needed to help her get prepared.Every day, Kate gave it her all. "Her drive is amazing. She'll have a story to tell this baby. To say you fought for me, and I fought for you," Chryssi said.She celebrated milestones, like her first steps, while simultaneously celebrating revealing the sex of the baby 鈥� something she got to share with her two sisters, who are also expecting. "Having to relearn everything while being pregnant 鈥� it's incredible," Josh said.Kate is still relearning some skills, but nurses say she's improving every day."It's a marathon, not a race. I'll get there, to where I was before," Kate said.Kate moved to outpatient therapy last month. "I'm just excited to see this little guy. I don't know what to expect, but I know it's going to be a blessing. There are challenges to come, but I'm ready to face and weather," Josh said about the birth of their child.Josh and Kate were expecting their baby boy on March 25, but an unexpected complication caused doctors to recommend he come early.Baby Isaac was born Sunday night in stable condition. Kate's parents say doctors discovered she needs surgery to address an AV fistula in her cavernous sinus. She will undergo this surgery on Wednesday. Her parents say the procedure is complicated, and there are still lots of unknowns.Kate鈥檚 family has set up a donation fund to help the couple. A link to that can be found here.

A crash puts a soon-to-be mother's life at risk, leaving her fighting to keep her baby alive but living with a traumatic brain injury, too.

Kate Via has spent the days before the birth of her first son re-learning how to function.

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Life for Kate wasn't always like this.

The 23-year-old married the love of her life last April. A few months later, they learned a baby was on the way.

But everything changed on the evening of Nov. 21, 2024.

When Kate went on a drive to pick up groceries in response to a pregnancy craving 鈥� ingredients to make an Orange Julius.

"Got a call from the chaplain at Bergan Mercy, saying our daughter Kate was in a horrific accident with life-threatening injuries," said Kate's parents, Chryssi and Steve Zeleny.

Kate was 20 weeks pregnant.

"Every parent's worst nightmare," Chryssi said

Her car collided with a semitrailer. The crash would later be deemed no fault.

Paramedics rushed Kate to Bergan Mercy with four brain bleeds, damage to her carotid arteries, and a long list of bone fractures.

"The moment I saw her, it was like the room was empty. I remember just kind of hitting my knees next to her," said Kate's husband, Josh Via.

Despite the long list of injuries, doctors say somehow, the baby made it through the crash unharmed.

Kate remained in critical condition for weeks. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma.

"I remember asking specifically to the neurosurgeon, I said, 'Is my daughter going to survive?' And the neurosurgeon said, 'Your daughter's brain is very ill,'" Chryssi said.

Kate's family struggled with the thought that she might not recover. They were by her bedside every moment, each day as scary as the last.

It wasn't until a month later, when doctors lowered Kate's sedation levels to test brain activity, that her family finally saw a glimpse of their girl.

"I asked my mom and dad, 'What happened to me? Why am I here?'" Kate said.

Kate's first thoughts, when she came out of the coma, focused on her loved ones.

"Her first word was 'baby' after she came out, 'baby' and then 'mom,'" Josh said.

It was at this moment that doctors discovered Kate had a fighter on her side: her unborn baby.

"They said the baby saved me a little bit," Kate said.

Doctors said Kate's higher blood pressure from pregnancy and stem cells from the unborn baby played a part in her miraculous survival.

But waking up was just the first step toward discovering her new normal.

She could still barely speak and couldn't walk.

"I'd sit up and just fall," Kate said.

With a baby coming in three months, Madonna Rehabilitation needed to help her get prepared.

Every day, Kate gave it her all.

"Her drive is amazing. She'll have a story to tell this baby. To say you fought for me, and I fought for you," Chryssi said.

She celebrated milestones, like her first steps, while simultaneously celebrating revealing the sex of the baby 鈥� something she got to share with her two sisters, who are also expecting.

"Having to relearn everything while being pregnant 鈥� it's incredible," Josh said.

Kate is still relearning some skills, but nurses say she's improving every day.

"It's a marathon, not a race. I'll get there, to where I was before," Kate said.

Kate moved to outpatient therapy last month.

"I'm just excited to see this little guy. I don't know what to expect, but I know it's going to be a blessing. There are challenges to come, but I'm ready to face and weather," Josh said about the birth of their child.

Josh and Kate were expecting their baby boy on March 25, but an unexpected complication caused doctors to recommend he come early.

Baby Isaac was born Sunday night in stable condition.

Kate's parents say doctors discovered she needs surgery to address an AV fistula in her cavernous sinus.

She will undergo this surgery on Wednesday. Her parents say the procedure is complicated, and there are still lots of unknowns.

Kate鈥檚 family has set up a donation fund to help the couple. A link to that can be found .