Although invisible from the outside, Jessica Drummond always carries with her a memento from LHSC – four titanium clips that were surgically affixed to repair her skull after a terrible accident.

Jessica, a newcomer to Listowel, Ontario, was walking to the local community garden when a truck hit her. Her skull was severely fractured.

“She was in an ambulance being rushed to London, and I was terrified,” says her husband Jason. “We’d only been married for 10 months. I couldn’t lose her.”

Brain surgery was required to save Jessica’s life. “I could sense the expertise of the doctors and nurses,” says Jason, “and I felt relief. The health care team was hands-down amazing.”

Jessica was in a coma for three weeks. Slowly but surely she emerged from her coma and was able to leave Victoria Hospital. Two years of rehabilitation followed. She had to adapt to new health challenges, such as the frightening and physically taxing seizures she was now having as a result of her brain injury.

Even so, Jessica knew she wanted to have a family. In 2012, the Drummonds returned to LHSC – this time under much happier circumstances.

“I was expecting,” Jessica says, “and LHSC’s Women’s Care program was the best place for me to be monitored and have my baby.” The seizures meant the pregnancy was high-risk and the care offered by LHSC’s specialists would ensure Jessica and her baby stayed healthy and safe. Jessica and Jason are now the proud parents of Isabelle, who arrived safely in August of 2013. “I’m so happy to be here and to have a family,” says Jessica. “And now we’re back at LHSC for our second baby!”

“When the accident happened, no one knew if I would live. Three years later, the hospital that saved my life helped me have my baby girl.”
-- Jessica Drummond