For accident survivor, blood donation is simple: “Just gotta take the step.”
May 3, 2017 is a date KayCee Hudman will never forget -- well, sort of. It was the day the then-high school senior was driving near her school, made a left-hand turn and was struck by a dump truck. She was pushed off the road and actually, doesn’t remember much about that day or the recovery that followed.
Fast forward four years, and a recovered KayCee has been told the story of her horrific accident many times: the rescue team had to cut the roof off her car to get her out; she sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI), broken hip, pelvis, femur, arm, ribs…and needed 10 blood transfusions – but her story has a happy ending in more ways than one.
In only six months after the accident, her brain had amazingly healed, and she was able to go back to school. It was on campus at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, that KayCee spotted a Red Cross blood drive sign and felt strongly compelled to donate.
KayCee says, “I knew I’d had a bunch of transfusions, and now I knew I wanted to give blood.”KayCee is quite open about what happened to her and can fire off the details in rapid succession, even if she doesn’t exactly remember many of them. She does remember the inspiration her accident provided and advocates for blood donation with the passion of someone who knows exactly why it’s so important.
“I don’t have a spleen because of the accident, so I can’t give plasma,” KayCee explains, but she’s been a regular blood donor since she recovered (except currently while having cosmetic tattoo treatments to cover one of her surgery scars). “All you do is sit in a chair and relax and get free snacks,” she assures.
“When I first gave blood on campus, my biggest concern was that it might make me late for class, but I learned the process is also really quick!”
In a TV appearance, KayCee even gave blood while the reporter conducted an interview. “Before the interview finished, I was done,” she recalls.
Married now for almost three years and mom of two beloved fur babies, KayCee admits that if she hadn’t had her accident, she wouldn’t have awareness of the significance of blood donation, or the fact that she is a universal donor blood type O negative.
“I remember before the accident being with my mom and seeing the big blood drive truck, but I never took the step,” she says. “You gotta take the step!”
It’s easy to take the step and donate blood
Schedule an appointment now by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or: