Woman undergoes spine surgery at 31 weeks pregnant

By Jackie Pascale

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    HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (WXII) — Women are told to expect some aches and pains when they’re pregnant, from the hormones to the extra weight they’re now carrying. Caitlin Reinard kept telling herself that she had experienced neck pain growing more severe months into her pregnancy. But then, she said, she experienced a sensation so debilitating she thought she was having a stroke.

“My arm was radiating pain down into my fingertips, and then my arm was completely numb,” Reinard said. “It was really frustrating for me to wake up one day and really not be able to use my left arm. And very scary. I just didn’t know what prognosis was, and I didn’t know what the next steps were going to be. But I had a feeling, with my medical background, it would lead to surgery.”

Reinard used to be a paramedic and served in Iraq as an army medic in 2020 and 2021. During her last deployment, the black hawk helicopter she was in got in an accident. Reinard said she was told it caused pinched nerves, which could be treated with non-operative care.

“I was always seeing a chiropractor,” she said. “I was getting cortisone injections in my neck for the nerve pain.”

Now, years later, her doctors told her the MRI showed she had herniated discs pressing on her spine in the same spot. As an employee at Novant Health’s Heart & Vascular Institute in Huntersville, North Carolina, Reinard knew her intense pain and nerve issues would require a more serious solution.

“I worked as long as I could, but I was unable to actually lift my arm above my head,” she said. “It would cause pinching in my neck, and I would literally lose feeling in my arm. It was very scary because you’re just you’re driving to work or you’re dealing with a patient. I have patients on a treadmill. I need to be there to help them off the treadmill. It was very scary.”

She was referred to Dr. Chase Bennett, chief of spine surgery at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. He told her, just shy of 30 weeks pregnant, they’d need to replace the herniated discs.

“One of the concerns would be, if she were to continue with non-operative care, that the pain and function of her arm will continue to worsen, which can lead to long-lasting weakness,” Bennett said. “If she was able to push through the symptoms for a few more months, it’d be really hard to take care of a newborn child. With a left arm that really is hurting and is weak. She’s dropping things. That can be a risk for a newborn child.”

Bennett emphasized to all soon-to-be parents to make sure you’re paying attention to your own body.

“You can’t take care of your baby unless you’re healthy and feeling well,” he said.

Bennett said the surgery with Reinard is one of his department’s most common procedures, performing it hundreds of times a year at Forsyth Medical Center. Still, he made sure to assess every risk associated with mom and baby, and bring in doctors from different departments to ensure it was a successful operation.

Reinard said she immediately knew it was a success from the moment she woke up post-op.

“I had no nerve pain at all,” she said. “I had surgical pain, which is expected. But to be able to wake up and, after weeks of being in excruciating pain and not able to use my left arm, and boost myself out of bed — that was incredible. It was a miracle to me, really.”

Bennett said he’s proud to see the new mom thriving post-op, now able to hold her baby in her arms with no issue.

“There’s no better feeling,” he said. “I’m really proud to be part of the team that really work together to bring specialists from a lot of different backgrounds in order to put together the right plan for Caitlin.”

Reinard gave birth to her daughter, Laena Roan, on Jan. 25, 2025, about nine weeks after her spine surgery. As her surgical scar still heals, Reinard said she hopes to show it to her daughter someday as an example of strength, resilience and self-advocacy.

“Women get told to be tough and expect pain in pregnancy, just to get over it basically, but I advocated for myself. I knew there was something seriously wrong,” Reinard said. “I want women who might be in a similar situation to know there are options for your pain, and there are people out here who care.”

She also encourages fellow veterans to speak up if medical needs extend beyond care given at VA hospitals and clinics.

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