Things were dire for Katie McClanahan after a tree fell on her last April -- so dire that many on the scene thought she wouldn't survive.

As heavy rain and flooding swept through much of the state, an injured McClanahan was trapped under the tree bleeding-out. After first responders with the Little Rock Fire Department and MEMS got her from under the tree and into an ambulance, McClanahan was barely clinging on to life. The only thing that saved her life -- and allowed her to attend a news conference at UAMS on Monday -- was a blood transfusion administered on the ambulance, a procedure that very rarely occurs.

"Access to pre-hospital blood, along with the swift actions of UAMS, Little Rock Fire Department and MEMS saved my life on April 5," she said. "Thanks to the collaboration of this

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