Susan Michelle Rollin Torres (November 23, 1978 – August 3, 2005) was an American woman known for giving birth to a baby girl while

brain dead Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some aut ...

and on a

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

machine. Torres had a stroke on May 7, 2005, as a consequence of an undiagnosed melanoma (

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BC ...

). She was taken to the Virginia Hospital Center, where it was determined that the

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

had spread to her brain, and Torres was diagnosed as being brain dead. Her husband, Jason, decided that as she was 14 weeks pregnant at the time and their

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

faith, that they would keep her on life support in order to save the baby. A fund was set up to assist with the hospital bills and for the baby's care. The child, Susan Ann Catherine Torres, was born on August 2, 2005, through a

caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or ...

and weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces. The mother, Torres, was removed from life support on August 3, 2005, and died the same day. As the baby's birth was

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

, the child had an

intestinal disorder Gastrointestinal diseases (abbrev. GI diseases or GI illnesses) refer to diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract, namely the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum, and the accessory organs of digestion, the live ...

that required surgery. On September 12, 2005, Susan Ann Catherine Torres died shortly after surgery for a

perforated intestine Gastrointestinal perforation, also known as ruptured bowel, is a hole in the wall of part of the gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tract includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Symptoms include severe abd ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Susan 1978 births 2005 deaths People from Alexandria, Virginia People from Houston People from Wichita, Kansas Deaths from melanoma Deaths from cancer in Virginia