TCU graduate becomes doctor after surviving life‑threatening birth complications

A group of North Texas medical students became doctors this week after graduating from Texas Christian University. For one of them, the moment almost didn't happen.

Kailie McGee can't count how many hours she spent in classrooms at TCU's Burnett School of Medicine.

"It was amazing and the hardest thing I've ever done," McGee said.

Her years of hard work culminated Tuesday when she graduated as Dr. Kailie McGee.

"We were all so emotional," McGee said.

A traumatic start to life 

The emotion of that day stems from her birth on March 8, 2000.

"I had the cord wrapped around my neck, so when I came out, I wasn't breathing, and my heart wasn't beating," McGee said.

Doctors rushed her to the NICU.

"At the same time, my mom went into something called hemorrhagic shock. Basically, she was bleeding out," McGee said.

Her mother survived. And on Match Day, McGee received a full‑circle surprise.

Returning to the hospital that saved her 

"I'm going to be practicing at the best place ever at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, and it's extremely full circle for me because that's where I was born," McGee said.

What happened to her as a newborn stayed with her throughout her life. She hopes to open doors for others and provide the same life‑saving care she received.

"They were a beacon of light for us in those dark moments, and I realized that I wanted to and I could do that for other people," McGee said.

A new doctor begins her journey 

She'll go from being a living miracle to helping others sustain the miracle of life when she begins work as an internal medicine doctor on July 1.