Surgeon rides child's bike through gridlock to make operation on time

SALT LAKE CITY — A Louisiana surgeon rode a child's bike through freeway traffic last week in order to make it to a scheduled operation.

Catherine Baucom, a surgeon at Elliot Mastology Center, found herself caught in traffic caused by an accident that shut down I-10 in Baton Rouge early Wednesday morning. Concerned that she would not make it to BRASS Surgery Center in another part of town, she took matters into her own hands.

Baucom made her way to a nearby friend's house after deciding she could make it no further in her car, WAFB reports.

"Catherine called, she was outside my house. She said 'Hey do you have a bike?' I walked outside and said, 'Yeah, it's a kids bike,'" Dr. Brian Barnett told the CBS affiliate. "It was hot pink and small. The helmet was pink with princesses."

Baucom tested out the bike, which belonged to Barnett's 7-year-old, pumped up the tires and decided it was fit for the journey. Then, the nearly 6-foot-tall woman hopped on the bike and headed for the freeway.

The journey through town was uneventful, but she was stopped by police upon entering freeway traffic, according to WLOX.

"They said we can escort you and he essentially drove past me and then he turned around and was videotaping me," Baucom said. "I did tell him I didn't know if he could keep up with me."

Thirty minutes later, Baucom pulled up the the surgery center for her appointment. The staff of the center — and the patient — were grateful, but not surprised, according to WLOX.

"A lot of our patients are women and they come in from out of town," Baucom said. "They're very nervous, for different reasons. So I felt like I needed to get there for them."

Barnett later presented Baucom with the princess helmet as a token of appreciation.

"My girls last night said they wanted you to have this," Barnett said.