Louisiana surgeon Catherine Baucom gets caught in traffic, rides children’s bike to get to first surgery

The Baton Rouge-based doctor borrowed a helmet decorated with Disney princesses and the pink bicycle from a friend’s 7-year-old daughter after spending an hour and a half stuck in traffic on her way to the BRASS Surgery Center.

Surgeon Catherine Baucom takes to a mini-bicycle in an attempt to beat a traffic jam and get to Brass Surgey Center for work.



Surgeons are used to life and death situations, so the challenge of making it to the operating room on time after getting stuck in traffic was no sweat — if just a little embarrassing — for one dedicated Louisiana doc.

Dr. Catherine Baucom was caught in a major traffic jam after a chain of accidents crippled Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge early Wednesday and caused major gridlock throughout the area, CBS affiliate WAFB reported.

Baucom was desperately trying to get to the BRASS Surgery Center for work and had been sitting in traffic for an hour and a half when she hatched a plan: A friend lived a few blocks away, and he might have a better alternative for getting through the rest of her commute.

Brian Barnett, a fellow doctor, told WAFB she called and asked if he had a bicycle.

“I walked outside and said, ‘Yeah, it’s a kids bike,’” Barnett said.

Although it belonged to his 7-year-old daughter, Barnett decided it was Baucom’s best bet for pedaling past the traffic.

The bike “was hot pink and small,” Baucom said, adding that the helmet was decorated with Disney princesses.

Baucom, who is nearly 6 feet tall, kept hitting her knees against her chest as she rode.

Baucom is in her 30s and nearly 6 feet tall.

“She did utilize the plastic basket on front to put her cell phone in,” Barnett added. “Showed her experience with the bike.”

Baucom, a regular cyclist, told The Daily she kept hitting her knees against her chest while she pedaled. Nevertheless, she made good time, finally arriving at a police checkpoint.

“I rode up on this bright pink Schwinn wearing a princess helmet,” Baucom told The Daily. “They probably thought I was a mental patient. I said, ‘Look, I’ve got to operate, can you let me through?’ ”

With another five miles to go, a police officer offered to escort her the rest of the way — and she made it to her first operation on time.

“She’s obviously a very caring and compassionate doctor,” Tom Lally, vice president of operations at BRASS, told The Daily.

Baucom stressed that it’s important for her not to be late for appointments — and she’ll get to them any way she can.

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