Posted by Rick on 8/05/05

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Approximately May 30th, 2005 my mother went to the
emergency room in Lorain, oh because her stomach was very
swollen, sore and she couldn’t pass stool for a number of
days. While in the emergency room, she started developing
chest pains. The hospital decided to admit her that
evening. She was in a regular hospital room for about a
day and a half. I spoke to her doctor and the nurses and
expressed concerns that her stomach was swollen and I
wanted them to look at it. They said they weren’t worried
about her stomach at that point, that they wanted to
figure out what was going on with her chest. I asked them
on the phone from Memphis, TN if it is possible that her
stomach can be related to the chest problem, and they said
no.

The next day I called and a nurse told me my mother had
been moved to ICU. The nurse would not tell me anything. I
called ICU and they told me to call back in an hour or so.
I explained to them that was my mother and I am in TN. The
nurse then handed my mother the phone and she could barely
talk. No one else talked to me.

Finally I called her doctor again and she told me my
mother’s oxygen saturation went down to 30%, so they put
her in ICU. I asked what could the problem be and he
didn’t know. Again I asked if they looked at her stomach
and she said no. I then told her that my mother drinks
alcohol and smokes cigarettes. I also told her that I am
the oldest and would be the one who would give consent for
any procedures.

I called the nursing station later that evening and asked
what was going on. This time the nurse said my mother had
pneumonia. I asked again if they were looking at her
stomach and again they said no.

I decided to go to Lorain and see my mother on
approximately the 6th of June. I saw my mother’s stomach
was very, very swollen. My mother was complaining that her
stomach was very painful and she expressed that no one
looked at it yet. The hospital had her on a CPAC, forced
oxygen, to keep her oxygen saturation up. I asked them
what was wrong with her stomach, they said they didn’t
know. I asked about her lungs and this time I was told
they didn’t know what was wrong with them as well. I was
told they are not working well. I asked if they would get
better and I was told they didn’t know. I was not getting
any answers. The nurses told me my mother was very
combative and was trying to take the oxygen mask off, so
they kept her heavily sedated and tied her hands down to
her side. They also told me she was hallucinating. They
told me she was going through alcohol with drawls and this
causes that. I told them that yes, my mother likes to
drink. but when she came out here to TN to see us, she
didn’t drink here and never hallucinated. I told the
doctor that she is on medication and since she hasn’t
taken this medicine for some time, that may be what is
causing the hallucinations.

On approximately June 8th, a surgeon called me and asked
if I can come to the hospital. I went and he told me they
have to perform surgery urgently. They said they have to
find out what is going on with my mother inside her
stomach and they were going to do this the very next
morning. I asked about the risk and he said it is very
risky, that she may not come out of it alive. I asked how
she would breath during this and he said they would put
her on a ventilator.

The next day I came to the hospital to see her before the
surgery. I spoke to the Lung doctor about her lungs and he
still didn’t know what was going on. They took my mother
down and performed the surgery. After the surgery the
surgeon told us that she had Diverticulitis and he had to
remove about a foot and a half of intestine. He said they
gave her a bag. I asked if it could be reversed and he
said if she lives.
After the surgery, she still had the ventilator on and
they kept my mother so drugged up that she didn’t even
know we were there.

I went home for the weekend and came back around the 12th
of June. She was still knocked out from the heavy
sedatives they gave her. Later that week, I happened to
walk in while a doctor was seeing her. I told the doctor
who I was and he told me he was the infectious disease
control doctor. I asked him what happened and he told me
that my mother has diverticulitis and her intestines
ruptured. This caused her to contract sepsis which
attacked her lungs. I asked him why the hospital made my
mother sit in the hospital for 8 days before they looked
at her stomach. He couldn’t answer that.
After talking to the doctor, I went to the hospital
administration. I talked to the chief nurse and told her
that I am not getting any answers as to what is going on
with my mother. I told her that one person says she has
pneumonia, and another says they don’t know. I told her
what the Infectious Disease control doctor told me and I
expressed concerns for my mother’s well being there.

I went back home to TN and waited to see what happened.
My mother ended up coming out of it. She was transferred
to a rehab center to help her walk again and show her how
to take care of the bag.

I am looking for some advice as to what I can do about
this. My mother sat in the hospital for 8 days with a
swollen stomach before they looked at it. Then it turned
out that her stomach was a direct relationship to her lung
problems. If they would of looked at her stomach first,
they would of found the problem and maybe she wouldn’t of
been so bad off. Maybe she wouldn’t of needed the bag.

Now when she goes to her appointments, they all tell her
how close to death she was, but no one will tell her for
sure what happened. One doctor told her that she had no
classic signs of diverticulitis. What is a swollen stomach
and not passing anything for 7 days mean?

This took a lot out of me. The worrying about my mother.
The constant calling 3 times a day to the nursing station
only to hear she has not gotten any better and no, we did
not check her stomach yet. I had to drive to Lorain twice
and leave my family here. I saw my mother the sickest and
closest to death ever. And I feel it could have been
prevented if they would of looked at her stomach.

Do we have a case?

Re: Medical Malpractise, 8/18/05, by teresa.

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