My mother died from Preventable medical error for a good reason.
It was June 2011. My mother went to the Emergency Room for fever and shortness of breath. She was admitted to the hospital.
Had she been diagnosed correctly and given the right medical care, she would have been discharged in 14 days or less. Instead, she was in the hospital for TWO months.
During that stay, she almost died five times from preventable medical errors and hospital-acquired complications.
She landed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), started on emergency hemodialysis, and placed on life support.
"Pull the Plug"
While in the ICU, we were told that “pulling the plug” was the best option because even if she survived, she would not have quality of life. In fact, the chaplain and intensivist spent an hour convincing us “It was time to let her go”.
My sister and I took turns advocating for her non-stop for 24 hours. Had we not been there to ask questions and monitor her care, she would not have survived.
I watched a few patients wheeled out of ICU to the morgue. There was no family around. I couldn’t help but feel sad and wondered if I could have done something for them to stay alive. I hope they did not die from a preventable medical error.
Have you lost a loved one in the hospital and your gut knew something went wrong?
Mom's Success Story
At discharge, and still without the correct diagnosis, doctors and nurses were stunned by mom’s success story.
Mom went to a Rehabilitation Hospital where she had to learn to walk again.
Vivacious with mental faculties intact, she was determined to live another ten years.
The Devastating Twist
After all the work mom put in for two months to learn to walk again, she died from another preventable medical error. This time it happened at the nursing home section of the Rehabilitation Hospital.
Mom was given a narcotic to help her sleep because she refused a sleeping pill. Mom was not even in pain. But the nurse thought the narcotic will help her sleep. Within hours, mom died.
What were the two medical errors that could have been prevented?
Medical error #1: The doctor who ordered the narcotic for mom overlooked that this narcotic is contraindicated for patients with chronic heart condition like mom.
Medical error #2: Obviously, the nurse did not know that this narcotic, when crushed, can kill a patient. Mom refused to take the tablet so the nurse crushed it and rubbed it in her gums.
Have you lost a loved one at the nursing home and you don’t understand exactly what happened?
I found the true purpose of my life at 56. Thanks to mom.
Good came out of this devastating loss. God had a plan for mom’s death. I found the true purpose of my life. I dedicated my life and career to helping others prevent medical errors in hospitals and nursing homes. No one deserves to go through what mom went through.
I want to share with you the mistakes we made, lessons we learned, and the steps we took when mom was at the hospital and left the hospital alive. You can be a success story too. Let’s face it; we will all need to go to the ER or hospital at some point in our lives.
I created the Online Patient Success Program just for you.
The Key to Patient Success is being proactive and knowing what to do:
Before illness strikes
Before and emergency room visit
Before an elective surgery
Before a hospital stay
Being reactive may be too late.
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