Posted on 01/21/2006 4:15:11 PM PST by Popman
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Sanford mother says she will never be able to hold her newborn because an Orlando hospital performed a life-altering surgery and, she claims, the hospital refuses to explain why they left her as a multiple amputee.
The woman filed a complaint against Orlando Regional Healthcare Systems, she said, because they won't tell her exactly what happened. The hospital maintains the woman wants to know information that would violate other patients' rights.
Claudia Mejia gave birth eight and a half months ago at Orlando Regional South Seminole. She was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando where her arms and legs were amputated. She was told she had streptococcus, a flesh eating bacteria, and toxic shock syndrome, but no further explanation was given.
The hospital, in a letter, wrote that if she wanted to find out exactly what happened, she would have to sue them.
"I want to know what happened. I went to deliver my baby and I came out like this," Mejia said.
Mejia said after she gave birth to Mathew last spring, she was kept in the hospital with complications. Twelve days after giving birth at Orlando Regional South Seminole hospital, she was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center where she became a quadruple amputee. Now she can not care for or hold her baby.
"Yeah, I want to pick him up. He wants me to pick him up. I can't. I want to, but I can't," she said. "Woke up from surgery and I had no arms and no legs. No one told me anything. My arms and legs were just gone."
Her 7-year-old son, Jorge, asks his mother over and over what happened to her. Neither she nor her husband has the answer.
"I love her, so I'll always stick with her and take it a day at a time myself," said her husband, Tim Edwards.
The couple wants to know how she caught streptococcus, during labor or after. She doesn't know. She knows she didn't leave the hospital the same.
"And why, I want to know why this happened," she said.
Her attorney, Judy Hyman wrote ORHS a letter saying, according to the Florida statute, "The Patients Right To Know About Adverse Medical Incidents Act," the hospital must give her the records.
"When the statute is named 'Patients Right To Know,' I don't know how it could be clearer," Hyman said.
"Didn't someone have to sign a consent form for the amputations?
[Something doesn't sound right in this story.]"
That's what I thought. Her medical information should be available to her. The fact that they're withholding this and she has to file a lawsuit to get the info sounds REALLY, REALLY fishy. IMO, she should own the hosiptal and drs. if this turns out to not be legit. And they should lose their liscense and get jail time, forever.
You are REALLY bad!!! LOL
Unbelievable
I guess the thing that really has me puzzled is.... ALL FOUR LIMBS? At the same time? It just seems that the odds of that happening would be more than a little remote. This is weird.
You'd think her lawyer would foot the bill. : )
If I were in her shoes; I would.
you know we are both going to hell, don't you? :)
"The amputations saved her life. What would most people choose, I wonder? Death or being a quadruple amputee for the rest of your life?"
So, the hospitals don't have to consult the family members if they intend to proceed with amputation? Or is that too socialistic?
I thought that was spelled with an 'e' instead of an 'a'..
Unless they died.
Ah...to heel with it! LOL!
I hope she wins a bundle.
depends. If the hospital acted in its best capacity and she does not remember what happened because of the illness, why should she win anything?
I did.
If my wife went into the hospital healthy and came out a quadruple-amputee, refusing to answer a question would be a bad life choice for someone.
So, the hospitals don't have to consult the family members if they intend to proceed with amputation? Or is that too socialistic?"
I wasn't commenting on that aspect at all. My comment was directed to the fact that the hospital simply didn't let her die after gangrene set in and thus saved her life. It is unclear how she was infected as much as people here want to speculate. She could just as easily have walked in infected as caught it in the hospital. People do get gangrene outside of hospitals.
I also asked the question of freepers as to which they would prefer, to be dead (because the hospital refused to act) or to have the hospital save your life resulting in your being a 4x amputee? Which would you prefer? Some people would rather be dead, others want to cling to life.
George or Jeb? Or both?
This is FR.
If you come into a hospital normal...deliver a baby normally, and then, within 24 hours catch a flesh eating disease, I would confidentally assume it was the hospital's fault. That's why they need to see who else had that disease. It's a natural request and they should get it. They don't need to know names, they just need to know if others had it in that hospital at the same time she was admitted.
AHs sorry bohs, I wuz jes' followin' de age ole tradition of checkin' spellin'....
You hit the nail on the head.
I know a man whose wife had the flu, was to spend a few days in the hospital, ended up with a nasty staph infection and then SYPHILLIS, and DIED.
It was unbelievable.
The real tragedy is that she probably could have beaten the flu at home. She was in her 60's. She may have had a weakend immune system, but being in the hospital surely made things worse.
Ok. This stuff is fast moving and certainly lethal. But noone was able to talk with the husband and brief him as to the wife's problems? He could not have been far from the hospital?
The other question, is how did she contract the bacteria? If the hospital was in any way at fault, I could see why they are stonewalling the family. There is probably a medical license or two that could be at stake, not to mention the millions from a malpractice suit.
I am sure she knew she had an infection and would need surgery
Popman,
She would likely have been in severe shock and completely incapable of knowing anything. But,,,,what about the husband?
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