Posted on 07/09/2007 8:58:19 AM PDT by WestTexasWend
-After county won't test victim's blood for viruses, good samaritan left wondering if she was infected-
When Wendy Lee saw a man get hit by a truck that night in May, she had no second thoughts about what she should do.
Lee stopped her Suburban to help 64-year-old Juan Vega, who had been trying to cross Williamson County Road 172 near La Frontera in Round Rock when he was struck by a 2000 Chevrolet pickup. Lee said she could see Vega's cowboy boots lying in the road.
"I called 911 as I was walking up to him, and they walked me through the first steps of CPR and chest compressions," Lee said.
Vega's eyes were open and moving, and he was gasping for air as she put her lips to his and breathed.
The next moment, she was spitting his blood into the grass.
Vega died on the way to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. When emergency workers saw that Lee, 38, was covered in Vega's blood, they sent her to the hospital to be tested for HIV and hepatitis.
The tests came back negative, but because Williamson County didn't test Vega for those diseases at the scene, Lee is left wondering whether she was exposed to viruses that might affect her health later. Doctors say that six to eight weeks after exposure is the most important time to test for HIV and hepatitis because both viruses take time to show up, but Lee said she cannot afford to get retested.
And more than a month later, she's stuck with almost $3,000 in medical bills.
"When I opened that bill, I wanted to cry," said Lee, a single mother of two teenagers who is a human resource manager at Triple Crown Dog Academy in Hutto. "I kept thinking to myself, 'Didn't I do the right thing?' "
Eric Strelnieks, a staff physician at St. David's Round Rock Medical Center, where Lee was taken after she tried to help Vega, said she was given a shot to prevent hepatitis B, a virus that attacks the liver, and was prescribed medication that slows the development of HIV.
Lee said she stopped taking the medication after a few weeks because it made her nauseated and dizzy.
Lee's health insurance paid a portion of her hospital bill, which was just under $8,000. But she said she can't afford to pay the remainder.
"The way life is right now, $50 is too much to pay," she said.
Testing Vega's blood for diseases could have put the questions to rest, but Williamson County doesn't require such tests unless it is suspected that alcohol or drugs were involved in a fatal accident, said Steve Benton, the justice of the peace who was called to the May 15 wreck.
The driver, an 18-year-old Round Rock man, was not charged.
"I sympathize with (Lee), but if we did a toxicology and blood test every time a fatality occurred, then it would cost the county $2,000 for each test," Benton said. Lee said she asked for Vega's medical records but was told by a state trooper after the accident that they were not available to her because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, a law that prevents patient medical records from being made public.
That might not be the case, said health law attorney Leah Stuart with the law firm Vinson & Elkins. She said Lee would have to make an open records request to any hospital or physician that Vega may have visited, and the health provider would then decide whether to release the information.
"It's a catch-all exception in the (HIPAA) law that pertains to someone whose life has been threatened. Hers could be in this case," Stuart said. "For (Lee) to get those records is a big hurdle."
Lee said that between work and caring for her children, she doesn't have time to deal with paperwork or open records requests.
Socorro Vega, Juan Vega's daughter, met with Lee last month and told her that her father was not sick. But she did not know the last time he had been tested for communicable diseases.
"She was an angel for my dad that moment she stopped. She really just wanted to save his life," Socorro Vega said. "I just hope that she gets help to pay the bills or gets the help she deserves for her good deed."
According to hospital officials in Round Rock and Austin, emergency technicians and first responders who are exposed to patients' blood receive the same testing and medication that Lee received, but their employers' insurance covers the cost.
Lee said she helped Vega because she and others had failed to help the victim of a car accident in front of her Round Rock home this year. She said she later learned that the man lying in the middle of the road had died, and she vowed to help the next person in need.
"I could never regret what I did (for Vega) because I know it was right," she said. "I just wish someone could tell me what to do."
Seriously? I thought most people would know their basic lifesaving ABC's, Airway, Breathing and Circulation. If you don't, I'm sure your community Red Cross has inexpensive courses. All of my kids have taken the course and are CPR trained. Everyone should know this stuff. I hate being the only one around who could save my life.
“She was an angel for my dad that moment she stopped. She really just wanted to save his life,” Socorro Vega said. “I just hope that she gets help to pay the bills or gets the help she deserves for her good deed.”
Uh.... well... how about YOU helping out, eh? I mean, seeing as how he was YOUR FATHER and all...
I can relate to that. My husband had open heart surgery two years ago and is on about a million meds, and I'm being treated for lung cancer for the second time. Like good responsible citizens, we made sure we had health insurance. But there's a lot that health insurance doesn't cover.
As an example, I would love to have a portable oxygen concentrator, but my policy has a $1000 annual lease limit on DME and I can't afford to pay to purchase one outright ($4000-$6000). But if I was on Medicaid, I could get the latest fanciest portable concentrator available and it wouldn't cost me a dime. I'm beginning to think it doesn't pay to be responsible.
Carolyn
This is what I am looking for in this thread. Would you answer a dopey question and tell us where to get a barrier mask? One should be in my glove box, no question about it.
screw that...I drive by all accident scenes
Maybe Michael Moore will take her to Cuba to get any additional health care FOR FREE!
What a deal! Man, I wanna live in Cuba! It *must* be like a paradise!
Of course she did the right thing. I think Vega's auto insurance should pay for her expenses.
People have separated themselves from paying for their own and their families’ medical bills so completely.
The right thing to do is rarely the least expensive thing to do. That aside, she should sue the estate.
Can you bellieve that? Thank you lawyers for your stupid law writing.
OMG, I show my dogs at Triple Crown.
Not her directly, but you can contact who appears to be her employer here:
http://www.triplecrowndogs.com/info/contact.htm
susie
Most of the places that sell uniforms or medical supplies carry them. I’ll see if I can find some links to on-line companies.
Yeah, chest compressions can cause internal injuries. You only do it if the person’s heart is stopped. Then the choice is between quick death or having a shot at revival with internal injuries from the CPR.
People have separated themselves from paying for their own and their families’ medical bills so completely.
This loaded statement of mine bears an addendum. When people who are willing to pay for their own equipment and meds find out the real cost, it is a shock. Much of the cost comes from others’ unpaid bills, and the inflated cost the insurance companies are willing to pay.
Of course. Thanks.
Because the one time in one thousand the test is wrong John F'n Edwards or one of his stand-ins will sue the medical company for malpractice and cost them half a million dollars defending themselves.
I forgot, her extension is #1109
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