Tuesday, December 30, 2008

How PGE Wanted to Retaliate After I Called Lawyer

So I was fine, right? About not wanting to sue anyone, right? I had dealt with the bereavement end of things. Yes, I sobbed when I saw my baby, but I saw that he was beautiful, and I was able to name him, and I had already processed my grief weeks ago. So I wasn't angry with anyone or wanting to blame anyone for anything. Until, I'm sorry, but the facts cannot be ignored...

Not only were there an inexcusable number of problems with equipment at this hospital, for my only TWO visits, I was treated poorly as soon as a doctor I liked was out of the picture. If the Russian OBGYN was there, they did everything according to protocol, and controlled my pain. The minute she was gone, they cut off my pain meds, and I was ignored. I asked for a phone books for 2 days and was ignored, and asked for medical release forms for 2 days and was ignored.

They were trying to DISCHARGE me when I had a blood pressure of 77/34 and a CBC of only 8.29. They never rechecked my CBC after that, even though I lost more blood and the nurses saw that I lost more blood besides.

This doctor got in my face early this morning, and yelled at me that I was going home. I told her, how could she send me home at 77/34 for a bp? and she claimed she didn't know what was "normal" for me and I told her she could find out if she had faxed my medical release to this other hospital that DID have my normal BP on record. She refused to get the record.

So then I'm telling this hospital NOT to autopsy my baby, because an independent pathology was going to be done and they kept refusing to keep it preserved and were trying to tell me that either I let THEM do an autopsy, or they were throwing it away, or I could call a funeral home and have it cremated FIRST.

I told them I wanted it preserved and when they kicked me out, I signed a form telling them to keep it in proper conditions until it was taken by the funeral home, so I could have either a lawyer or myself take the next steps.

The minute I called a lawyer, they were trying to kick me out to the street. This hospital refused to do another CBC after they got an 8.29 after my transfusion. My blood pressure was totally abnormal and it had been 24 hours since they'd done a CBC. I asked them if they would please do one more CBC before discharging me and they refused. They had cut off all pain medications, abruptly, the night before as well.

They were so mean to me, it was unbelievable, and all this time I'd thought my roommate hadn't even tried to call for me. I found out, after I got home, that he had tried calling repeatedly, and they kept telling him I wasn't picking up the phone. He gave his name, and asked for me and they never put him through. And then they were telling ME that no one had called for me at all. I picked up my phone every time it rang. They were LYING to me, and I have no idea why.

Some of the daytime nurses were okay and I had maybe 2 good OBGYNs and the rest were really, really, bad. I mean, not even competent. And then I had one nurse, who didn't have attitude at all, but she couldn't COUNT! She counted out loud, on her fingers, incorrectly, in front of me, to figure out when I was getting my next medications for pain and I had to point out it was wrong and help her count again. She'd done this twice and I don't think it was intentional on her part--she seriously just didn't know how to count.

The care there was very bad. I haven't had that bad of care anywhere except Wenatchee. And even Wenatchee had a few bright spots here and there when they weren't harassing me. Most of the time they were bad, but not all of the time. Here, it was pretty much ALL bad, right from the get-go, and you wondered how in the world they functioned as a medical facility?!

So after trying to kick me out at 77/34, they waited until my BP was up, but never rechecked my CBC, and then dropped discharge papers on me, which I'd not seen before, and told me I had to leave right then and there or I was "trespassing". It was horrid of them, but it was their choice to behave that way. At least I was able to use my voice recorder for most of it.

When they saw my voice recorder being pulled out, in ER, after they were refusing me pain meds while giving me 4 Zytotec, they backtracked pretty fast. After I contacted a lawyer though, they just wanted me out. So I talked to some lawyers who said it sounded like medical malpractice and others who thought it was a lot more like products liability.

Whether I sue or not, it needs to be know, and made public, what happened there, because that kind of equipment failure isn't safe for anyone, and when I saw it happening that much, I thought it was a pretty bad track record.

Why harass me besides? They basically were at fault for killing my baby, with a bad MRI machine, and then they couldn't even handle a miscarriage gracefully? I would have thought, any doctor or hospital would try to do their best to ensure you're safe, and treated well, and that the process is complete and finished on a good note, rather than act like eviction notice Landlords of the Landfill. It was so, so, strange. I was very disappointed to see this kind of behavior from ANY medical "professional" and thought it set an especially poor example for those students who were in residency training. I mean, God, I wouldn't want that hospital named as my teaching facility.

Once I get the name of the Russian OBGYN, I'll list her, but the rest of them were pretty bad. There were also a couple of decent nurses, but it's sad when "normal" is suddenly looking like the best care you've ever had in your life because the rest of the nurses are so bad!

So they kicked me out the minute my BP was up, when I was completely lightheaded, and they cut off my ability to use the phone and didn't want me to be able to sign a form about what to do with the fetus, or be able to call a proper funeral home which had decided to preserve it for me.

I got the paper signed anyway, because there was NO WAY I was leaving without making sure that baby had a chance to have someone objective take a look.

The baby was beautiful, but there was a small mark that looked like a blister to me. It wasn't a deformity at ALL, it was a blister, and after thinking about what could have happened with the MRI machine, I believe it's from MRI burn.

I know something was wrong with the machine, and that this baby should have lived. I am absolutely resolved as to the cause of death. It is too bad, because this was a gorgeous child, even at 11 weeks.

I wish everyone could see, because it wasn't what I thought it would be. It was exactly like a very miniature baby doll. Perfect in every way, except for the spot which I think was caused by MRI. I looked at it very carefully, and also, on Sonogram, it was totally healthy. I could see perfect little ribs, and belly, and legs and arms and fingers, and everything was in the proper place.

Anyway, PGE forced me out by dumping me into their waiting room in a wheelchair, telling me they'd never heard from my roommate, knowing I didn't have his number with me, and they were wondering how I was "getting home".

I was going to go straight to another ER because I felt so sick, but then I decided to come home first and get some more things, including my roommates number, and make a few posts, and then go back when I think I need to have the CBC done again.

I really didn't want to have any blood transfusions from that hospital. I don't trust the blood, or the way they store it, or anything. They didn't even know how to read the expiration dates on the bag.

Yes, it was pretty bad.

If I had gone home with the Zytotec, as they wanted, I would have died from bleeding to death. If I had home with a blood pressure of 77/34 and low CBC, when I still needed an IV, I would have who knows? become ill and dizzy and needed fluids? I know it's not considered "stable" to be at 77/34 bp. So, finally, they seized their chance to spring this on me last minute, after they got a halfway normal bp but refused to do another CBC. I think they knew it could be low again and then they'd have to keep me longer. They knew I'd keep bleeding. Taking the Zytotec was supposed to hasten the process so I did NOT go home bleeding at all. It was to send me home with NO bleeding, to prevent chance of infection.

But they decided to send me home anyway, once I called a lawyer.

Bad practice, I think.

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