This is Maria's story
On September 21st my partner was admitted to our local hospital for a procedure
to determine if he had a blood clot in his lower right leg.
I am feeling very traumatized, grief-stricken, depressed
Now why would she say that when it was OK for a complete stranger who was in the next bed could hear everything. The conclusion was he had maybe six months to live. My partner and I made the decision he was to come home as soon aspossible for what ever time was left and in my heart thought there would be more time then what we were told.
November the 6th I received a call at 3 AM from the hospital saying my partner had fallen out of bed. When I arrived they were bandaging his head and the hospital doctor said they were unable to repair the injury to the left side of his head. On November the 9th he passed from Intracranial Bleed - Fall Delirium? On the previous night, when I was leaving I had to go to the opposite side of his bed (right side) to give him a kiss good night as the left side of the bed was too congested with an over bed table, TV, side drawer cabinet and IV pole, it was to difficult to get close to him. So HOW did this happen? Was the left side bed rail not up? I can't get any answers.
I am feeling very traumatized, grief-stricken, depressed and anger as I go through what memories and information I have through our text messages, the days I was allowed to see him and what he suffered due to, in my opinion, inadequate care. I
will file complaints with the College of Physicians, the Health Authority and the hospital... I want accountability to get the closure I need but realize it is a long, uphill battle against a system that is divisive with lawyers using scorched earth
tactics against families who have lost a loved one because of medical errors.
The procedure is called “FemoralTibial Bypass. BC health link's surgery overview said 1 to 2 days bed rest and may need to stay for 3-5 days. The pain from the incision usually gets better after about 1 week.
Three weeks later my partner was unable to walk or do physio as his lower leg continued to bleed and at times the pain was unbearable (text message sent to me). The situation also brought about other conditions including iron deficiency which needed blood transfusions and congestive heart failure. My partner's health was not the best but all records of all his medical issues were available at all times.
Because of Covid19 my visits were sporadic so I relied on his texts and facetime when we could connect and very limited information from the nurses or doctors. At one of my visits, he was on the cardiac ward. As I walked into his room and stood at the foot of bed, I looked down there was a large pool of blood that had seeped through the bandages, the mattress and on to the floor. A transfusion was need that night. Three weeks later my partner was back in surgery to repair the incision. His right shoulder was also injured (I can't remember what he said caused the injury and I have requested along with a picture I had taken, more information). The shoulder injury was painful and limited his ability in the use of his right arm to lift or move.
On November 4th a meeting was scheduled with the hospital doctor, my partner and myself to discuss his health issues. When I attempted to record it on my phone the doctor informed me she would not discuss the situation if I continued to record.