My name is Sara Jensen. On March 13, 2010 I was admitted to the Swedish Orthopedic Institute with debilitating back pain. Within minutes after arriving in the emergency room, I was getting an MRI, and within hours I was told that I would need spinal surgery. My surgeon, Dr. Srinivasan, was a consummate professional and I appreciated her work. The ER did a tremendous and amazing job in taking care of me. I was astounded by the timeline.
I was terrified. Almost 5 years ago exactly my mother went in for a series of spinal surgeries (non genetic issues). She was discharged while complaining of pain and went home. Hours later she went into her bathroom and collapsed on the floor, she died from a combination of a blood clot and internal bleeding. I tell you this, to let you know how sad it makes me that the same thing nearly happened to me.
During my rehabilitation the quality of the care I received was not as good as it was in the ER. I voiced these concerns to Dr. Srinivasan (after the blood clot was diagnosed) who then contacted the manager of Swedish Hospital SOI Diane Mass who so kindly called me to talk to me about my experience. While some of the nurses on my floor were excellent, providing both information and assistance, others actually contributed to a potentially life-threatening medical condition.
In the days following surgery, I complained of intense pains in my right leg, both in the thigh and calf areas. When I mentioned this pain to the nurses, they took no action to investigate or resolve the lower leg pain. Instead, they moved to give me additional painkillers, put ice bags on me and tried to give me anti-anxiety medication. When I begged them to find out if something else was wrong, instead of giving me more pain meds they would sigh (quite loudly) and tell me that if I “didn’t want help then they couldn’t do anything for me.” A day after surgery I was still in a good deal of pain, I talked to a nurse about the leg cuffs and asked what they did and when they would come off. She took them off my right away and said that I didn’t need them any more. I did not walk until the PT or OT person came in (I am not sure how they were different). Since my leg cuffs had been removed, I was engaged in extremely sporadic physical exercise. No nurses or other staff encouraged me to get up and walk with the exception of my brief OT and PT sessions ( I would also like to note that these PT/OT session lasted a total of 20 something minutes altogether). I found it curious that my insurance was billed several thousand dollars for these PT/OT services yet I was helped for no more than a half and hour. I am curious to know was my insurance pre-billed for the PT that I should have when my 4 week recovery is up?
At one point when I asked to speak with Dr. Srinivasan about the symptoms in my leg, I was told “She doesn’t want to talk to you.” I was deflated and I felt helpless. I realize that there are other patients and more than one nurse took the time to tell me that my recovery shouldn’t be so hard other people woke up after surgery and felt “just fine”. This, is not a great way of motivating a patient that is scared and in pain.
After being discharged, I returned home to Friday Harbor. While the pain in my back was significantly lessened, the pain in my right leg continued to intensify. It was soon accompanied by swelling and redness. I called my surgeon and she wanted me to get an MRI. I live on an island so it takes a long period of time to commute to Seattle, we settled on getting an ultrasound at the medical center on the island. The ultrasound revealed a very large blood clot in my leg and I was immediately airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham.
There I was, being told 5 years after my mother’s death that I could possibly die the very same way. I felt so angry that I had voiced over and over again that I knew something was wrong with my leg beyond inflammation.
I firmly believe that my blood clot was present while I was still in care at Swedish Orthopedic Institute. The symptoms were present and not consistent with recovery from spinal surgery. I communicated to the doctors charged with my care that my mother died from blood clot-related complications following back surgery. The fact that the response to me presenting a legitimate medical concern was the doctor telling me “it shouldn’t hurt” (I don’t think that the doctor would have said this had the nurses been thorough enough to note that my entire leg hurt) and nurses trying to give me an Ativan is incredibly hard to believe. With the resources present at Swedish, an ultrasound could have been performed on my leg to identify the blood clot easily. The pressurized cuffs that were placed on my legs to prevent blood clotting should not have been removed so early. If I could not even get up to go to the bathroom. I was still on a catheter because I could not even get myself out of bed.
Not only was I forced to relive the death of my mother, not only did I lose several weeks of work, not only am I now forced to take a medication that will prevent me from becoming pregnant with our second child for the next six months (please note that 2 pregnancy tests were taken while I was at SOI because my husband and I had started trying to have a child), but I was taken away from my 2 year old son with the fear that I would never see him again.
I can tell you, what I never knew before. I never knew that I could feel an even deeper sense of grief than I did after I lost my mother, but I did. Being placed in the helicopter the only thing running through my mind was that my beautiful 2 year old son would never really remember me. I felt grateful that I was older when I lost my own mother the very same way because I could remember her, still cherish her and thought one day I could tell Henry, my son stories about her.
Yes, here I am alive. I have my son and husband. But not because of SOI, but because I had to nag and holler to get someone to take my seriously. I am traumatized, fearful that if I ever need surgery again that the same thing could go wrong. My distrust of hospitals has only increased with this experience.
If just one nurse could have really taken my symptoms seriously, this could have all been prevented. I feel sorry for someone who is more alone in the world, who would be sent home without anyone to take care of them and would have died alone on the floor.
If there are any questions that you might have that would help clarify the situation, please let me know. I am hoping to reach a resolution considering how much trauma I have suffered as a result of being ignored and work time (I have my own business) I have lost and costs (airlifted to Bellingham) I have accrued as a result of the negligence of some of the staff of SOI.
Kind regards,
Sara Jensen
25 Comments
Wow! Your grief is palatable. So sorry you went thru this. Hope there is some resolution for you like SOI taking responsibility for their shittiness.
XO
OMG sara! I sure hope you’ve retained legal counsel – this is horrible. I’m glad you’re ok now!
Oh my god, Sara, I don’t even know what to say. This is shocking, and yet…it’s not. You’re an intelligent, thoughtful person with the self-awareness AND personal experience that you would imagine would have prevented this situation, but it didn’t matter. (Think of all the people who don’t have the knowledge and nerve needed to question doctors!)
We turn to doctors and hospitals when we are at our weakest; during times when we need someone else to be the authority, to help us to heal, and to make sure we don’t fall apart. There is only so much vigilance patients can be expected to have.
I hope you can find some resolution for the damage that has been done.
Thank you so much for your comment Anna. I super value your thoughts and comments always. I feel so sad thinking about my mom who was alone or people that are too scared to ask questions in the first place.
Kimberly I am not really a litigious person in general. In this case, I would hope that Swedish would accept responsibility with some of the care I had to get afterwards. As of now they are not being very helpful only saying that they wont take care of things. I think that they are worried that if they accept responsibility for what happened a lot more people will come forward. Also the main “horrible” nurse that I dealt with straight out lied about a number of things.
Tori Im glad that we sort of got to heal together and share old lady toilet seat boosters. xoxoxxxoxoox
I am so sorry to hear how much suffering you and your family has been through and continue to go through. I cried while I read this. I applaud you for yelling from the “rooftops” so-to-speak and hope you feel some comfort from doing so. You have proven the point that it is all too important to take charge of your own health, and it has motivated me to speak up; something I tend to shy away from, thinking the staff has more authority than I. Not so.
I am so sorry you went through this, but it’s good that you’re sharing it. So many people just don’t know what to expect after surgery, and wouldn’t necessarily know that what they were experiencing just isn’t right. That you did and that it was ignored is appalling and unconscionable.
I recently had surgery myself, and I wish that you could have gotten the care that I did. After hearing your story, I want to send my surgeon, his nurses, and all my hospital nurses flowers, chocolates, and maybe a singing telegram or two.
Oh Sara I love that you are a fighter for what’s right, and for anyone in need. Health care is so confusing and overwhelming in this country – good for you for pointing out dangerous complacency and holding them accountable for the important work they do (or fail to do…)
my god, what a terrifying experience, i am so glad that you have survived it in every sense. it is truly shocking that you were not listened to and my chest tightens when i think how your fear and anxiety must’ve been so heightened given your circumstances ( i had a short spell in hospital this year, and although i was well-cared for, it was still unnerving and i worried for all kinds of reasons). i think you have a case to bring here.
Hi Sarah,
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog for a while (I can’t remember if I came across it from poppytalk?), but have yet to comment… However I just wanted to pass along some info that I hope might help. I live in Canada, but I’m sure that (despite certain documentaries) there are some similarities in our health care systems… so I suggest if you haven’t done so already, get in touch with the Health Records or Medical Records department of the hospital to request a copy of your entire hospital record. Once you have that, get in touch with the hospital administration or Risk Management department as a first step to coming to a resolution – both for yourself and for future patients. It is quite routine here for both trauma and post-surgical patients to be closely monitored for blood clots. In the meantime I wish all the good health and happiness in the world to you and your beautiful family!
The way you were treated makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. When you shared that story with me here in Oklahoma I was reminded of my own dad who had gone to the hospital after having suffered a heart attack only to be SENT HOME and told to come back later. When he came back later they had made another error in scheduling and sent him back home again.
So he went fishing all weekend. With a broken heart. Upon his return he went to another hospital who treated him and then he went through months of recovery issues.
Anyways, the point is – your stories have only deepened my mistrust of our complex and confusing medical system. It makes me so mad and sick for you.
This is terrible! Reading about the way you were treated and how much it cost you afterwards! Come over to Australia, you at least won’t be charged that incredibly large amount of money to be looked after.I am shocked at the lack of care shown by your doctors and nurses. I agree with Deanna, definitely look into getting the records, and address the issues. They should not get away with this type of treatment anywhere in the world! Good luck, and sending you lots of health and happiness for you and your family from adelaide, australia! xx
This is making me feel sick. I did the same desperate pestering of medical staff when my brother was in hospital but unlike you I backed down when I wasn’t listened to. He didn’t make it. I understand where you’re coming from about not being litigious (same here) but at least you’ve kept excellent contemporaneous notes if you ever change your mind.
i am so so sorry for you. while reading this i´m in pain because of a slipped disc i´m suffering from for almost 2 years now and nothing can stop this pain, it just helps ease it. so i really can feel what you´re went through and it makes my heart ache. but somehow your story ensured me to try harder to find a way to get rid of the pain that is dulling my live. so i wont listen to medical staff anymore who tells me i should wait a bit longer and that all this normaly wouldn´t hurt.
thank you for sharing this – i wish you all the best in the world!
xxx
What a terrible story! I’m like you in that I’ve never wanted to be litigious in any way or for any reason, but after I read this, I felt differently for you! I’m an HR person and am always trying to make sure that my very well-educated scientist and clinical professionals are treated right under our health plans and can’t believe what a struggle it is sometimes. I tend to encourage people to fight for their rights (with the help of the broker we have) because I think of my smart employees, who have a strong sense of fairness and understand what they’re entitled to, as good advocates for folks who need healthcare and don’t have the same resources or ability to get what they need from our healthcare providers and insurance companies.
or who just know you in real life, will learn from your experience and know to persist when they are in pain and need something different than what is offered. The more consequences there are for the people who DIDN’T give you the care you needed, the more likely it is that they will be financially motivated to formalize changes in practice that could prevent the kind of thing that happened to you.
That’s just all to say, I’m so glad you are registering a complaint, and however far you choose to take it, it serves multiple purposes, as you learn how best to tackle things like this, other reading your blog or being parented by you
A side note – there is more and more in the news about how prescription drug abuse is on the rise, but no wonder when we are content to send people home in pain with no better answer than “Here, take this pill.”
So sorry for your loss, and for what you went through.
Also, I thought Deanna’s advice sounded good, though I don’t have expertise in this area. It’s just that pursuing something further doesn’t have to be about getting money (though if it cost you something to have your life endangered, it should be about getting that back, for sure) it’s about making sure that they HAVE to be more careful with the next patient.
Wow. Thanks for all of your comments. Sorry I have not written sooner. I met with my spinal surgeon today. Been a little distracted. I wish that our healthcare system was different. I found out that my insurance didnt even want to pay for my surgery, citing that it was a prexisiting condition, though I was never seen for backpain before. Looking into ways to lessen my second hospital visit…
Hi Sara, this is just so shocking and horrible! I cannot believe you had to go through all that! I’m so sorry! I’m a glad you share this story though, doctors should listen to their patients – they know best what feels “abnormal”!
Hope you can find trust in a doctor again some day!
ok, I am totally late in reading this as I’ve been in some weird fog and haven’t kept up with my blogs. It’s a total testament to you and your spirit that you are as alive, funny, and amazing as you are. You could not have told me that the person that I met and befriended this summer was the same person that suffered so greatly just a few months before. Thank you for sharing this story with us. xoxo
Wow Sara, i just read you gripping post. Im so sorry you had to go through this! The experience is almost worse than the physical pain!
I Denmark health care is free but by no means perfect. Last year the media reported alot of cases where people died or were badly hurt because doctors didn’t listen to them. It showed the terrible truth: that you have to be really strong to be sick and that you have to know what to say to get help!
Also there has been a lot of cuts to the hospitalcare and recently mid wives mad a big protest saying they could no longer insure the safety for the women in labour under the new cuts. Its terrible when you can’t trust the system that is ultimately made to help you when you are weak.
long comment. your story really touched me. Hope you feel better!
wow, horrible! i’ve spent way too much time in hospitals this year with my son, and i just don’t understand why the medical community doesn’t seem to listen to patients and their families. time and again, i’ve had it right with my son and i’ve been ignored. kudos to you for writing the letter, a lot of people wouldn’t have the energy. i sincerely hope it makes a difference.
I just read your blog post this evening about your hospital experience. I, too, witnessed a similar experience at a major medical center in Baltimore, MD. My mother was there for one month following a brain aneurysm. I was so grateful when she was finally released because I was worried the incompetence of the staff was going to kill her before we could get her out of there. Everything from a neuro resident telling us he did not have time to check on her, because he had 40 other patients, when she started displaying a medical complication which resulted in additional brain trauma; ill trained and under qualified nurses working in the neuro icu; very rare visits from the actual neurologist handling her case; warnings from nurses to stay away from certains wards of the hospital due to high infection rates; in addition, I met numerous family members of patients experiencing similar issues. Her care became worse when she was moved to a rehab unit at a smaller hospital. She had actually worked at this facility for 20 plus years, but the care there was frightening. Again, the infection control was terrible including the head of the infection control unit; nurses improperly trained to handle anything but the most basic tasks; poor doctors which resulted in her having an undiagnosed blood clot in her arm even though her family repeatedly asked for an ultrasound because we suspected the clot. Her doctor finally ordered one an hour before she was to be discharged and then apologized for not doing the test sooner. She had been in excrutiating pain with this “undiagnosed” blood clot so the nurses/doctors gave her morphine which causes older patients, especially those with brain trauma, to decline cognitively. Again, we were grateful to get her out of the facility alive. It is all so scary. I quickly had the reputation of being a problem, but I knew that I had to speak out or the so called health care providers would kill her with their “care.” It is very difficult to try to get the proper care for a loved one because the doctors and nurses are very good at intimidating family members into submission. Several years ago I became ill while traveling in England. I was admitted very early in the morning to the hospital and by 6:00 AM the issue of blo
od clots was being addressed. In the USA it seems this issue is so often an after thought. Why is this? Hospitalization is a very expensive and scary thing.
i’m only just reading this post now about a month after you wrote it i think…
i can’t believe that!! it’s insane. i’ve had back surgery myself (in australia) and i recieved such amazing care….the thought that someone can’t after spinal surgery just boggles my mind!! i still had my white tights on for about a week after i got home from hospital, they had me up in intensive care…not for long but they had me up! i was then made to walk for as long as i could at least once a day while in hospital(i was basically learning to walk again)…all to avoid blood clots and improve mobility! which is common sense surely!!
what a scary experience to go through. horrifying. i really feel for you and your family. terrible!!
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That’s so sad, dear. In fact, it’s terrible. Your life could have spiraled in a different direction if those nurses and doctors were more careful. But then again, it could have been worse. I do hope you’re doing better now, under the care of more capable doctors and hospitals.