[UPDATE] Since I originally posted this, there are some more details about this story. Yes, the woman is a quadruple amputee, but she chose that treatment (although, it wasn’t much of a choice, it was either that or die). Apparently while in hospital to give birth she was infected with a flesh eating bacteria that would have killed her without the operation. She is suing to find out how she became infected, and the hospital will not tell her. More can be found here.
Now, normally I post funny and amusing things in this space, but this morning, as I am checking certain news feeds to which I subscribe, I came up on this story that makes me just sick.
In brief, a young woman goes to the hospital to give birth, and becomes an amputee as a bonus. And the best part is the hospital won’t tell her why. From the story…
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.
I mean, how sick is that. And to make it even more interesting, the state of Florida has a lovely new constitutional amendment that says that patients have the right to (and I quote)…
In addition to any other similar rights provided herein or by general law, patients have a right to have access to any records made or received in the course of business by a health care facility or provider relating to any adverse medical incident.
I don’t know what happened, and perhaps there is a good medical reason relating to some sort of complication. But the details of what happened are the right of the patient to know. After all, you just took her ARMS away. That is just wrong.
