Letter to the Editor, February 16, 2008
Transfer to Sunnybrook saved father's life
Letters to the Editor
Published: February 16, 2008
Re: Isn't this awful?, January 24, 2008
My father, Benny Nobile, was seen in Markham Stouffville Hospital emergency department Oct. 5, 2007 for a high fever. He had this for almost a week and it was not responding to Tylenol or antibiotics. The hospital did blood cultures, gave him a dose of IV antibiotics and sent him home with a prescription.
Two days later, the emergency department called to say my father had salmonella in his blood and he should return for admission.
I dropped him and my mother off at the emergency department Oct. 7 at about 12:05 p.m. He sat in the fast track unit until 7 p.m. without being seen by anybody.
He still had a very high fever and a very painful back, having fallen at home the previous night suffering from high fever deliriums.
The emergency department did not believe my mother and kept asking who called them in. She said a doctor, but she didn't know his name because he never mentioned it.
She got the impression the staff thought she was wasting their time. My mother was so angry about the lack of care, she demanded someone look after him.
My father was confused (something new as of the day before) and full of infection. He was finally admitted to the medical floor after midnight.
During his admission, my mother stayed at his bedside from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day and she never saw his two doctors. She asked the nurse to have these doctors call her at home, but neither did.
Our family asked his nurse to arrange a meeting with the infection control doctor so we could discuss my father's care. The doctor told the nurse he didn't have any time and refused. The only information we ever got was from the nurse.
My father had had bypass surgery with a valve replacement in August 2006. My family was concerned about the salmonella bacteria migrating to his heart valve. During his stay at Markham Stouffville, he was never assessed by a cardiologist, although his cardiologist worked there and saw him periodically.
Upon discharge, my father was very weak and still in a lot of pain. During his stay, he retained a lot of fluid as was evident on his body. He was eating poorly due to the constant nausea.
The one and only doctor we ever saw came by Oct. 12, spoke to us for a minute or two and said my father had been fever-free for 48 hours, and when he went home and resumed a normal lifestyle, the fluid would dissipate. My mother told this doctor my father still had a high fever the night before, but it seemed the doctor couldn't care less.
He was discharged that day in worse condition than when he entered.
The weekend was a nightmare for my mother, who was my father's primary caregiver. By the evening of Oct. 14, the fever was so high he had a seizure and 911 was called.
The ambulance brought him to the emergency department at Markham Stouffville. The paramedics were too busy to stay and, since no stretchers were available, they put him in a chair, unmonitored.
If my mother had not been sitting beside him that evening, my father would have died. He suffered another seizure in the chair and my mother screamed for help.
A few nurses and a doctor came quickly and took him to the acute care department of the emergency room where he was resuscitated.
He had suffered a heart attack and an external pacemaker was placed on him. According to the doctor, he was also in kidney failure. Since my father was too critical for Markham Stouffville, he was transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital.
He was there for six weeks, undergoing an 11-hour open heart surgery and a valve replacement. The salmonella bacteria had attacked his heart and destroyed the valve. Before discharge, he had a permanent pacemaker implanted.
The dedication of the staff at Sunnybrook was excellent.
My father is now doing well.
Alida DeRocchis
Stouffville
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