My neurosurgeon, Dr Faheem Sandhu, was not at fault. He was powerless to over rule hospital administrator protocol to send my spouse home while I was in surgeyy & recovery isolatiing me for 2 days. The unit nurses were great, the recovery room staff nearly killed me; the pain management team pushed Ketamine despite my concerns; the unit nurses were good, except for one black nurse who bitched when I sought help to get up & use the toilet due to being a high fall risk patient. I waited 45 minutes only calling for help one time. She claimed I asked multiple times, false! I have had 28 lifetime surgeries. I know what to expect & be cooperative. This experience was horrific abuse, willful negligence, if not attempted murder.
March 2020, the COVID pandemic was spreading across the world. At that time, I received a mental impression that the FDA would develop an inadequately tested vaccine and for no reason was I ever to take it. In December 2020, an actual vaccine was released under an emergency use authorization. I resolved that I would trust my life into the hands of God.
On March 25 of 2021, while returning from a southern states road trip, I came down with what I believe to be was COVID. After about three or four weeks, I went in to get tested at a local clinic. On May 8 of 2021, I was found to have positive antibodies IgG and IgA antibodies indicative that I in fact had COVID. After several weeks, I recovered from the virus using the Dr. Zelenko protocol.
In September 2021, I was scheduled for spine surgery but it was delayed because of a heart condition that they found that first needed correction.
In March 2022, I called a surgical scheduler at Georgetown University Hospital. They scheduled my surgery initially for May 26 of 2022 at 1:30 PM later. I got a call back later that they changed the time to 4:30 PM. I wasn’t happy about this so I called the scheduler, Hazel. She said “Oh, honey, are you sure you want to have surgery scheduled that late in the day?” I replied,”No, because the surgeon will be tired. Is there another time?” She informed me that they could not reschedule the surgery for at least another six or eight weeks, so given the urgency of my condition, I relented to proceed with the surgery. My question is that time was,”Why is she so concerned about any danger to me of having surgery so late in the day at this hospital?” I let it go.
Upon my arrival at the hospital & despite the fact that I had already had COVID and still had active antibodies in my bloodstream, they insisted that they do a nasal swab upon my entering the hospital to check for COVID once again. I need to note that I am a retired person who has been on Medicare for disability for several years due to multiple spine fusions & deterioration. I believe this made me a target for the hospital administrative staff.
As I was being prepared to go to surgery, two female administrators came down from their offices to the surgical intake center and informed me that due to COVID protocols my husband was required to leave the hospital promptly at 7 PM, even if I was still in surgery and unconscious. I was extremely upset as this was not standard hospital procedure. I know this because I have undergone 28 surgeries in my lifetime.
I asked my neurosurgeon to intervene. He replied by “I am powerless to do anything.” A patient advocate came & the hospital still refused to allow my husband to stay beyond 7 pm to accompany me to my room post op. So, we proceeded with surgery.
I woke later in the recovery room as a nurse was pulling a line out of my radial artery in my arm. She patted it, did not apply any pressure or dressing, walked away and closed the fabric drapes around my bed at which time I passed out again.
I was awoken sometime later, because my bed was violently shaking. There were no humans in that area of the ICU recovery room. I became conscious enough to realize I had blood all over my face, hair, neck, chest, all over the bed & left my arm and it was flowing down onto the floor, I yelled,”Help, I’m bleeding!” at which time I heard of numerous staff come running like a buffalo herd, one pulled back the curtain and a large male nurse applied extreme pressure to my left arm forearm to stop the bleeding. I passed out again from weakness and pain.
It is my belief that this nurse was either new and did not realize she pulled an arterial line a potentially deadly error or it was done intentionally to hasten my potential death.
I awoke again a second time later in my room cleaned up. My husband was not allowed into the hospital for two days. My arm had a 4 inch gauze bandage, but was bruised from my wrist to my elbow joint.
Prior to surgery, the hospital pain management team insisted that I be given IV ketamine for pain control postop. I knew the drug was the rave party drug that killed many teens and young adults by causing dehydration, an irregular heartbeat and cardiac arrest. I was very uncomfortable they intended to administer IV ketamine. I felt coerced and I only agreed to it, because I was under hospital supervision. They told me ketamine causes mental disassociation or twilights patients mentally.
On day three, I began to have rapid heartbeat, tight pressure in my chest, difficulty catching my breath and dizziness. I told the nurse I didn’t feel well something was wrong. She checked my vital signs and my blood pressure was 178/148. The nurse informed me had a systolic pressure been two points higher she would be getting the crash cart and the hospital would be administering hypertensive crisis medication’s, However, this dangerous event resolved once the IV ketamine was disconnected, at my insistence.
So given all these circumstances I believe, I was targeted because I was an elderly Medicare patient and as a result of COVID hospital protocols that were still in place during this my stay. I nearly died twice due to medical negligence or intentional malfeasance. This is why I am sharing my story. Due to COVID, hospitals are still losing overworked experienced staff, are dangerous as a result, patients become hostages with no family visitation rights, they push dangerous drugs on patients, and implement dangerous procedures, there is outright negligence by staff and/or planned malfeasance.
I later found evidence this occurs to increase costs for each hospital stay or to collect financial kickbacks for elderly or disabled MediCare patients. Our medical system is broken and dangerous. Avoid or postpone all elective surgeries that are not for paralyzing, extreme pain or life threatening conditions.