My name is Shannon, I am a healthcare employee…who has seen with my own eyes what has and is happening inside the walls of hospitals during the covid pandemic. My story is about the medical neglect, selective care and violation of the rights of my precious mother, Wendy Gene Nickelson. My mother first reported feeling ill the morning of Dec 24th 2021. I had been out on medical leave from the hospital for 6 months because of shoulder surgery and her symptoms were different than Delta, nausea, vomiting body aches. My mom had Normal Pressure hydrocephalus ,early dementia and mobility issues which left her reliant on her spouse as she hadn’t been able to drive for 7 years.

Her husband drove to the store and she did an at home covid test which came back negative. her symptoms continued and her 2nd at home test on the 27th also negative..I urged her to go get a PCR test and on Dec 30th she got one done at a Kaiser testing facility…2 days later her results came in and it was positive for Covid19. At that point my sister and I took over and my sister brought her to the emergency room at PeaceHealth Southwest where I worked in the Ekg department and central telemetry.

I was working in telemetry but my sister an i texted back an forth, my mommas O2 was at 85% on room air and she was weak. the Ed dr gave her a Decadron shot and supplemental 02 but she was denied an anti viral or any monoclonal antibodies. They made my sister leave at 8pm even though i instructed her to let them know of her dementia and disability status. after my shift I went down to the ER where she was alone in a room and snuck in to talk to her and pray with her, I talked to my mom every day on the phone, every day…she was my best friend…it was then I finally heard the hypoxia in her voice.

The Kaiser admitting Dr could only look at me and apologize…that was the first moment i felt something odd was going on. I went home and pulled out of my safe a medical POA that my mom had filled out and signed in 2016 that had never been put into practice and I went back to work early the next morning for my shift and filed it with my moms RN. it gave my sister medical POA and myself listed as secondary. We also requested my mom to have a support person at bedside but were denied.

My mom was denied a support person for 5 days…we fought and fought but were met with hostility and gaslighting. Finally we were able to have a zoom medical conference with her attending MD at the time dr Favor who listened to us and agreed to add some fluids and small amounts of vit c, d, zinc but denied antibiotics and anti virals He did chart in my moms chart that he was advocating for BOTH daughters to be allowed at bedside as support people for my mom, yet Peace health went against its own policy again and reluctantly would only allow my sister.

1/6/22 was the first time my sister was allowed in to support my mom. The nursing staff were hostile and abusive to us both. Telling my sister she was not allowed to use the bathroom….even in my moms room, or leave at all to eat or drink or she would be done for the day and if i took one foot inside my moms room i would be fired. Statements my sister heard when asking for a drink of water were “now you know how a nurse feels” many of our morning or nightly check in calls went un answered, return calls were many times never made. Without being allowed to urinate or eat or drink my sister could only last about 7 hrs in a PAPR. Which meant all the other hours of the day my mom was alone. She couldn’t walk at this point or use a call light, she couldn’t remember to do her breathing hygiene…she understood things when spoken to but with the early dementia within 5 minutes she doesn’t remember what’s been said to her.

On 1/8 I reported the negligent care, bullying and lack of support to the hospital supervisor and again asked that I be allowed to relieve my sister and support my mom as per hospital policy and was denied. on 1/5 the hospital announced on the over head they were implementing the “incident command team” which i had never heard of before. I now believe it was a private ‘selective care committee.’

Now a new MD was my moms attending a Kaiser Dr. Patel. On 1/10 my sister went into my moms room and her HFN (o2) was in her mouth, not her nose…we don’t know how long she had been like that, but she was confused to the point she didn’t know her name or what my sisters name was. The following day I get a call from my sister that Dr. Patel is calling me about intubating my mom….

When he called me (I was working ekg) I could here the alarms in the background he said, “I hear your sister and you aren’t in agreement on intubating your mom?” I said  “yes, I know if you intubate her she will die”, he yelled at me saying “if I don’t intubate your mom she will die” through my sobbing I said can I finally see my mom?!?! He agreed to allow me to see her. I walking into RNs frantically getting her off the lift into bed and I whispered in her ear how much I loved her and God loves her that she’s not alone.

I was in shock, I ran out thinking they were emergently intubating her. As I was taking off all my PPE a Dr was doing the same and said “are you Shannon? I didn’t know you worked here”. I asked is there any other medications you can give my mom….an antiviral, Sarilumab, Tocilizumab?…..Instead of answering me he paused..then asks, “Is your mom vaccinated?”…I felt like i was going to vomit.

I remember thinking this can’t be real?!? He is her doctor and knows this answer…I beg and pleaded that she is disabled and cant drive and is dependent on her husband she can’t be blamed…he then says.. “im sorry there is nothing more i can give her and walked off. My mom was moved up to the ICU 4 hrs later where the ICU Dr later charted “non emergent intubation”.

On 1/12 my sister and I were finally able to take turns seeing my intubated mom. My first day I spoke to my mom and she began to respond to my voice. An RN came in and said” you here that beeping? It means you are irritating your mom”. I looked at him and said, “I’m sorry, I was only talking to her telling her I love her. I said I’m sorry I know its hard up here”. He looked at me and said, “yeah we are sick of the unvaxxed coming up here.”

My mom fought for 12 more days. Most of those breathing on her own while being intubated which we were so hopeful about. But she was only on a prophylactic dose of Lovenox daily. Then she threw major blood clots and went septic.

The day she passed I rushed up to her room and the attending Dr wasn’t there but Dr. Patel was standing at the foot of her bed. The RN was throwing bags of heparin and vasopressors on her and I said “what about ECMO?” Again, he coldly looked at me and says “is your mom vaccinated?” I remember the look in the RNs eyes.

My mom died at 4:13 pm on 1/24/22. My life will never be the same and my heart will forever be shattered in a million pieces. Please, I beg anyone who has the ability to help me bring this hospital and these physicians to justice.