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#1
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05-03-2013, 03:19 AM
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Routine Endoscopy Leads to 19-year-old's 'vegetative State'
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...sEnabled=false It's a parent's worst nightmare. Giulio and Iris Ferraro’s vivacious 19-year-old daughter is severely brain damaged after undergoing an endoscopy — a routine procedure — in January at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow. She had been suffering from stomach discomfort. The parents are filing a lawsuit Thursday alleging the hospital and its doctors were “careless” and “negligent” and failed to properly administer anesthesia. Raina Ferrara went into cardiac and respiratory arrest during the procedure on Jan. 11, leaving the former cheerleader and Girl Scout in what her lawyer describes as a “vegetative state.” The teen had been a freshman at Rockland Community College studying liberal arts with an eye on a career in social work. Now she is confined to a long-term care facility, unable to speak and unable to walk. “I feel like we’ve walked into the ‘Twilight Zone,’ ” the teen’s father told the Daily News. “They stole my daughter from me.” Giulio Ferraro drove his daughter to the hospital on that fateful day in the used Hyundai sedan they had just purchased for her. “Her last words to me were, ‘Daddy, I’m hungry,’ ” he recalled. “I told her that when she was done, I would take her out to dinner for anything she wanted. “That never happened. I feel like I never got to give her what she asked me for,” Giulio Ferraro said. Iris Ferraro remains stricken that she left for work that day without getting the chance to say goodbye to Raina. “I’m waiting for her to wake up and say, 'Hi Mommy, let’s go shopping,’ ” she said. The Ferraros take turns keeping a vigil by their daughter’s bedside. Reflecting her parents Catholic and Jewish heritage, the teen is surrounded by statues of St. Theresa, St. Anthony, St. Joseph, crosses and a Jewish prayer of healing. “The filing of this lawsuit begins the process in which a jury will ultimately decide who is responsible for this tragedy,” said lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, “and the damages appropriate to care for this once vibrant young woman for the rest of her life.” Giulio Ferraro, a cable TV technician for Time Warner, said the cost of his daughter’s care has already passed $1 million. The suit to be filed in Westchester Supreme Court alleges that doctors improperly administered anesthesia in failing to consider the patient’s height and weight; improperly monitored her vital signs; excessively inflated her abdomen, causing cardiac arrest, and removed a breathing tube prematurely. Endoscopy is a medical procedure that allows doctors to look inside a body by inserting a flexible scope into the patient. It is frequently used to evaluate severe stomach pain. Rubenstein said the state Health Department has launched a probe in response to a complaint filed by the Ferraro family. A spokeswoman for Phelps Hospital said confidentiality laws prevented her from answering any questions about the case. |
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#4
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05-03-2013, 08:08 PM
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Re: Routine Endoscopy Leads to 19-year-old's 'vegetative State'
My brother had a friend in high school who somehow fell out of the sliding door of a van and hit her head on the pavement. She wound up in the hospital and ended up dying, not from her injuries, but because she was given too much pain medication and I believe had a heart attack.
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#5
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05-04-2013, 12:24 AM
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Re: Routine Endoscopy Leads to 19-year-old's 'vegetative State'
The girl may have had some underlying medical conditions or was taking medications her anesthesiologist didn't know about. I tell my doctors if I took a Tylenol, along with the prescription medications. I woke up during a colonoscopy one time and tried to sit up and asked if I was alright. The doctor told me he was almost done. No matter what anyone tells you about getting either end tested, the prep for the colonoscopy is the worst part. You have to drink a gallon of salty tasting liquid for 24 hours and take a stool softener, which I forgot to take and one other thing that I forget now. They give you a choice of flavors for the crap you drink, but, all I tasted was salt. Nasty! My doctors both used a camera you swallow for the endoscopies. You're not completely out of it. The anesthesiologists kept tapping my hand and saying my name. It feels like you're dreaming, but, you don't feel anything. The fear of going the first time messes with you, but, the procedures are simple. The endoscopies did make my throat feel dry though. They gave me and my great nephew juice afterwards. He came with my driver :) |
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#7
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05-04-2013, 08:43 AM
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Re: Routine Endoscopy Leads to 19-year-old's 'vegetative State'
I've never had to have a procedure like that. I guess there is risk with any procedure, especially one that involves anesthesia. The only times I've been 'put under' were the two ear surgeries I had on both ears before the age of twelve and when I had my wisdom teeth pulled at age 18. I think I would be way more nervous about it now.
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#8
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05-04-2013, 02:39 PM
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Re: Routine Endoscopy Leads to 19-year-old's 'vegetative State'
Now, people don't give a shit about their jobs or who they are hurting. "20/20" or "Dateline" had a show about hospital mistakes on last night. The first time I had anesthesia and surgery for my deviated septum, I had to meet with the anesthesiologist and get my heart checked. I also donated my own blood, even though my ENT doctor assured me that, in his entire career, he never had to use it for that procedure. He was right I was so upset, I didn't sleep. When I was in recovery, I ate a ham sandwich and diet soda. When I went to follow-up a couple of days later, I was told not to eat solid foods or lift anything. I carried one of my nieces with me, who was a toddler or small child at the time. Went back to work the following day. I thought I'd have issues being that 0.01%, but, another woman I worked with, who had anesthesia a few times prior, was out of work for two weeks because of a reaction to her anesthesia. You really never know. That's why I don't want to be completely out and unresponsive for any procedures. |
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#9
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05-04-2013, 03:14 PM
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| My Rank: LANCE CORPORAL Poster Rank:1885 Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 270 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 55 Post(s)
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Re: Routine Endoscopy Leads to 19-year-old's 'vegetative State'
my guess is there was no incompetence. Just an unfortunate bad reaction to anesthesia.
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#10
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05-05-2013, 12:12 AM
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Re: Routine Endoscopy Leads to 19-year-old's 'vegetative State'
They drew blood from me before my ear surgeries. They ended up not needing it for me, so that's good. |