Despite Sean's visible
symptoms of peritonitis (swollen hard abdomen, rapid heartbeat, fever,
etc.) noted upon arrival in the ER, the doctor
allowed / used
Barium
contrast fluid during radiology test(s).
-
According to published
medical research and expert opinion rendered, Barium should be avoided
where a stomach leak may be present, as internal barium leakage can cause dangerous
systemic/organ damage.
To worsen matters, these
films of Sean's internal stomach leak had been misdiagnosed, and vital
abdominal surgery to clean out the leaking Barium
and food was delayed. This delay, according to
expert opinion-
caused catastrophic systemic/organ damage.
Sean finally received
that major abdominal surgery, but days after said surgery and while he was still dangerously
ill- stool (feces) began leaking out through his large abdominal surgery wound;
his intestine had ruptured internally.
This is a known complication after internal infection, contamination by
abrasive barium and invasive surgery.
Sean, still critical from internal
infection and barely recovering from the above abdominal clean-up surgery, was immediately subjected to a 2nd
traumatic open surgery to close
up the stool leak. Somehow, Sean survived the operation.
Several days after this 2nd surgery,
stool was again seen leaking out through his abdomen. Sean's family was
devastated.
Rather than allowing a 3rd surgery at
this hospital, Sean's parents transferred him via air ambulance to a major US
hospital for help.
What
followed was a cascade of tragic complications that could not be
stopped by doctors at
two internationally-ranked
hospitals
who sheltered Sean's
entire family and
tried fervently to save him- first at Cincinnati Children's hospital for five
months, then back home at Miami Children's hospital for the final six
months.
During the course of his
hospitalization, persistent internal infection caused Sean's
surgical wound to completely burst open, and it could not be closed
surgically. His family members lived in his hospital rooms to
comfort Sean literally every minute of that almost full year.
To ease Sean's anxiety: both
parents were taught, and permitted by his Cincinnati and Miami
surgeons- to perform Sean's traumatic open wound dressing changes
(several times daily) for almost 10 months.
The added complications and surgeries/procedures suffered by Sean during those months are too painful
to describe any further.
After an agonizing
yearlong hospitalization, 3-year-old little
Sean suffered a final, overwhelming
internal infection, which triggered severe swelling that caused his
still-closing abdominal
wound to completely
burst open, again, before his parents' eyes.
He was
taken off life support two weeks later.
Later expert medical opinion indicated
Sean's death had been caused by the initial medical mishap(s) at JDCH.
He had only gone in for a 5-minute
feeding-tube change.
During
the above events and malpractice lawsuit that followed, Sean's family
was subjected to disheartening legal manuevers rather than apologies...
Despite the pain of litigation,
Sean's family persisted in order to have the truth unearthed and more
importantly to win a settlement that could be used to help other
children and ensure that Sean had indeed not died in vain.
Both wishes were realized.
Proceeds from the settlement
were allocated by Sean's family to provide free cleft
lip/palate surgery to 1,000 suffering children through the Smile Train cleft surgery
charity.
No one from the Joe DiMaggio Children's
Hospital has EVER apologized.
