7 replies to this topic

[Apple2]

I'm new to this forum and not sure if you can help.

About 1.5yrs ago my appendix ruptured leading to two completely blocked tubes and making me infertile. Prior to this I had one daughter conceived very easily. However, IVF is now our only shot at expanding our family.

The issue is this; I went to the ER with my appendicitus and they sent me home after doing an XRAY and telling me it was likely constipation. I went to my family doctor who agreed with the ER, and then I went to a walk in clinic. In a period of 6 days I went to the doctors at least 4 times including the ER. Nobody ran appropriate bloodwork or issued a timely rec. Finally on day 6 my family doctor hesitantly issued an US rec where the tec realized without performing the US I had an appendicitis, and after her test realized it had ruptured. I was rushed to the hospital.

Again things went wrong. The rupture was so severe they couldn't operate. Then they sent me home after 5 days on more meds. NO FOLLOW UP. My family doctor seemed to think I was recovering fine. Within a month I had lost all feeling in my right side and went back to the ER where they took me even less seriously and asked if I was imagining the situation. Long story short, a second appendictis and emergency surgery to remove it. My surgeon was SHOCKED that the first ER surgeon didn't remove it after my initital round of antibiotics and told me fertility could now be compromised.

I did everthing to be proactive but the system just wasn't listening. Afterwards it took nearly a year of physio, accupuncture, massage therapy, chinese and other natural medicine to help me get over the acute pain I was in. I even had to stop working b/c I was in chronic pain. I have not been able to find a job since and have been ACTIVELY been searching but I've had a year gap on the resume and it's a tough economy. And now 2 weeks ago an RE confirmed my tubes were completely comprised and IVF is my only chance.

I'm upset. REALLY UPSET. I'm young and I have no chance to conceiving naturally. IVF is funded about $3000 from OHIP but the out of pocket for the rest of it is expensive and now on one income seems impossible. However, we will still do it. It's still worth it. But I feel like there was medical malpractice, especially by the ER on the first two incidences. One b/c they didn't even run a ultrasound on me, and secondly after my diagnosis the ER surgeon didn't bother to take out my appendix after 2 weeks. The surgeon who did eventually take it out did not understand how that surgeon made that decision.

What are my rights?

[michelleo]

I would contact a lawyer that deals with medical malpractice issues and see if you can get a free consultation. Then you can explain your story to them and they will tell you if you have a case or not.

[sarahc]

I agree w Michelleo

[Cassandra_Angela]

I'm not a lawyer but medical malpractice is VERY VERY hard to prove.
When I was pregnant I was having bleeding and cramping, I called my GP and was told that spoting was normal, I begged for an untrasound and was told not until 12 weeks.
It continued and I went to the ER multiple times, every time they did bloodwork and a pelvic and said things looked fine and sent me on my way saying I should rest and that spotting is normal as is some cramping. I stated each time that I KNEW something was wrong but I was dismissed as being young and scared (I was 18)
By the time my ultrasound came along the pain from it was so intense that I threw up and passed out.
A week later I received a call from the doctor saying that I needed to see a specialist. After seeing him I was immediately hospitalized and placed on complete bedrest. Three weeks later (at 16 weeks) I underwent major surgery to remove an interstitial pregnancy that almost killed me. It resulted in me losing the one tube, causing scar tissue to the other and having major internal damage. I had initially consented to a hysterectomy to save my life so in all actuality I got lucky by being able to keep my uterus.
It took me ten years of IVF to conceive one time.
I saught out so much help and got none. I consulted a lawyer and was told that my doctors did the "bare minimum"... running bloodwork and doing a pelvic is "enough" and an ultrasound wasnt necessary given other things seemed "ok"
I hope that things work out for you, but it will be an uphill battle if you decide to go up against the medical system.

[Duck]

Have you contacted the hospital to file a compliant? I had a severe Pelvic infection after my ivf, my gp told me I was fine and the pain was normal, I went to trillium in mississauga waited for 4 hours and was told there was "nothing wrong", the very next morning I went to mt Sinai in Toronto and was admitted within an hour and had an MRI and was treated. Not all hospitals are the same, and I learned a very hard lesson.

You diffinitly need to file a complaint to the hospital as the very first step,

It's horrible that your fertility was taken away and they should've made aware of the situation.

[lenann]

I really hope that you are able to do something. I went for a cervical biopsy (not pap) and six days later was hospitalized with a massive infection. They called in people to look at my ultrasound in the hospital as they had never seen anything so bad. After tons of antibiotics and a week hospital stay I was released. Noone told me at the time that this could affect my fertility. A few months later I was having awful pain and finally found a gyno who listened and did some ultrasounds. He said that my one tube was pinched shut and there was something inside that was causing pressure. He said that my choices were to undergo surgery or wait to see if it resolved itself. I asked what would happen if it didn't resolve itself and he said that my tube would likely rupture..wth, and you're giving me an option??? I underwent the surgery, told it was successful but no followup.
Roll on 5 years and trying to get pregnant..had a tubal pregnancy which again no testing after to tell me that my tubes were now 100% blocked until a year later when we went for testing. As I was older, I couldn't wait to go on the surgery waitlist to try to reopen and hope for a natural.
It does make me mad that my potential fertility was taken away by malpractice but I didn't followup in my naivity. When I brought it up with doctors they defended each other. But trying to prove it in my case was very difficult with so much time passed.
Knowing what I know now, I would have consulted a lawyer.
Good luck to you and hope you are able to find someone to help you with this.

[Sweetheart]

Hi there
I'm sorry about your situation. I agree with everyone who has suggested you consulted a lawyer. I just wanted to stress that you should do this ASAP because there are very strict limitation periods for filing lawsuits and depending on when you found out about the problem the deadline may have passed or be about to pass. Don't delay. Good luck.

[ideagirl]

I'm not a lawyer but medical malpractice is VERY VERY hard to prove.

That's generally true, but we're in no position to evaluate her case, so we shouldn't discourage her. The OP should find a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice and consult with them. That lawyer will be able to tell her whether the case is worth pursuing. But she should do that ASAP, because the statute of limitations might make it too late to sue if she waits. The lawyer may also help guide her through the hospital complaint process.