Major complications @ emmanuel medical center

[njsleever 0]

I posted before about my infections and wanted to provide an update. DOS Thanksgiving 09 stayed 2 days @ Facility and 2 days @ recovery house.

I dont want to interject emotion but rather present the facts that have occurred to me thus far. The last time I posted I mentioned that I was disappointed that none reached out to me and surprise - the day after a posting here - i got a call from both Shirley and ISIS - but only spoke to ISIS. ISIS was sweet but made it clear that an infection is a risk of surgery. I agree HOWEVER the fact that there have been consistent infections coming out of that facility leads me to belive that there is either a procedure or instrument that is allowing contamination, That they had a responsibility to address that. I reminded ISIS that Shirley did not want me spread it but that she said that Dr. Betancourt felt that there was probably a package os stiches was "compromised" and they were throwing them away. No patient knew about that!

I was hospitalized December 3rd and I AM STILL HERE. I am being transferred to a larger facility.

1) Post surgery I NEVER WAS WITHOUT A FEVER

2) The largest incision was the first to get infected but afterwards, FOUR out of FIVE became infected

3) I was immediately placed on hi doses on the strongest antibiotics. Some of which included ampicillen, vankomicin, jeez i have so many if you want i am happy to list as i am getting a copy of everything before the transfer.

4)in the battle of fighting the infection - my fevers never relented! with last night being 103. My White blood counts have been as high as 18000 and are currently 15,000

5) i have had FOUR CT Scans where they see the stomach enflammed, pancreas enflamed and liquid in my lungs. The reason for this is one of 2 reasons - side effect to mega doses os antibiotics or 2 there is a leak or problem with the sleeve itslef. OMG I am scared I am angry.

I have 2 autistic children at home and one asked me yesterday crying if i was going to die. Yes I wanted to be thin YES i asked the right questions about leak rates, suturing vs stapling i felt i did my research, I AM NOT ALONE. I ave PM's that the facility has asked patients not to post about their infections. IF THATS TRUE SHAME ON THEM. I am willing to provide personal details to anyone who feels they need it. I LOVED DR BETANCOURT, SHIRLEY, DR ALONZO AND DR HUGO. The FACILIY WAS JOLLY and you felt cared for. The residence house was not as plesant because we had no heat on (just my luck a 65 degree night) Shirley took care of that right away! There was not 24 hour care because the 16 year old nurse was not in our house. We fenned for ourself for the most part - but no matter what she was a SWEETIE. I am sooooo HURT and disappointed but mostly ABANDONED and SCARED.

I SWEAR I HAVE NO MOTIVE AND LIKELY HAVE NO RECOURSE - I SAY THIS SO THAT ALL CAN CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION, EVEN IF I aM one in a million - i would have wanted to know.

MARIA

[*susan* 1,709]

Maria, I am so sorry that you have had such a scary, unpleasant experience. Please know that you are in all of our thoughts and prayers. I hope they get to the bottom of this quickly so you can be well and return home to your children.

Please keep us posted on how you are doing.

[ryansgirl 1]

Hunny i belive you! I Had similar problems! At least you got a phone call. i hope you get better soon! ((hugs))

xoxox,

nikki

[carolyn24seven 11]

Maria, I am so sorry you are having such a bad time. I will certainly pray for your full recovery. I will also pray that when you are thru all of this you will achieve the goal you set out to accomplish: weight loss for your continued good health. You may have to take the "long" road to get there, but if in the end you get there then all is not for naught. Keep your spirits up. Know that we care for you and keep posting. We will help you thru this. God bless.

[Tiffykins 673]

I posted before about my infections and wanted to provide an update. DOS Thanksgiving 09 stayed 2 days @ Facility and 2 days @ recovery house.

I dont want to interject emotion but rather present the facts that have occurred to me thus far. The last time I posted I mentioned that I was disappointed that none reached out to me and surprise - the day after a posting here - i got a call from both Shirley and ISIS - but only spoke to ISIS. ISIS was sweet but made it clear that an infection is a risk of surgery. I agree HOWEVER the fact that there have been consistent infections coming out of that facility leads me to belive that there is either a procedure or instrument that is allowing contamination, That they had a responsibility to address that. I reminded ISIS that Shirley did not want me spread it but that she said that Dr. Betancourt felt that there was probably a package os stiches was "compromised" and they were throwing them away. No patient knew about that!

I was hospitalized December 3rd and I AM STILL HERE. I am being transferred to a larger facility.

1) Post surgery I NEVER WAS WITHOUT A FEVER

2) The largest incision was the first to get infected but afterwards, FOUR out of FIVE became infected

3) I was immediately placed on hi doses on the strongest antibiotics. Some of which included ampicillen, vankomicin, jeez i have so many if you want i am happy to list as i am getting a copy of everything before the transfer.

4)in the battle of fighting the infection - my fevers never relented! with last night being 103. My White blood counts have been as high as 18000 and are currently 15,000

5) i have had FOUR CT Scans where they see the stomach enflammed, pancreas enflamed and liquid in my lungs. The reason for this is one of 2 reasons - side effect to mega doses os antibiotics or 2 there is a leak or problem with the sleeve itslef. OMG I am scared I am angry.

I have 2 autistic children at home and one asked me yesterday crying if i was going to die. Yes I wanted to be thin YES i asked the right questions about leak rates, suturing vs stapling i felt i did my research, I AM NOT ALONE. I ave PM's that the facility has asked patients not to post about their infections. IF THATS TRUE SHAME ON THEM. I am willing to provide personal details to anyone who feels they need it. I LOVED DR BETANCOURT, SHIRLEY, DR ALONZO AND DR HUGO. The FACILIY WAS JOLLY and you felt cared for. The residence house was not as plesant because we had no heat on (just my luck a 65 degree night) Shirley took care of that right away! There was not 24 hour care because the 16 year old nurse was not in our house. We fenned for ourself for the most part - but no matter what she was a SWEETIE. I am sooooo HURT and disappointed but mostly ABANDONED and SCARED.

I SWEAR I HAVE NO MOTIVE AND LIKELY HAVE NO RECOURSE - I SAY THIS SO THAT ALL CAN CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION, EVEN IF I aM one in a million - i would have wanted to know.

MARIA

Maria, my heart absolutely breaks for you and your situation. Thank you for sharing your story, and I pray for a speedy recovery so that you may return home to your family. Please keep us posted the best you can.

[Lee 19]

Maria, I'm new here, but I want you to know that reading your story is heartbreaking. I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I hope that your infection is cleared up ASAP and that you get home to your family where you belong.

[Bob_350lbs 105]

Maria, I am so sorry this happened to you and I can't believe they sent you home with a low grade fever. It sounds like they just pushed you out of there after 4 days w/some antibiotics. It takes courage to post this here, but people need to know this stuff. At least you are getting good care here, in the USA. People complain so much about our healthcare but we are so lucky to live here..regardless if you have money or not, our hospitals cannot turn you away..

God bless and keep us posted on your recovery.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Thank you so much for posting your story.My heart just breaks for you.

I am sending healing thoughts your way that you are home with your children and family soon, well and healthy!

Please keep us posted on how you are doing as you progress. We will all be worried about you!

[Barbara278 9]

Maria,

Thank you so much for being brave enough to post your story. I know I appreciate it as I'm sure many others do. I'm so sorry this has happened to you. It really does break my heart. I will be praying for you and please keep us posted on how you are doing.

Barb

[3636millie 3]

I posted before about my infections and wanted to provide an update. DOS Thanksgiving 09 stayed 2 days @ Facility and 2 days @ recovery house.

I dont want to interject emotion but rather present the facts that have occurred to me thus far. The last time I posted I mentioned that I was disappointed that none reached out to me and surprise - the day after a posting here - i got a call from both Shirley and ISIS - but only spoke to ISIS. ISIS was sweet but made it clear that an infection is a risk of surgery. I agree HOWEVER the fact that there have been consistent infections coming out of that facility leads me to belive that there is either a procedure or instrument that is allowing contamination, That they had a responsibility to address that. I reminded ISIS that Shirley did not want me spread it but that she said that Dr. Betancourt felt that there was probably a package os stiches was "compromised" and they were throwing them away. No patient knew about that!

I was hospitalized December 3rd and I AM STILL HERE. I am being transferred to a larger facility.

1) Post surgery I NEVER WAS WITHOUT A FEVER

2) The largest incision was the first to get infected but afterwards, FOUR out of FIVE became infected

3) I was immediately placed on hi doses on the strongest antibiotics. Some of which included ampicillen, vankomicin, jeez i have so many if you want i am happy to list as i am getting a copy of everything before the transfer.

4)in the battle of fighting the infection - my fevers never relented! with last night being 103. My White blood counts have been as high as 18000 and are currently 15,000

5) i have had FOUR CT Scans where they see the stomach enflammed, pancreas enflamed and liquid in my lungs. The reason for this is one of 2 reasons - side effect to mega doses os antibiotics or 2 there is a leak or problem with the sleeve itslef. OMG I am scared I am angry.

I have 2 autistic children at home and one asked me yesterday crying if i was going to die. Yes I wanted to be thin YES i asked the right questions about leak rates, suturing vs stapling i felt i did my research, I AM NOT ALONE. I ave PM's that the facility has asked patients not to post about their infections. IF THATS TRUE SHAME ON THEM. I am willing to provide personal details to anyone who feels they need it. I LOVED DR BETANCOURT, SHIRLEY, DR ALONZO AND DR HUGO. The FACILIY WAS JOLLY and you felt cared for. The residence house was not as plesant because we had no heat on (just my luck a 65 degree night) Shirley took care of that right away! There was not 24 hour care because the 16 year old nurse was not in our house. We fenned for ourself for the most part - but no matter what she was a SWEETIE. I am sooooo HURT and disappointed but mostly ABANDONED and SCARED.

I SWEAR I HAVE NO MOTIVE AND LIKELY HAVE NO RECOURSE - I SAY THIS SO THAT ALL CAN CONSIDER THIS INFORMATION, EVEN IF I aM one in a million - i would have wanted to know.

MARIA

Maria, I am so very sorry that you are going through this. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I do want to address the part about the possible suture contamination. It has been mentioned in several posts about this facility. I have access to recalls/alerts/warnings on all types of medical supplies, equipment. This list is distributed worldwide. It lists alerts from the FDA, all governmental regulatory agencies worldwide, and is available to all medical facilities. In the recent past few months (I went back 6 months), there have been no recalls on any sutures, etc that may have been used during your surgery. In addition, the distributor who sends the supplies to the facilities will notify the facility that there has been a recall of what ever the item is that there may be issues with. The item may be pulled from the facility and returned for a refund/replacement. If there are indeed problems with the suture, Emmanuel Medical Center should have reported it. Sorry to say, I think they are just "blowing smoke up your skirt."

[thinoneday 445]

Maria, sorry to hear of your complications. . . you can sure tell you are angry. . and you have every right to be. . . but hopefully this will all soon pass and you can continue with your life. . . keep a positive outlook, I know it's hard at this time, but fight Maria, fight with all you got!

[cajun 46]

Maria, You will be in my thoughts and prayers as you battle this infection. You are so brave to post the truth about your experience, and your post might even save some lives, so thank you for your courage.

While we all know it is true that infection is a possible complication of any surgery, it is not acceptable to try to cover it up. That makes me even more angry than the fact that you got the infection. In my opinion the very least they should do is send your money back. But there is no way they can make up for your suffering, including the stress of being away from your family. Please know that we are all praying for you, and so proud of your courageous spirit.

Some of our other posters have experienced severe complications as well... Tiffany is one who comes to mind...and have gone on to heal and lose all the weight they dreamed of. You will too...I look forward to following your progress. Please keep us informed of how you are doing.

[LAN2k 18]

It just makes me feel ill to know of your suffering Maria. I am so sorry this happened. I too will pray for your total recovery. This is so sad ...please keep us informed and thank you for letting us know what is going on. God be with you and your family and the doctors that care for you.

[cajun 46]

This thread was at the top of the "new posts" ten minutes ago. Now it has disappeared...where did it go and why? I did a search and found it but can't tell where it was moved to.

HMMMMM.

[Bona Fide Diva 3]

Hi Maria,

Im so sorry you are going through this as well as the entire VST board I'm sure.

I did take heed to you and gingin's infection issue and I have actually changed my mind about having surgery at that facility.

I would like to thank you for being honest about your situation and letting us know. I know they say it's a risk of any surgery however, you two represent 40% of people that went to the facility in November that I knew about. I dont want to risk it.

Again you and your family are in my prayers and I also pray for you to maintain the strength not to be negative and keep looking toward the future.

Rene