HIS STORY
On June 9th 2019, we were forced to make the decision to euthanize our dear sweet brother, he was only 62 years old. After an horrific 4 1/2 month stay in 5 different hospitals. With that being said, the last hospital was HIS and OUR saving grace recognizing he had been tortured, mutilated and neglected. They told us the absolute truth about his REAL condition. For them we are thankful!
Our brother managed to defy the odds and beat a massive heart attack, a cath lab “Incident”, a stroke, being cabbaged along with quadruple bypass surgery, chest tubes and dialysis.
Unfortunately, due to neglect, hospital protocol, egotistical physicians and cover ups, lies and withholding medical information for profit. He was pretty much taken out by an extreme bedsore and full body sepsis. Not only did he endure all of that, he was tied down the entire stay, couldn't even scratch his nose, nor could he push a button or scream for help due to the fact they refused to take him off of a ventilator and trach. (Due to hospital protocols).
On February 10, 2019 Jeff was transferred from the V.A. to CVICU for a heart attack. At this time he told them no ventilator, no dialysis. At the time we were under the impression he may end up with a couple of stent’s and worse case scenario a pacemaker. During his Cath Lab, the operating room nurse came and told us that they needed to put him on a ventilator. We explained he had even told you, "those were not his wishes". She said “It was not to save his life”, it was because he was a big guy and was fighting them and they needed to put him on Propofol and Fentanyl (with those drugs they have to be ventilated). And that is why Prince and Michael Jackson died because they were not ventilated. She assured us he would be off of it in an hour (in the recovery room).
So begins our nightmare! Now we need to add a trach, and a feeding tube. After several cardioversions, now they put in two chest tubes and wanted to start dialysis. Which again he had told them "No". But they once again, promised it was temporary and was due to the contrast dye. This stay lasted EXACTLY 29 days #youcanonlybeinICU30days. On his departure we were informed based on their findings, he would have a 80% recovery, but possibly have a slight balance issue. They also started trach collar the night before he left he repeated his name and said he loved me and MJ which the Respiratory Tech said they can usually only do 10 to 15 min. Jeff did an hour and could of kept going until the Tech told him was breathing on his own. We had told them that he had severe Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and his baseline is Anxiety. This is when they informed us he had to be moved to an LTACH and planned that for the next day. #youcanonlybeinICU30days.
On March 11th, 2019 he was moved to an LTACH facility 2 hours away from us in Phoenix, AZ. due to the fact they were unable to remove him from the ventilator (which he was supposed to be off in an hour on Feb 13th). There are NO facilities that can handle Ventilator treatment in Northern AZ. Otherwise he could have been in a hospital 2 blocks away from us.
Now the first thing we were promised was a case management with family and all of his doctors so they could all know my brother and his needs! NEVER HAPPENED!!!! LIES!!!!! At this time my brother was fantastic. They said he did well on his trip. Again, we called before he arrived and was told which Dr. would be admitting him. They (CVICU) asked us to remind them that his baseline was anxiety. The admitting doctor asked who told you to tell us that??? I told him his heart surgeon and respiratory therapist. That it was very important to say exactly "Baseline Anxiety".
I was unable to visit until Friday night March 15th at approximately 6:30 p.m. When I arrived no one would even acknowledge me, ask who I was, or fill me in. They were very rude! Also I was told on my way in from a nurse “I wouldn't come here to die”. She said "she would rather be transferred to county". The nurse’s knew I would staying the weekend so they put a recliner on hold for me. I ended up sitting in a straight back chair the entire first night.
My first horrific experience there was a women sitting in a wheelchair outside of my brothers room. I heard the charge nurse scream at her “Susan!!! there are boys in here pull down your shirt!!!”, a few minutes later, she said it again. “don’t pull your shirt up”. Now mind you this is a rehab facility for stroke victims. A few minutes later the nurse walked up to this patient and screamed at her “WHY ARE YOU BEING SO UGLY!!!! YOU’RE A VERY UGLY WOMEN!!! WE ARE JUST TRYING TO HELP YOU!!!!”.....That was it! I got up and said, “Who are you talking to like that!!!! "Is that how your going treat my brother when I am not here"? She said "she’s pulling her shirt up"! I said, "put her back in her room, there are no boys there”, and it was really late.
Not to mention, at approximately 2a.m. my brother's heart rate started to skyrocket out of the blue, alarms going off to 138. I went to look for his nurse and could not find her. So I asked the charge nurse for help, It kept increasing so I stepped out of the room to the nurse’s station again, which was directly outside his door, and asked for the nurse again. This is the second time the charge nurse ignored me. At this point his heart rate was 158 and fluctuating up to the low 160’s. So I went to the door and screamed, “my brother needs help”! The charge nurse casually got up asked where his nurse was and started to look for her instead of treating him. Someone said she was at lunch. What????!!!! Then she walked in saying, “you are panicking he is in AFIB he does this all the time”. And I responded “that's not just AFIB that was AFIB with Tachycardia”, and she said “well he would have to be in the high numbers for at least 5 to 10 min to cause any damage”. And I screamed, “he has been for at least 10 minutes”. Of course he had to be heavily medicated to take care of that incident.
In the morning the Day shift Charge Nurse and my brothers nurse came into the room and said, “ I heard you guys had a rough night”! They both asked me to explain exactly what happened. They apologized for the Night charge nurses actions and told me they would file a complaint on my behalf. This was my first night there. His nurse also informed me that Jeff has had a little blood coming from his mouth. The doctor and her were checking to see where it was coming from. They had used flashlights and thought either he bit his cheek or possibly a bad tooth. But they didn't know what was causing it!
Now, my second night was not any better, I woke up to “THE CHARGE NURSE”, a Respiratory Therapist, an NA and Nurse. around his bed. I asked “THE CHARGE NURSE” “what’s going on”? (I thought they were changing his sheet’s). She said “your brother threw up some dried blood”, and wait for it!!! Her next response was the same as the night before, “he does this all the time”. As the other three rolled their eyes, they flipped the sheet to the end of the bed and it looked like someone was murdered. I jumped up to see what was happening and my brother was projectile vomiting blood! Within a few moments they suctioned an entire liter of blood. Over the next few days they suctioned another 2 liters and God only knows how much and for how long he was vomiting blood before they came in. I was told his nurse left the room in tears as well as the respiratory therapist because “THE CHARGE NURSE” wouldn't do anything about it! (So....what goes on when I’m not here).
Again, the next morning his nurse and day charge nurse walked in and said...”we heard, we heard”, before I could even start to tell her about my night. They apologized profusely begging me to understand that they were not all like that and would be filing ANOTHER complaint on my behalf. I was informed the next day that she had to take a “10 day vacation” in their words, but actually meant a suspension.
And our nightmare continues... for approximately another 2 1/2 months at this facility. There are many, many, many more incidents that occurred. Bottom line is it was a constant fight everyday ALL day long! Now my sister and I called two to three times a day for updates, test results, what meds he was on etc....And I stayed in his room every weekend for 4 1/2 months. Imagine if someone doesn't have anybody. Keep in mind our GOAL from the beginning was to get him off the ventilator (which 3 facilities promised they could make that happen) so he could come home where we could see him everyday. But because of premature transfers and hospital protocol that NEVER happened.
Now, I noticed a red mark on his behind which in a week became a pressure ulcer (bedsore). Later I was informed that they had taken care of it and it was cleared up. Several other strange incident’s starting occurring which we will explain at a later date! Now his 60 days is coming to an end! #didyouknowyoucanonlystayinaLTACH60days. Out of the blue the case manager told me that Jeff was going to be transferred in a few days. She handed me a sheet of 7 different facilities I could choose from, by the end of the day only one would except him for whatever reason.
Off to a skilled nursing facility! Here we go again! The rep said my brothers respiratory numbers were fantastic and would be no problem to get him off the ventilator. And, that they had a very aggressive respiratory program and since my brother was only on pressure support he would be home soon. LIES!!!!! Fast forward two weeks A LIVING HELL!!! continued torture, tied down, overmedicated and vent weening discontinued. Then the bombshell!
Two weeks after my brother was transferred here, the wound care Doctor. called me to authorize a procedure over the phone to debride my brother’s WOUNDS! I said WHAT WOUNDS?????.....he went on to say that this was the first time he had actually seen my brother. He proceeded to tell me he had FOUR!!!! A large one on his buttock, (which needed to be debrided), one on the back of both heals, and one on the back of his knee. WE HAD NO CLUE!!!! WAS NEVER TOLD OF ANY WOUNDS!!! That was it!
We decided to schedule a case management meeting, I called the case manager and asked her to set up a meeting with all his Doctor’s for Monday since we have never got to meet or talk to any of them. She said “that won’t happen, it is Memorial Day”. I said “fine schedule it for June 3rd. @ 1:00 p.m.” She said she sent email’s to them all, and it wouldn’t be a problem. So, on Sunday June 2nd my sister and I went to visit him, and it was the first time he was totally unresponsive. EVER!!!
Back again, Monday June 3rd, 11:00 a.m. My brother was still unresponsive. When we arrived his nurse totally ignored us when we asked how he was doing, and tried to introduce ourselves and totally blew us off. The respiratory nurse was in the room and as I was gowning up, I heard her call his nurse on her headset. She stated Mr. Shrum’s feeding tube was out and laying on the floor. In the next hour an Infectious Disease doctor. came into the room and pretty much told us, he was a breeding factory of bacteria, and even if they cleared his one infection he would continue to get infections and that was what was going to eventually take him out. Our best bet was to take him off the ventilator, and apologized gave us hugs and told us how sorry she was. (she was really good at lying)!!!!!!
Not EVEN five minutes later his nurse comes in picks up the feeding tube from the dirty floor, which has been laying in a puddle of liquid nourishment for at least an hour and a half that we knew of. put it in the same hand as the syringe she was about to give him a shot with, wiped his arm with an alcohol pad gave him the shot wiped his arm off again. Then she proceeds to pick up his gown, and I screamed “what are you doing”? She turned her head towards me and said, “I am putting his feeding tube back in”. I told her that it has been laying on the floor for at least 1 1/2 hours that WE know of. She looked at me and wiped the end off with the same alcohol pad and gave me a nasty look and said “and I just wiped it off”! And while looking at us shoved it back in. NO WONDER he was going to continue to get Infectious Disease’s and infections. Needless to say, we went straight to the case manager’s office and filed a written complaint.
Now for our meeting!!! The case manager came to get us and informed my sister that NOT ONE of the doctor’s was coming! Even after I confirmed several times. We told her we are not going to reschedule, and you better call them and find out where they are and get them here. She frantically texted them all with no replies. So she said, she would call the doctor that has been taking care of your brother, and 45 minutes later she introduces us to a two gentleman. One she said was his doctor, and one was director of respiratory. I then told her he is not a doctor, he is a nurse practitioner.
Now we have two office worker’s, a nurse practitioner, and a director of respiratory to give us an end of life discussion. Which we thought was a treatment plan meeting to get my brother home. The N.P after much bantering, “so fine if you want him off the ventilator I can get him off the ventilator, but he will NEVER come off the trach or feeding tube. Is that what you want for your brother”???? LIES!!!!! My sister and I looked at each at that moment knowing this was not true. Once you are off the ventilator it takes up to 1 week for Physical Therapy to take the Trach out after they teach him to talk and swallow food. Then they take out the feeding tube because they can eat. At this point we wanted him transferred back to ICU #didyouknowyouCangobacktoICU the case manager said “your brother is not eligible to go to ICU”, we asked “why”? she said “he is not sick enough”...and we responded “Oh but he is sick enough for US to kill him”???? WE said “we’re done, let’s go”. She asked us “what about Hospice”, we responded “we will go home and discuss it and we will let you know our decision”. Before we got to the parking lot, Hospice was calling us, he said the case worker asked him to call us. We explained we told her we would call with our decision. he apologized for the call but said the case worker stated to him it is an emergency, it is urgent that this has to be done today! After two more calls from Hospice and the case worker we realized something was bad wrong and we needed to get him out of there. WE INSISTED he be moved back to ICU.
After lengthy arguments, he was finally transferred to Emergency on June 5th. Hour’s later they informed me they had changed all of his tubing gave him a bath and changed his gown and gloves because he was filthy. That's when I heard about a stage 4 or above wound. then they let me know he was being admitted to ICU.
After days of treatment and testing MANY issues were discovered, the doctor. said "I don’ know what they did to your brother"!!! I was FINALLY showed his pressure wounds. I will NEVER forget that stench.... All I could say is “you cant fix that can you”??? and both nurses shook their head and said “No, we can’t”.
NO ONE, NO ONE DESERVES TO BE TORTURED, MUTILATED, RESTRAINED, OVERMEDICATED AND LEFT THERE TO ROT IN PURE AGONY FOR PROFIT!
HE FOUGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND NOW HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR ALL OF US!!! WE NEED CHANGE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ON ALL LEVELS OF HEALTHCARE TREATMENT.