Jack, Thanks for your advise and time. I appreciate it. I do have an appointment Monday. NC time lmt is 3 years. it has been 17 months since he passed away and 25+ months since his diagnosis.
Mommy, Thank you also, and my thoughts are with you and your friend.
Ellen, thank you for your advise and time, it is appreciated very much to have you all take the time. I know I didn't give the whole story, I have told it or written it so many times, but sometimes it's just too painful. I will try to go in a little more detail, now.
I am very well aware that my son was not casually ill; he was very critically ill. And believe me, I know all there is to know about ALL. (ALL, b-cell, No Philadelphia or T-cells, and I was never told about the chromesome test, nor have I read it in his records.)
He and I spent 9 months in a hospital room, very little did we get to go home. Even when we did go home, there were many office visits and outpatient.
I know, after being diagnosed, he got top notch care. The Dr's and nurses saved his life that day he was brought in. I will always be indebted to them for GIVING us that 9 months.
They never gave up, and in the end, when he had the DNR, they still tried that last 30 seconds his heart rate went to over 200. They were good to me and my family as well, especially the nurses. If one of those nurses needed a kidney, I'd give it to them in a heartbeat. We had their support and care when our family and friends 'quit coming'.
I guess what I am not getting across, or maybe I am, is that he was NOT being treated for the ALL with the Lovenox and coumadin. With the leg pain, which, as you well know, is one of the 1st symptoms. My understanding of this type of medication, is that blood tests and platelet tests are reviewed very carefully beforehand and are checked every 3 days.....at least that is the protocal and warning from the drug co.
I am not a medical prof, but I don't think you need to be one to know that wbc does not jump from 10,000 normal to 533,000 with 100% blast, or platelets from 500,000 to 50,000, or hemo from a normal 16 pints to less than 5 pints .......overnight.
I realize it doesn't take long at all, I'm not under any illusions here and believe me, my motivation for this is not money. The last thing I want is to have an attorney and pour salt on my wounds. I am doing this for my son, who I believe had a chance. He was so upset that his pleas "help me, there is SOMETHING wrong" his nosebleeds, the fact that he couldn't get out of the bed, and was the color of milk, fell on deaf ears.
If it makes no difference, why is the 1st thing you hear "EARLY DETECTION" or "TOO LATE" part of a discussion concerning cancer. I do know Leukemia's are not like most cancers, but why the chemo if there is not a chance.
He did go into remission with the first chemo. He stayed in remission for 2 months. He was brought into remission again and stayed for another 2 months. We were at Duke having cord blood put on a plane for his transplant, when they discovered he was out of remission again. He was sent back to his reg Dr's and Hosp for another round. He did not achieve remission w/ it, and it was the last one. He did agree for an experimental treatment of chemo, he was a MAN of 19, I have never seen anyone that tough, brave, hopeful and determined in my life.
I was the wimp, I cried when he made his decision, watching your child being tortured like that is absolutely the ultimate pain and heartbreak, it never goes away.
I have not and cannot get out of my mind, him writhing in pain, veins so raw everything in the end had to go through his feet. I would sit up all night on his bed with him watching the clock and every 10 minutes and 30 seconds push the button on his morphine 'extra' drip, so that he might sleep more than 30 minutes at a time without waking up crying in pain.
For a Mother, when I see my son in my mind, 1000 times a day, he is not in the backyard playing basketball with his brothers, or looking over my shoulder in the kitchen while I'm cooking "Looks good, Mom!" or hugging me and telling me he loves me.
When I see Jimmy Lee, 99% of the time, it is laying sick in a hospital bed, hair coming off on his pillow, with that look of humble determination and fright, I see him comforting ME, telling me "Mom, I'm gonna make it, don't worry" while he is in between vomits.
My point, he WENT for help, he begged for help, he begged for the 'dr' to put him in the hospital, starting 4 weeks before he was finally put in the hosp. This is not the same Dr that he had in the hospital.
I will also add, after he was finally diagnosed, there was not another coumadin treatment, nor Lovenox. If it was the correct medication, why wouldn't it continue? He was never given it again.
I have one more thing to tell about this, but I was saving it for after I heard your responses.
Thanks so much for taking the time. I want you to know, I am not a lawsuit happy person, my son's death did not land me in Las Vegas for a roll of the dice at getting some $$$. No offence, but I have read over some of this site, looking for anyone in my situation and I was almost sick at some of the frivilous $hit I saw on here. No wonder legit cases are turned down by attorney's. No wonder the courts are so clogged up a legit case may never see the light of day. If I thought for one minute, that this 1st dr did his best, I wouldn't be here. If I thought for 1 minute, my son NEVER had a chance I wouldn't be here. And if I thought for one minute, that 1st dr made a human mistake and actually gave a $hit, I wouldn't be here.
Let me tell you the last thing now.......Jimmy Lee was in county detention awaiting a hearing. His friend broke into a change machine while my son was washing his truck, there were cameras, and they got his license plates # and he was arrested for theft. Too ashamed to call his Mom, instead of having me pay bail, and getting him out, he was riding it out till he had a hearing. Nobody knew he was there.
He was sick from almost the beginning and asked for help, denied. Finally begging for medical attention, denied. was treated w/ aspirin, occasionally. Finally taken to the hospital 10 days before being diagnosed. All the jail med staff would authorize for the hosp was a test for DVT. They found superfical, not DVT, gave him nothing and sent him back. 10 days later, he was dying. He had to vomit blood TWICE before being taken back to the hospital. He was immediatly, upon arrival, diagnosed.
I am not of the belief that someone in jail deserves cable tv, or any home comfy's....it's jail. But our tax money pays for these correctional medical HMO's. They get a certain amount of money, no matter what. The thing is, the less they spend on an inmate, the more they line their pockets. The site administrator makes the decisions on whether an inmate get treatment. He is the same one who gets a nice little bonus for keeping costs down. These are not my opinions, there are facts. My son had not even had his fair day in court.
CMS is the name of the HMO. And they have one heck of a track record for this type of deliberate indifference. Just this past June, a girl in Arizona died from the same thing my son died from. The same way almost. She had begged for medical attention and was bleeding from her ears......she was treated for allergies. She had a stroke and died 24 hours after finally being taken to the hospital. She was 25 yrs old. Her wbc was 300,000. (200,000 less than Jimmy's.)
Alot of people don't think this can happen to them, but how many of our kids do stupid stuff and have to spend a night in jail. More than people admit to. What if this happened at a nursing home or mental hospital or the military.
Sorry so long, but I warned you.
Please, no negative opinions towards my child. Please do not respond if you are going to say 'he deserved what he got' just because he was in jail.
Petty theft, as of yet, is not punishable with the death penalty. To be punished is to be put in jail, and not have 'privileges and luxuries' that's the punishment.
The medical staff and jailers have no right to be judge, jury and executioner. Life and death medical treatment is not a luxury, we all have access to the hospital and treatment, with or without insurance. (medicaid, medicare) Granted, he needed medicaid to have the bone marrow, but not immediate medical attention.....already paid for by my our tax money.
Thanks for your time,
Teribelle