Dear Mrs. Cancilla,
My husband had a heart attack in July, 1999, and due to anoxia it was necessary for him to retire with disability. He seemed to be adjusting, but then had problems with a slipped disc in his lower lumbar and had surgery to insert a 'cage' in his back.
Not long after that he began sufferng from severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomitting, and had blood in his urine. He was treated numerous times at the local hospitals here in Evansville, IN, mainly at St. Marys. They would say he had kidney stones, and could see one high up in his kidney, but that could not be the source of his problem due to the location. He was also said to have Krohn's Disease, a bad appendix (which was removed and then told it was normal), nothing wrong at all, and of all things, Narcotic Withdrawal. The doctor who decided that said that due to numerous surgeries for various broken bones and discs in his back, he had become addicted to the pain medicines he was on. My husband and I were floored, for he was a retired Deputy Sheriff, and would never abuse drugs of any kind.
After that, he said he was embarrassed and ashamed, and sought help at another facility, Deaconness Hospital. They too could not determine what was wrong, therefore I insisted to have a consult at either Vanderbilt in Nashville, or IU Med in Indianapolis. We were referred to Vanderbilt and made four separate trips there, and a Pet Scan was conducted. Again we were told nothing could be found wrong with him.
This all took place in about a 36 month period. Then in June 2003, during another emergency room visit a doctor noticed something abnormal with his kidney and he was admitted. A urologist confirmed that his right kidney was not functioning at all, it was a dead organ, and had to be removed. After the surgery, the doctor said that all looked clear around that area, therefore felt he should have no further complications.
However, when the biopsy came back in early July, TWO malignant tumors where confimred inside the removed kidney, and he was diagnosed with "Renal Cell Carcinoma".
At that point, he was referred to a cancer doctor, who recommended Interferon treatments.
He began the treatments and had severe flu like symptons. Each time the doses were increased, he became very ill, the doctor would cease injections for a short time, then resume. Eventually, it was determined that my husband could not handle the higher doses needed to make a difference with his disease, and that we need to 'let nature take it's course'.
In December, 1999, the doctor advised us that he had 3 months or less, and we needed to made certain decisions. He had been hospitalized once again in January, 2004, and before coming home, hospice had notified me to set up a program.
I made the decision to have him home when he passed, and took a leave of absence from work to care for him. He suffered so much, and passed away on March 10, 2004.
My husband was 6'1", 230 pounds before he got sick. The last time he was officially weighed, he was 132 lbs. My guess is he weighed 100 lbs. when he died.
None of this makes any sense to me. A minimum of 25 doctors examined and or treated him. How could they say nothing was wrong with him, and how could a Pet Scan not found TWO tumors?
I am considering taking legal action for he suffered and should never have lost his life due to incompetent doctors. The last 2 years of his life he could not fuction as a husband or father (he has two children), for he was so sick and in so much pain. I lost pay for the many times I had to take off work for his treatment, when we traveled to Vanderbilt, not to mention the out of pocket expenses for travel overnight, the medications, and numerous doctor and hospital bills.
I am still paying on the bills, and the HMO that he had from the Sheriff Department cancelled my kids and I at midnight the night my husband passed away!! I didn't even know that and had appointments set up. They are now billing me for those, and threatening to turn me over to a collection agency.
Anonymous
