Last week I met with a Seattle woman named Sandy Garvin. This is her story.
BEFORE
In October of 2006, Sandy was 57 and had just retired after 28 years as a flight attendant for American Airlines. She was traveling, sailing five days a week, and enjoying the three-story house in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood that she had bought in 2004.
"I was having a blast," Sandy says.
AFTER
Not quite two years later, Sandy's life has changed dramatically.
Sandy can no longer sail:
"I'm afraid to get on a boat," she says.
She can't travel by herself:
"I [have to] bother people now."
She can't even take care of herself and her home:
"I have to ask friends to do my grocery shopping, because I can't carry it upstairs," she says. She can't do housework, laundry, or yard work either, and can barely make it up the three flights of stairs that at one time made her home so attractive.
"I need an elevator," she says, but she can't afford one.
See also:
A Doctor Who Wouldn't Listen: What Happened?
A Doctor Who Wouldn't Listen: A 'Y' in the Road
A Doctor Who Wouldn't Listen: The Other Fork
A Doctor Who Wouldn't Listen: Finding Dr. Park
A Doctor Who Wouldn't Listen: A Personal Footnote
@ Jeanne Sather 2008.
People dislike attorneys and I can understand why. But my brother-in-law's father does medical malpractice lawsuits, although isn't an "ambulance chaser."
I'm sorry, but what is a leg worth? Your life? Your vision, etc. BIL once told me that, "You don't want to be one of dad's clients because it means you are really messed up." Thank him for the "In Case of Fire Take the Stairs" warnings. I heard the details of that horrific case and they are truly awful.
I am an advocate of lawsuits with merit. This whole matter makes me feel terribly sick because I've just gotten used to hearing "It's a side-effect of your meds" with any complaint to my doc. What a terrible situation. I hope that they can at least help her out.
Posted by: debutaunt | July 11, 2008 at 07:37 PM