Parents don't give anti-rejection meds, son dies.
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Wow...
This is from the appeal (which was granted and a new trial was ordered). The reason for the appeal was technical law-stuff.
But, here are the facts.
¶ 5 Scott Waggoner, a solid organ transplant pharmacist at Children's Wisconsin hospital, testified that while J.S. was in the hospital recovering from his transplant surgery, Waggoner met with defendant and David to explain J.S.’s medication regimen. Waggoner informed defendant that missing a single dose of the antirejection medication, or even one dose per month, would not necessarily lead to a rejection episode, but missing one, two, or three doses per week would be “play[ing] with fire.” After J.S. was discharged, follow-up visits were scheduled with Waggoner to monitor J.S.’s medication levels. During multiple follow-up appointments, defendant advised Waggoner that J.S. had missed doses.
¶ 6 In 2015, J.S.’s care was transferred to Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago (Lurie). J.S.’s first appointment at Lurie was in April 2015 with pediatric cardiologist Kathryn Gambetta. At that appointment, Gambetta spoke to defendant about the importance of J.S.’s medications and his follow-up care. At that point, J.S. was overdue for his cardiac catheterization. An appointment for catheterization was scheduled for May 2015, but J.S. did not attend it. The appointment was rescheduled for June, but defendant canceled it. J.S. ultimately had the catheterization procedure on December 21, 2015. Gambetta testified that although the procedure revealed no problems, she was concerned about the delay in performing the procedure. She saw “red flags” in defendant's lack of follow-up in the months before the procedure. Gambetta further testified that a follow-up appointment was scheduled for April 2016, but J.S. missed it. The appointment was rescheduled three times, but J.S. missed all three appointments, the last of which was scheduled for August 9, 2016. At that point, one of Lurie's social workers contacted the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). A DCFS investigator visited defendant on August 10, 2016, to discuss defendant's failure to bring J.S. to his appointments. Defendant finally brought J.S. to Lurie on August 23, 2016. J.S. had gained 20 pounds since his December 2015 visit and complained of fatigue. Defendant admitted to Gambetta that J.S. had been missing about two doses of his medication per week.
¶ 7 J.S. was admitted to the hospital. Testing showed that he was suffering from a rejection impacting the coronary arteries. One of J.S.’s physicians, pediatric cardiologist Phillip Thrush, attributed J.S.’s condition to his failure to receive antirejection medication. J.S.’s condition deteriorated to the point where only a second heart transplant could possibly save his life. However, he was not a viable candidate for another transplant. J.S. was initially treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, but after discussions about J.S.’s prognosis, defendant and David chose to suspend life-sustaining measures. J.S. died on September 11, 2016.
¶ 8 The prescriptions for J.S.’s antirejection medication required refills every 30 days. The State presented evidence that, between December 2015 and July 2016, the prescriptions were refilled only three times.
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There’s another victim in all of this…
The Brad
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There’s another victim in all of this…
@LuFins-Dad said in Parents don't give anti-rejection meds, son dies.:
There’s another victim in all of this…
That's what Mrs. George said.
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How sad.
Should not have been just involuntary manslaughter.
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How sad.
Should not have been just involuntary manslaughter.
@taiwan_girl
Agreed. What a sad thing for the kid to go through all that, and be stuck with parents like that. -
There’s another victim in all of this…
@LuFins-Dad said in Parents don't give anti-rejection meds, son dies.:
There’s another victim in all of this…
So true.
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@89th said in Parents don't give anti-rejection meds, son dies.:
Who’s the other victim, the surgeon? Sorry it’s late and I’m tired.
The donor
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Ah yes. The donor. My FIL got a kidney transplant in July and I've become very familiar with the anti-rejection regiment and requirements. He's actually back at Mayo right now because his white bloodcell count is lower than expected, they think maybe an infection somewhere.
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I was thinking more of the person further down the transplant list that didn’t receive a new heart…
The Brad
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I was thinking more of the person further down the transplant list that didn’t receive a new heart…
@LuFins-Dad said in Parents don't give anti-rejection meds, son dies.:
I was thinking more of the person further down the transplant list that didn’t receive a new heart…
Yeah, that's an even bigger deal.
Also, imagine how the parents of the donor feel.
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I doubt they know who received it. Jon? But I still feel it. I have a friend who's on the heart transplant list. She's been living with an LVAD for over a year now.
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I doubt they know who received it. Jon? But I still feel it. I have a friend who's on the heart transplant list. She's been living with an LVAD for over a year now.
@Mik said in Parents don't give anti-rejection meds, son dies.:
I doubt they know who received it. Jon?
Yeah, I'm not sure - but somebody who used to post here did know who he'd received his from. It was a big deal to him.
