My Friend's Daughter Died

[folsom]

I know that I don't post here much any more, but if you could take a few minutes to read this story about my friend's daughter. I posted a story on Digg.com if you will please digg it up to draw some attention to his story.

http://digg.com/health/Kaiser_Healthcare_Doc_Says_Buy_Vapoorizer_Little_G irl_Dies

Here is his first post about what happened
http://z11.invisionfree.com/Gang_Wars_Discussion/index.php?showtopic=4311

My daughter Fianna Amor McGuire died on sunday 9/30/2007.
She had a cold that turned into crupe. Her throat was swollen and she was laboring to breathe for 48 hours. she finally gave up and died. The problem is we have kaiser healthcare. We visited a doctor twice in those two days. Both times they sent us home as if we were over-reacting. The doctors orders were to buy a vaporizer. We did. 3 hours later my baby was dead. I asked the doctor if she could possibly get too tired to breathe and he said no its ok she is normal for this illness. Why did they not admit her? My goal is to not let her go without avenging her death. Kaiser is to blame. their big business motives are obviously clouding the judgment of their doctors. I need all of your help to wage this campaign on the internet. I will share more info with you if you are willing to truly help me. I hope you can see past your sarcasm to believe me. I have pictures of her happy and pictures of her dead if you need proof. I have known a lot of you for years. Please help me now.

[the squid of despair]

Well I'm not sure the doctors are 100% at fault. Croup is rarely fatal and general treatment includes the use of a vapourizer. From what I read it sounds like the doctors did a thourough evaluation and came to a valid conclusion. This is nothing more than a very rare, but tragic event.

[Colonel Sanders]

I would tend to agree with Squid

[Shanna]

man thats so messed up.. my son had that shit once. i was scared as fuck.

[Colonel Sanders]

I had an unidentifyable Virus once that lasted for 2 weeks. I could not breath hardly at all...could take in just a tiny bit of air in at once and everytime I did it hurt like hell..if I tried to breath normally I couldn't, and it felt like I was shreaded up my lungs from the inside. Another affect was that I could not move very fast, the simple act of sitting down too fast caused me to have a type of Head Rush X10 and I would nearly black out.

Now that was scary as fuck and the only thing the Doctors could tell me is "we dont know, some virus we don't know of, just keep us informed if it gets worse"....and here I am freaking out that I can't breathe and that if I roll over on my sleep the wrong way, not being able to breathe fully I might suffocate.

......theres some nasty things out there.

[folsom]

I just want to point out that hospitalization for severe croup is not unusual.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040201/535.html
Croup is a common childhood illness, and viral croup is the most common form of airway obstruction in children six months to six years of age.1 The annual incidence is up to six cases per 100 children younger than six years.2,3 Croup is a leading cause of hospitalization in children younger than four years,4 and study results show that 1.5 to 6 percent of children with croup require hospitalization.3,5,6 The annual cost of hospitalizations for croup in the United States is an estimated $56 million.4,5


http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/croup.html
Medical professionals will need to evaluate your child if the croup appears serious or if there's any suspicion of airway blockage or bacterial infection. Medications such as epinephrine or corticosteroids may be given to reduce swelling in the upper airways. Oxygen may also be given, and sometimes a child with croup will remain in the hospital overnight for observation. As with most illnesses, rest and plenty of fluids are recommended.

[Dymond]

Actually thats backwards.. Dry air is better for Croup than moist air. When our kids had it we were told to take them outside because the dry air helps with the swelling.

"Sometimes, during cooler months, taking your child outside for a few minutes can help break the attack because the cool dry air can shrink the swollen tissues lining the airway. Parents can also try driving the child in the car with the windows down to bring in cool air."



Honestly that was some crappy medical attention your brother got. I'm sorry for his loss but I think it was Kaiser that failed him. I have heard alot of horror stories about Kaiser.

[tca]

i had the same thing as a baby the only thing i can say is im sorry it happened like that, everyone is diff though

[Beli]

Kaiser is notorious for having horrible service. one would think with all the malpractic suits, a docotor would error on the side of caution and keep the baby for observation at the very least. what a horrible thing to happen.

what i have seen personally with Kaiser, they do as little as possible. in other words they try to keep their spending minimal. if you are prety good with directing your own medical care, then you are safer going to Kaiser. imo.

[TraPStaR]

Well I'm not sure the doctors are 100% at fault. Croup is rarely fatal and general treatment includes the use of a vapourizer. From what I read it sounds like the doctors did a thourough evaluation and came to a valid conclusion. This is nothing more than a very rare, but tragic event.

agreed... truly sad tho. best wishes from me to the fam.

[Furyous]

Socialized Medicine/HMO's have taken the danger of making a bad decision away from doctors. My dad is currently looking into joining up with a local hospital because his office alone is costing him $30,000 a month! His malpractice insurance costs around $50,000 a year, which is low because he hasn't faced a suit in many years. Most of these doctors are well protected by the hospitals who are either in bed with the insurance companies or ARE the insurance company.

That's my own personal opinion I guess, but I do believe there is some truth to that...

Good luck fighting them. They've got more money/influence, and better lawyers. A tough fight if you're looking into going after them...