Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital

i was taken by ambulance to Methodist Willowbrook because they would take me only to the nearest hospital. My leg was swollen and cherry pink. The eventual diagnosis was cellulitis--a skin infection that can throw embolisms and cause fatal sepsis. Almost all of the experience was a harrowing experience. Examples:

--I suffer severe chronic pain treated by a path medication. The doctors didn't want me to use it. They promised me that equivalent pain relief would be provided. In the ER it was supplied once. In a hospital room I waited up to 1.5 hours for medication that was--at the most--barely adequate and--all too often--didn't take the edge off the pain.

--I was to receive a spinal tap. it took over 6 hours before the procedure was done. It was was so painful I was screaming. The folks administering the test were baffled why I had not been brought much earlier. They'd been expecting me for hours.

--The hospital treated my diabetes using a protocol that's been out of date for at least a dozen years. Using my up to date protocol my blood sugar levels are like a person without diabetes. Prior to that my levels had been significantly above ADA accepted levels.

--At admission I provided a printout of the medications I take, the dosage and when it was to be taken. In the 5 days in the hospital, the hospital never provided me all of the medications my doctors have prescribed for me. I offered to use my own from home under their direction--offer refused.

--Medications were added that conflicted with medications I take.

--I was asked to provide a medication I always take. It wasn't returned to me at time of discharge.

--A head administrative nurse--after one of the disasters--said she would check up on me every half hour. I never saw her again.

--Communication was poor even for their own staff. A doctor scheduled a procedure I was leery of and wanted to consult my primary care doctor. Years ago I'd undergone this procedure. It took months for me to recover from the pain it caused--I was leery of doing it again. I told nursing staff the night prior I wouldn't be signing off on the procedure. The doctor wasn't notified and came storming into my room asking me where I'd been. He'd been waiting for me. I'd expressed to him my hesitation when he'd told me his plan. He wanted to do angio exploration of one part of my body. A second doctor wanted to do the same exploration--but of another part of my body. The first doctor rather haughtily refused do share a procedure with another doctor, while the second doctor understood my concern and was open to a joint venture.



I will have to salute a social worker and 2 Rn's.

I believe the floor staff were drastically understaffed.





This is only a sample of the poor treatment I received.