Type 1 diabetic patient asked to leave hospital

Our daughter a Type 1 diabetic patient was admitted to a hospital for observation. After 2 weeks that included no insulin to treat high blood sugar level for almost 12 hours and not administering antibiotics for an infection for about a week, patient was discharged on palliative care.

Flash forward 11 months…patient is admitted for the same infection, and was discharged 2 weeks later not only with the infection, but with blood clots from the wrists to shoulders of both arms.

She was asked to leave hospital and they wanted to transfer her to another hospital.

I would want her to be in another hospital! May I ask how old this daughter is? I hope she is getting cared for now.

Hi,

I hope your daughter is doing better.

Just curious, but what did your personal Endocrinologist and/or Primary Care Physician say in regard to both hospitalizations. The only reason I ask is because the first time your daughter was hospitalized was similar to my own experience when I was in the first (1st) grade. My father contacted my Primary Care Physician, took me out of the hospital and admitted me where my Primary was practicing.

Fast forward approximately 30 years later…he is convinced it saved my life.

I’m not sure we are hearing the whole story. Being discharged on “palliative care” is typically done when you have a very serious illness (such as end stage cancer) and the hospital cannot do anything more for you, let alone give you quality of life. So they send you home with a plan to make you comfortable enabling you to be with your family for your remaining time.

Why was your daughter discharged on palliative care?

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Believe it or not, she walked into the hospital for observation for cardiac issue. Day 1 - no insulin and very high blood glucose levels. Day 4 - emergency catheterization; she was walking and talking before the procedure but came out of the lab on an impella devise (nobody has told us what happened during the procedure) and yes, she ended up being discharged on palliative care because of the massive extent of the damage to her heart. Diabetics are ineligible for heart transplants.

We assumed that the hospitalist, or any doctor with privilege at a hospital with the reputation that CHI-St. Luke’s had, knew what he was doing. An endocrinologist showed up in the early evening, had her transferred to ICU and got the insulin started. Unfortunately she was there for observation for a cardiac issue and that is where her cardiologist was.

I’m confused as to how long your daughter went without insulin… I’ve never heard of not having enough insulin over a relatively short span of time causing a cardiac condition that would require the implantation of a ventricular assist device. It sounds as if your daughter had relatively severe cardiac disease (either related to her diabetes or independent of it) prior to being admitted to the hospital. I do hope your daughter is doing better…

This is all very confusing. How old is your daughter and if she is not a ‘child’ is she not able to request insulin and advocate for care regarding all of her issues? I can’t help but wonder how “she walked into the hospital for observation for cardiac issue.” after being in a palliative care situation for nearly a year. Where is she now?? If she is a child I hope she is at Texas Children’s now, and out of ICU.

I would have had her transferred via ambulance to the best medical center I could find in the area. Needless to say, I would contact a lawyer to see what action could be taken against this “hospital.” I will pray for your daughter’s speedy recovery. P.S. Make sure an endo is involved in her care while she is being treated in the new hospital.

According to the OP, this daughter is in THE best of the best considered for heart issues in the area. And the Children’s hospital is right across the street (don’t even have to go outside)!

She was in a satellite facility of what is supposed to be one of the best hospitals in the country! The hospital might have a good name, but the staff proved itself to be less than stellar, and their management has proven that the staff is the more competent of the two!

She was already in one of the best in the country - or so we thought. Lawyers have been contacted but we wanted to make sure the ‘public service announcements’ were delivered while we could still do so!

wow, after i look, at everything, talk about, a hard time, i hope she is getting the, care, she needs,.

Again, I am sorry for your daughter regardless of her age, but like many said, I am confused. I understand that hospitals may not give adequate Diabetes care because I was in that situation once. However, after advocating on my behalf, my father physically picked me up and drove me to my Primary Care Physician. If you could not physically move your daughter, why didn’t your own PCP or Endocrinologist assess her?

I also understand that she was admitted for cardiac issues. Yes, high blood sugars will exacerbate the same issue so I also don’t understand why there wasn’t any coordination between your own Cardiologist and any Endocrinologist. (By the way, I have two (2) heart murmurs so I personally know that high blood sugars will exacerbate a heart condition.)

Unfortunately, I do not understand the circumstances of palliative care. It is not hospice!

She ended up in ICU after the insulin deprivation, and the other hospitals probably didn’t want the liability. The observation for which she was initially hospitalized turned out to be a catastrophically significant cardiac event for which she ended up back in ICU. The circumstances of the palliative care are that 40 or so percent of her heart muscle is dead. She needs a heart transplant but cannot have one because diabetes is a preclusion. Palliative care means that there is no fix or cure. She walked into that hospital and left on a life vest with no treatment plan and the prognosis is obviously bleak. And please don’t question the prognosis - her records have been sent to every heart group in the country. One renowned team wanted to know if they were looking at autopsy results. It’s a tragic situation.