Family claim mum died aged just 48 after hospital ignored symptoms for days
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Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe / Facebook/Julie Harwood Funerals
A woman died just 48 hours after a hospital ignored her symptoms by telling her to go home and take Panadol, her family claims.
According to a GoFundMe page established by her family, Carolyn Stanton, from Victoria, Australia, went to the hospital because she was experiencing numbness on one side of her body, blurry vision, a painful headache and vomiting.
A routine CAT scan detected a brain lesion in her right frontal lobe and was admitted to hospital overnight before being discharged the next day.
Stanton was told to take Panadol for the pain and book an appointment with her GP to get an MRI scheduled, her family alleged.
Stanton’s daughter, Stephanie Haysom, spoke to news.com.au and stated that although her mother’s hospital papers said she was ‘pain free’, her mum was still in a lot of pain.
She even ‘started to doubt her own symptoms,’ Haysom told the publication.
Stanton ended up back in the hospital merely days later after she fell in the shower because of numbness in her legs.
Her family members believe her symptoms suggested that she'd had a stroke, but the hospital said that a second CAT scan so soon would be too much radiation in a short amount of time and she was sent home once again with Panadol.
One day later, Stanton was admitted to hospital again after her daughter and grandson found her having a seizure. She was rushed to hospital and had a second seizure three hours later, which left her unable to speak or control her own body. She was sedated and a breathing tube was fitted to help her stay alive.
Stanton was flown to a hospital in Clayton and given an MRI which discovered the lesion on her brain that was initially found was the result of a stroke.
The scan also found that she'd had numerous strokes before the seizures.
Stanton’s family was told that her right artery had become blocked and her brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen, which was causing the seizures.
Unfortunately, Stanton’s brain was swelling and she rapidly deteriorated. After being declared brain dead, her family came to the difficult decision to take her off life support on 6 August.
“They disregarded everything, everything, she felt. They didn’t care in my opinion. I do want someone to be held accountable,” Haysom said.
Tyla has reached out to the hospital for further comment.
Carolyn leaves behind her four children, three grandchildren, a son- and a daughter-in-law.
The GoFundMe reads: “Her passing has left a void that can never be filled in our lives. We are left with so many questions and feeling confused on how and why this has happened, we are incredibly sad that we will never see her or talk to her again, guilty that we could not get her better help and very, very angry that she did not receive the help that she so desperately needed and tried to get.”
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
The common symptoms of a stroke includes:
- Sudden numbness or weakness in the arm, face, or leg, particularly on one side of the body.
- Sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or trouble understanding speech.
- Sudden trouble being able to see in one or both eyes.
- Sudden difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or lack of coordination.
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
In the event you or someone you know experiences any of these symptoms, call the emergency services right away.
