This Girl's Life

I am totally drained from my last day of Jury Duty. It was probably the hardest day because we had to deliver our verdict today. It was heart-wrenching.

Since the case is over, I am finally able to share some details.

The case involved a married couple who was suing a local hospital, and in particular, one nurse. 7 years ago, this couple brought their 7 week old daughter into the ER because they said she had congestion, was fussy and crying more than usual. They claimed they sat in the ER without being seen for 2.5 hours. There is no evidence as to what time they actually arrived. It was later determined that their daughter had bacterial meninigitis, and not only that, but that she had one of the rarest and most devastating forms of it. After being admitted into the hospital, doctors began treating her with general antibiotics used to treat bacterial meningitis until they could get the lab results telling them exactly what type of bacterial meninigitis it was. Shortly after finding out what type it was, they treated her with an antibiotic that works specifically for the type she had. 1/2 hour after receiving the anitbiotic, she began to have seizures followed by several strokes. She suffered severe brain damage, hearing loss, and vision loss.

She was eventually cured of the meningitis, but her brain damage was so severe that she ended up passing away at the age of 3. Her parents, obviously devastated and angry, thought they should sue the hospital because the triage nurse didn't see them until 2.5 hours after they said they arrived and that they felt this led to their daughter's terrible outcome.

I feel for these parents, and I CANNOT imagine what they have gone through. They have lost their daughter. But the sad thing is, the severity of their daughter's disease would have been the same regardless of when she was treated. The type of meningitis she had was that bad.

So even though I know we rendered the right decision by not finding the hospital negligent, I still feel unexplainably sad. I am sad for the parents who will never see their daughter grow up. I am sad that there is a million things I am sure they wish they could tell her.

I'm going to end this post with a video I saw on Without Wax. I think it speaks for itself.


'Say' Music Video from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.