Woman leaves Royal Darwin Hospital with brain damage after surgery
A SURGICAL blunder at Royal Darwin Hospital during what was supposed to be a simple operation left Michelle Peters brain damaged.
MICHELLE Peters went to Royal Darwin Hospital last month for what was supposed simple operation.
She left brain damaged.
A surgical blunder resulted in carbon dioxide being pumped through Mrs Peters’ liver and into her bloodstream. She nearly died on the operating table.
After the error was realised she was put in an induced coma and the surgery was abandoned. Her critical condition meant she spent almost two days in a coma and a further five days in intensive care.
“You put a lot of trust in them and you think they’re going to do the right thing and when they don’t you do feel betrayed,” Mrs Peters said.
The “simple operation” was to remove the 63-year-old’s adrenal gland because a small tumour growing on it was causing the gland to produce too much adrenalin.
Talking to the NT News,Mrs Peters says she just “wants to go home”.
“It’s about the worst thing that could happen to you at this stage in life,” she said. Mrs Peters’ brain damage has affected her motor skills and memory but to what extent and what the lasting effects will be is too early to tell.
“They’re going to take my licence away from me and I won’t be able to go back to work because I’m a chef,” she said. “I want to go back to work ... I loved my job.
“The thought of paying the rent without any income coming in ... it’s just really hard.”
Greg Peters, Michelle’s husband, says marrying Michelle four years ago was a chance at a “new life” after both their respective spouses passed away.
He is devastated the couple face a future far less bright than the one planned.
“She’s just not same ... They can’t tell us how long it’s going to take to get better or if it is going to get better,” he said.
Mr Peters has had to turn down work as a subcontractor in the construction industry in order to be there for his wife.
“I had to turn down a really good opportunity ... it would have been a big break for us, I’ve lost a lot of money,” he said. After the October 21 operation went pear-shaped, Mr Peters said he was told by doctors that his wife had suffered brain damage.
Now the Tiwi couple’s only way to support themselves financially is Centrelink. “I’ve had to apply for a disability pension for Michelle and a carer’s pension for me,” he said.
When asked about the incident by the NT News, Sharon Sykes, the acting chief operating officer of Top End Health Service, said senior management at Royal Darwin Hospital and the Top End Health Service were “aware of this case”.
“The Division of Surgery has been in discussion with the family and is sensitive to the distress they are experiencing,” Ms Sykes said.
“Royal Darwin Hospital is a fully accredited facility that practices under the national standards. Should an adverse event occur within any of our hospitals we observe national incident management processes which include undertaking a full investigation; observing National Open Disclosure processes by discussing the event openly with patients, families and carers; and ensuring any remedial systems improvements and leanings are implemented as part of our safety and quality focus.”
While there is no telling how long Mrs Peters will have to stay at the RDH she still needs the operation to remove her adrenal gland.
The hospital has offered to fly the couple to any hospital in Australia to have the operation performed, it’s an offer the couple won’t refuse. “I won’t have the operation here after everything, would you?”
