Can anyone in the Medical Feild tell me in plain english what happened to my 19 year old Son?

Question

He Graduated in 2004 he was in Football and Wrestling all 4 Years. 5 Months ago he had a bad Cough so we took him to the Hospital E-Room he was diagnosed with Bronchitis, He was prescribed Steroids,Antibiotics, and an Inhaler. 2 Days later he started having Abdominal pain,Vomiting,and Diarreaha. So we took him back to the Hospital. He was then told there was some kind of problem with his Bladder (it was swollen and putting pressure on his bowels and intestines) so he was given a Cathiter and they kept him overnight. at 2 A.M. we were called at home. He was taken to C.C.U. because he was having problems breathing turns out he was given Morphine for pain and he had a bad reaction to it. so he was given Narcan to counter the Reaction. his heart rate jumped to 200 BPM. then they gave him something else to slow his Heart down. it slowed to 45 BPM. at 4:07 A.M he died of an enlarged Heart. From the time he was given the Morphine until Death was about 6 Hours.

The Side effects of the Antibiotics are Nausea, Vomiting, Diarreaha, and Abdominal pain. Which the ER Doctor to my knowledge didn't even consider. also My Son started Smoking Cigarettes (a pack a day) and Marijuana after high school. no other Drugs showed up on the Toxocoligy Report, Only those given by the Hospital. I'm not trying to point a finger but The doctor only tells us my sons heart was enlarged but he can't or won't tell us how it got enlarged. can someone please shed some light on this for Me and My Family?

Also in the Autopsy report the Pathologist Questions the use of Morphine my son had a pain level of 5 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Answer 1

First of all I cannot imagine your pain, I am a nurse and it sounds like everything got out of control. From what you say he was obvious allergic to morphine and the counteract did not work,which most times it does,I am not saying this as a fact because I was not there and do not know all the factors, I can't imagine the doctors not sitting down and explaining everything word for word, action for action, request the chart and ask the hospital for an investigation. Hire a lawyer because something is terribly wrong, don't let this go by, your precious baby boy deserves justice. My deepest sympathy and prayers.

Answer 2

A difficult case. If you had an independent internist or cardiologist review his medical records, this might help you find closure.

This is an unusual presentation, but a viral cardiomyopathy comes to mind. A viral infection could cause nausea, cough, etc, and if it inflamed his heart muscle, then it could lead to electrical disturbances of his heart as well as poor function and rather rapid enlargement. The bladder distention could have been related to an infection or a drug side-effect, for instance if he was taking anti-histamines for his cough and congestion. It is possible but unlikely that he was allergic to morphine. Still, a side-effect of morphine can include a sudden drop in blood pressure. Narcan was used to reverse the effects of morphine and it is highly effective. Anything it did not reverse, was unlikey to have been caused by the morphine..

Congenital heart problems might have contributed, but this does not seem likely, especially since you report none from the autopsy, and it would not explain the other acute symptoms.

I cannot determine from the information given, whether the hospital did something that contributed to his death, or failed to rcognize a problem which could have led to a life-saving treatment.

I am terribly sorry for your loss. This is a difficult time for sure, and the uncertainty does not help. Often, unfortunately some answers never come. I could be overlooking something obvious to another physician. What I offer are only theories.

Questions to ask: Were slides of heart tissue made at autopsy? What was found? They probably still exist and you might want to get another pathologist to view them.

Was the blood, sputum, and urine cultured? For what? What did it show?

What toxicology studies were not done which might cause this presentation?

You should have access to his medical records. I undertand your need to question, your grief, and your need for closure. May God grant you the peace that passes all understanding.

Answer 3

I am very sorry to hear of your loss and my prayers go out to you and your family.

As far as giving you a factual answer from you have described above, that would be very difficult with out knowing all the details surrounding your sons case and anyone that attempts to say what it was definitively from just the brief description above should not be taken seriously.

The cough, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea do not appear related on the surface to the Morphine reaction. If he did in fact suffer an allergic reaction to the morphine, that could have very well aggravated an already existing heart condition. Many people have enlarged hearts and do not know it, especially when they are young. If you are concerned about the possibility that the treatment your son received was wrong or that a gross misdiagnosis was given and that his death was caused by the medical institution, collect all the data you can and contact an independent medical professional that can translate it all into English for you. Check with your local medical school at your local university, the professors there frequently will look at that kind of material out of a courtesy and can give you an idea if they feel things were done correctly or not.

Again, so sorry for your loss...

Answer 4

OK, let's see. He went to the ED and had a diagnosis of bronchitis which in reality could have been congestive heart failure which would explain the enlarged heart but due to his age was misdiagnosed. Now he has antibiotics and my guess is that he had an allergic reaction to that and the bladder problem was urinary retention hence the catheter to drain that. Now he rates his pain a 5 but observation might have indicated otherwise and he was given morphine which is not all that uncommon and the dose would have been in line with his pain. Looks like he had a reaction to the morphine and was given narcan which is an excellent drug for narcotic overdose. It provides almost instant reversal and I have had the experience of giving it in the ambulance to drug users who are then very angry with me for the instant reversal of their high. He was also having some heart rate problems that could have come from any number of causes and it would appear that the end result was heart failure. An enlarged heart is soft and flabby and doesn't pump well. You have had an autopsy so I am assuming that this final diagnosis is correct. At this point I think your questioning should be along the lines of what caused this enlarged heart and what could have been done to treat it earlier. My condolences.

Answer 5

Sorry for your loss. The actual cause of death was an enlarged heart? Lots of people have enlarged hearts. High blood pressure causes the heart to pump harder and increases its workload. Just like adding weights to your training program would increase your muscle size. the extra workload causes the heart muscle to thicken from the outside in. This makes it harder for the heart to pump adequately and the patient goes into heart failure. The larger mass and extra workload of the heart increases its need for oxygen. If it doesn't get enough oxygen, the muscle begins to die (heart attack). This is not something that happens overnight. The morphine would not have been the cause of the enlarged heart, but if he was unable to get enough oxygen for a significant amount of time, it could have caused a fatal heart attack. Get the medical record and have a lawyer go over it with you.

Answer 6

I am breathless and in tears I am so sory about your son the only thing that I can say is that people do havae reactions to medications specially morphine and they can be deadly it sounds like the Drs kept making the wrong choices again I am so sorry ..you know you have the right to have the records from your sons visit it could give u more answers I pray that your healing begins soon

Answer 7

So sorry for you, I can feel your pain. I do not think that anyone will be able to give you an answer, and no one in the medical field will commit themselves for obvious fear of committing themselves. You do need to talk to someone as you clearly have lots of unanswered questions. Try the Samaritans, just to unload, clear your head and start again. Good luck

Answer 8

It sounds like you have a medical mistake case on your hands. I would go to a lawyer and have him or her demand answers from the doctor if you have the money to go that route.

I believe that will be the only way you will get any answers. If the lawyer will not help you, perhaps he or she could tell you how to get the answers you need.

Answer 9

My Dad (63) was diagnosed with bronchitis this past winter, four months later he had a major heart attack. Insurance companies give Drs kickbacks when they do not send the patients for the expensive tests. My Dad even asked for a stress test and they told him they would when his bronchitis cleared up. never hads bronchitis. He is still here, after 4 catherizations, and waiting for a defibulator.

Answer 10

Please accept my sympathies. The story of your son's death is so very sad. It touched my heart deeply. I cannot imagine the pain you are feeling. Continue to ask questions, Consider legal counsel, and finally counseling with a spiritual leader or a support group. God be with you.