Trauma from Mayo Clinic

I started a thread here recently I'm worried about my mom - she broke her hip.😢

Sadly—even though it looked like she was recovering well after surgery and everything was going to be fine—she didn't make it through this injury.

She died from an embolism, the same day she was discharged from the Mayo Clinic.😢

I wouldn't even be posting this on the forum if I actually believed her death was unavoidable or that the doctors couldn't have done anything.
Instead, as the days go by, I'm more and more convinced that the doctors at the Trauma center made some seriously inexplicable mistakes.😢

The night before she was supposed to be discharged, she took a turn for the worse, despite feeling great for days. She called me at 7 PM—it was hard for her to even talk—saying she felt terrible, was struggling to breathe, and had chest pains.
I called the hospital and spoke with the head nurse (the doctor was busy), and I got a promise that they’d check her out and do whatever was necessary if something was wrong.

During rounds, they basically ignored her, even though she personally told the doctor she couldn't breathe. He just told her she had to be sent home because everything looked fine from a surgical standpoint, and she should see her primary doctor for anything else. He either didn't know or didn't want to suspect an embolism. 👎
To top it off, when I called back, they told me—straight up lies, probably—that they’d examined her carefully, checked her bloodwork, and that everything was fine.

They dropped her off at home around 11:30 AM. She was incredibly pale, short of breath at the slightest movement, and dehydrated since she couldn't drink anything due to nausea...

Despite everything, she tried to believe what they told her—that everything was okay and she was just excited to go home. I tried to believe it too for a bit, but after an hour and a half, I ran out of patience and called 911. They took her blood pressure, which was 90/40, and rushed her to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

At Johns Hopkins, they started IVs and began running tests everywhere... chest X-rays, lung scans... they found the embolism.

They put her in ICU, gave her oxygen, and started clot-busting meds, but her heart just couldn't take the strain... she passed away before the medication could even kick in...

An internist at Johns Hopkins told me they could have helped her if the people at the Trauma center had recognized what was happening. He also mentioned that what looked like post-op pneumonia was likely her first embolic event.

The Trauma center didn't even do a follow-up chest X-ray, even though the first (and only) scan showed shadows on her lungs—the results weren't even clear.
I keep blaming myself for being naive and trusting the doctors; I didn't ask if they'd ruled out an embolism because I just assumed that's something you always look for first. I didn't want to act like a "know-it-all" since I'm not a medical professional.

It would be easier if I could just believe this tragic outcome was unavoidable.

But when I think about how they sent her home while she was in a state requiring intensive care—after being warned—I just can't stomach that.

frozenangler9.....😢 😢 😢 😢 🙂

Unfortunately, you aren't the only one complaining about how they treat people at the Mayo Clinic.

They handled this all wrong. Don't just keep quiet about it.

Finally worked up the nerve yesterday to head down to Mayo Clinic and demand some actual answers about everything that went down there.

It wasn't until today that my sister and I actually managed to sit down with the department head.

Honestly, that whole meeting—it's hard to even put into words.

Even though he knew exactly why we were there, he showed up acting like some host on a late-night talk show—all cheery, smiling, overly optimistic, and just way too polite.
Like he’d rehearsed a routine but picked the wrong stage.👎

He ushered us into his office with this whole "fun social gathering" vibe... he didn't even bother offering condolences then, or at any point during that bizarre encounter.

Despite us asking, he refused to show us any paperwork; instead, he just started rambling about statistics.

In some misguided attempt to explain things, he actually used a joke to make his point:

"An old man breaks his hip and complains to the doctor—'Doc, I broke my hip, now I'm gonna die.'
The doctor replies—'You aren't dying because you broke your hip; you broke your hip because you're dying.'"

That was the peak of tastelessness—just pure heartlessness and nerve. When we gave him those blank stares (which, frankly, was all we could manage), he tried to pivot his act a little.

But he still acted totally condescending, like he was living in some untouchable heaven.

When we asked how they could discharge a patient with symptoms pointing toward an embolism, he just brushed it off saying an EKG was done (which he conveniently forgot to mention earlier) and that everything looked fine.

Since when does an EKG rule out an embolism?
The doctor, being a total dodger, admitted it doesn't, but then said:
- You know how elderly people are, they're always complaining about something. 👎
- Where would we be if we ran tests for every single complaint?👎

And why wasn't a follow-up chest X-ray done?
- It wasn't necessary since she was feeling better and her fever was gone.👎

So why didn't you check her lungs once she started feeling worse again?
- How someone feels is subjective.

We spent about an hour spinning our wheels without getting anywhere.

He even had the nerve to mention he's a court-appointed expert, basically trying to intimidate us in case we were thinking about suing. He told us—with the best intentions, supposedly—that we should think about what we could actually prove. Which, I guess, isn't much, especially since they won't give us the hospital records and the discharge papers claim everything went perfectly smoothly.

I don't know what happens next, but I don't think I can just stay quiet and do nothing.

frozenangler9 😢

Jerks. A pulmonary embolism—that’s easily the number one surgical complication... And somehow, they’re acting like it’s not even within a surgeon's scope????

Try getting a hold of the medical records, even if you have to go through a court order. You really should talk to a lawyer.

It's honestly enough to make you sick how people get treated at the Mayo Clinic. You're already the third case I've heard about (and I'm not even from NYC and haven't lived here long), but yours is the worst because the first two actually made it out alive...

frozenangler9😢 I’m honestly heartbroken.

The state of our hospitals is absolutely unbelievable. I’m not even in Chicago right now, but things in my hometown are even worse.

I just went to check my paperwork—there isn't a single mention of follow-up complications in my discharge summary... they actually recorded the wrong symptoms for why I was admitted in the first place. 😲

And get this: at our facility, they were discharging women from the ICU the very same day they had surgery just because they wanted to go home... When I asked how on earth they could authorize that without a physical exam, blood work, or even making sure the patient could pass urine for the first time—this was in the OBGYN department, mind you—they just laughed at me and said, "Well, they can always come back if something goes wrong." 🙄

By the way, all traffic was completely gridlocked starting the next day because of the President's visit.

frozenangler9😢 😢 😢
I honestly feel so bad that everything turned out this way, I really do...
But you just have to dig deep and stay incredibly persistent if you want to prove to those doctors that they aren't some kind of gods just because they wear white coats!!!
😢

frozenangler9, honestly, enough.

I’d go with The New York Times. Dealing with lawyers and lawsuits would just be my Plan B running in the background. You can't bring your mother back, but you can stop this from happening to anyone else. At least then your suffering wouldn't be for nothing.

stormylynx14 said:frozenangler9, honestly, I feel for you.

I’d go straight to The New York Times. Then, I’d have the lawyers and a lawsuit running in the background as a Plan B. You can’t bring your mother back, but you can sure as hell make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. That way, at least your pain isn't for nothing...

If you hit the press first, they’ll just try to bury everything. Suddenly, all that documentation about those post-op complications—the ones they conveniently left out of the discharge papers—will just "disappear."

Casey Palmer5 said:If this hits the press first, they'll just try to bury everything. That documentation proving there were post-op complications—the kind they conveniently left out of the discharge papers—will just suddenly "disappear."

VelmaX jerk, I am so incredibly sorry.

My advice? Talk to a lawyer before you do anything else to see what your options actually are. It’s wild how these people act like they're untouchable gods. When I was getting an ultrasound done on my little baby,
they basically told me, "Just pray everything turns out okay..." I'm telling you this because I know how much it eats at the brave ones; the shame can be overwhelming. Sit down with an attorney first. If that doesn't work, then maybe you leak it to The New York Times. Who knows? They aren't miracle workers, and they certainly aren't saints.
Hang in there and don't let them win.

Dear Velmica, 😢 you really need to get some legal counsel on this. Brace yourself for the fact that the hospital staff might try to lie to you, muddy the waters, or cover things up to protect themselves. Check on the legality of requesting your full medical records immediately. Whatever you do, don't go making public threats—it’ll just backfire. Always make sure there's a witness present during your conversations (honestly, you might even want to record them?). You might actually be able to change the outcome here, but I know how hard this is since you're still dealing with all that Trauma. People can be incredibly cold; they won't show much sympathy, and some will definitely try to take advantage of you.
I'm wishing you strength, courage, and a whole lot of patience. Try to find a doctor you trust—maybe someone in the family—who can look over your paperwork and tell you exactly which questions you should be asking the staff. Also, stay in close contact with the physician over at the Rib; they might still be able to help you out.
We're all thinking of you and your family....

My condolences... how tragic😢

frozenangler9, I am truly sorry things played out this way—especially given the treatment you endured following the loss of your mother. 😢

Huge thanks to everyone who reached out—whether you posted publicly or sent me a DM. 🙂

Just trying to pull myself together and process everything right now—if that’s even possible.

The more I sit here and think about what happened, the more horrified I get.
This wasn't just some random, one-off mistake that someone could actually wrap their head around—look, anyone can mess up, even badly.

But that attitude? That blatant disregard for the elderly—treating people like they don't matter and intentionally looking the other way because it's easy to hide behind certain statistics... that's just monstrous.

I feel sick. Seriously.

I really hope—actually, I *believe*—that this story will actually make waves and be understood by at least a few doctors who actually give a damn about the responsibility they carry.

I'm not going to dump all my thoughts and plans here just yet, but if you have any info that might be useful, I'd appreciate it.

frozenangler9 said:But that mindset—the one that leans into ageism, treating people with total indifference and consciously neglecting them just because you can easily hide that neglect behind statistical expectations... that’s honestly monstrous.

Over in France this summer, way too many elderly people passed away due to the heatwaves. That reality has dragged several issues to the surface:
1. A healthcare system that isn't functioning nearly well enough (vacations leaving staff short-handed, slow responses from government agencies to set up emergency protocols, etc.).
2. More importantly: the attitude our society and civilization holds toward older people. They are neglected individuals that nobody seems to care about—not their families (there have been cases where they haven't even been buried yet!), not their neighbors, and certainly not social services. On paper, the support structures exist, but in reality, everyone just expects the elderly to die!

The problem lies with people. 😢 You can always blame the funding, the organization, or some other logistical failure... but it's people who cause the most damage through sheer negligence and lack of empathy.
That isn't going to change. But we absolutely have to push back against this injustice; otherwise, we're essentially saying it's acceptable. 😢

It's devastating for the whole family. I wish I were closer to you all so I could be of more help...

frozenangler9, so sorry for what you're going through😢

Joining everyone else here, I think your first move should definitely be finding a solid lawyer.
My family dealt with something pretty similar. My grandma passed away at home right after an ambulance crew showed up. Her blood sugar was insanely high, and she looked deathly ill to anyone watching, but those EMTs just refused to take her to the hospital because they claimed she wasn't "sick enough" and was just feeling a bit under the weather. She died before dawn. And nobody held them accountable.😠
My folks just didn't have the cash to sue the doctor who examined her that night. Looking back, it kills me, because my grandma wasn't ready to go—they basically killed her, and I'm stuck powerless.😢
If I had been in a position to do anything, the very first thing on my list would have been calling a lawyer.

ENOUGH WITH THESE ACCIDENTAL DEATHS!😠

frozenangler9, my dear 😢>

Don't let that jury foreman intimidate you. He shouldn't even be allowed to serve if he or anyone under his command could be held liable for negligence. I’m not 100% certain, but I’m pretty sure he can't testify if the doctor accused of negligence works at his hospital.
Do you have the stomach for this? If so, go ahead and file the lawsuit, or at least grab a coffee with the director of the Mayo Clinic—if it's still Nankovic, he's actually a decent, reasonable guy. Someone suggested you take this story to the press—if you decide to go that route, shoot me a DM and I'll see who I can connect you with. Don't worry about them trying to bury it; I personally know about a dozen cases where journalists stepped in to make sure that kind of negligence didn't get swept under the rug.

Velma is my absolute favorite!

Someone definitely messed up here. Someone needs to step up and fix this because what’s happening is just awful. And that joke? It was absolutely RIDICULOUS!!!! I honestly couldn't believe it.