NB woman says she was ‘minutes from death’ after 14-hour ER wait

A woman who spent more than 14 hours in an emergency room in Moncton, New Jersey, claims she nearly died while waiting, calling for changes to the state’s healthcare system.

Bianca Gallant of NB’s Memramcook said the cause of the internal bleeding she called 911 on November 18 is still unknown. She had fallen off her horse about 2 weeks ago, but I don’t know if that was the cause. she got hurt.

That morning, an ambulance took Galan, who was suffering from severe abdominal pain, to the Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Center. She was triaged and had vitals taken before settling into her long wait in the emergency room.

“I sat there quietly for about 14 hours before I couldn’t breathe and started going into medical pain,” Gallant, 29, told Global News.

“My lungs didn’t want to expand any further. Obviously, when that happens, I go into panic mode.”

She told the triage nurse that she was unable to breathe and needed to see a doctor, but was told she had to wait.

“[The nurse]didn’t even come to see if I was okay. He didn’t check my vitals. He just said I needed to calm down,” Gallant claimed. .

That’s when an ER doctor noticed she was in pain and came to her aid, she said. With no more ER beds available for her, she was taken to another room where she began to “vomit uncontrollably.”

Hospital staff rushed her to have an MRI, but they couldn’t do it right away because she couldn’t breathe when she was lying down. They gave her medicine for her pain and vomiting and she was able to have her MRI 30-60 minutes after her.

“My fiancée told me I’d be in the MRI room for maybe five minutes,” Gallant said. “They took me back to the emergency room and told me I needed emergency surgery right away and that I had an unusual amount of bleeding in my abdomen.”

They ended up pumping 2.5 liters of blood and had to remove her right ovary and fallopian tube, Gallant said. She said she didn’t know where the blood came from.

Emergency surgery left her unable to have children. Gallant said she already has four children and she doesn’t plan to have more, but the situation was very awkward.

While Gallant was receiving a blood transfusion the next day, she heard something disturbing from the surgeon.

“The surgeon came and saw us the next day and told my fiancée and I that I was minutes from death and that I was lucky to be alive,” Gallant said.

She said the surgeon told her to complain about the situation, and she has since emailed the hospital.

In a statement, Vitalité Health Network said it could not comment on specific incidents.

The network’s senior vice president of clinical programs and medical affairs said there was no shortage of staff or beds on the night Gallant was treated.

“We are committed to providing safe, high-quality care and services to the public, and are committed to ensuring that all emergency departments in our network follow triage and management standards for each person that comes in,” it said. Dr Natalie Banville said in a statement.

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Gallant wondered why it took 14 hours to see a doctor and why she was taken to a room outside the emergency department when there were no shortages of staff or beds.

The experience “traumatized” her, she said.

“I was in a lot of pain”

Gallant said he spent about four days in the intensive care unit after surgery before being sent to the recovery floor. Soon she was discharged from Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Center.

She said she was still in pain and had many unanswered questions, and went to Moncton Hospital for a second opinion.

She was an emergency postoperative patient, so the wait was a little shorter this time.

X-rays showed a small tear in the lung, but it was unclear whether it had occurred before or during the operation.

Gallant said she spoke with a doctor who told her she was trying to find a bed. is what they said.

Again, she couldn’t answer.

“I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t move,” she said.

“I was scared and had this overwhelming feeling, ‘Oh my god, am I going to die?’ can you?”

“I had a lot of fear. And I still feel that way.”

After being discharged from Moncton Hospital, Gallant, who was still symptomatic, used eVisitNB to talk to a nurse, who either returned to Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Center or sent her to Dr. Fredericton. I suggested a visit to the Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.

Gallant chose a hospital in Fredericton, so she made the trip on Saturday.

He was told to call 911 if he had pain in his back or chest, and was discharged from the hospital again.

She is currently undergoing tests at three hospitals, and although Gallant feels a little relieved, she is still frustrated with the situation.

“I haven’t had the full answer yet or the test I should have taken,” she said.

Recovery has been difficult, especially since she has to take care of four children, but she said it would be much worse without a strong support system of family and friends.

Gallant says he feels a little better, but he still has pain and is having trouble sleeping at night.

“I’m still in pain. I still turn over when I walk. I still have pain in my stomach and I continue to have sharp pains on my left side, but no one seemed to care.” .normal.

“I understand your body is doing strange things. I can only imagine it after the surgical incisions, but it seems my questions about my own health have not yet been answered. I feel like

Gallant said he did not blame hospital staff, pointing out that they were overworked, but said the state had to do something to fix the health care system.

She said states should hire more medical staff and better support the staff they currently have.

“I hope the government will take us in New Brunswick seriously because we believe we are facing the worst health crisis in all of Canada and especially here in the Moncton area,” she said. said.

“It is not fair at all to our citizens, our staff, those involved in this crisis and those who have to face it. Therefore, we hope the government can act now.”

She said her experience was “an eye-opener.”

“If this hadn’t happened to me, I would never have imagined it would be this bad,” she said.

Gallant, who used to live in Calgary, wants to move back to Alberta because New Brunswick’s healthcare system is struggling.

She said she is organizing a rally outside Moncton City Hall at 2 p.m. Saturday to raise awareness of the issue.

She joins members of Moncton’s Muslim community who held a rally outside Moncton Hospital last Saturday to protest the death of a beloved community member who died in the ER while awaiting care.

“It was heartbreaking. It was devastating. It shouldn’t have happened,” Gallant said of the man’s death.

“This is not the hospital’s fault, the government needs to join forces to help us.”