HOUSTON – A Houston family said their loved one was neglected and misdiagnosed at the VA Medical Center.
“It’s deplorable. It’s a horrible place. They have places in Vietnam probably better than what they are living in right now in the United States in the Veteran’s Hospital,” Constance Williams said.
David Norman Williams was admitted to the hospital on March 4 for a kidney transplant. According to his family, after that, his health started to decline.
His wife Constance, who spoke exclusively with KPRC 2, said the past 64 days had been a nightmare.
Williams said she feared what could happen to her husband, who was under 100 pounds. She explained that his hospital stay caused him to miss out on his birthday, holidays, and their anniversary.
“Somedays I’m scared to even go in the room because I think I’m going to find him deceased,” she said.
The 74-year-old was fighting for his life.
“Nobody should be in this pain that I’m in,” David told KPRC through a video.
“David came in with other patients that had the kidney transplant. All of them left on the seventh day. We were the only ones left,” his wife said.
Williams claimed her husband was mistreated, neglected and staff wouldn’t listen to him.
“He has been complaining about stomach pain for over 30 days. I asked them what the problem was, and they said they didn’t know. He started losing blood and had to have four pints of blood,” she said.
She said staff placed his feeding tube incorrectly in his mouth and, the very next day, doctors almost performed surgery on him before realizing he was the wrong patient.
“His room is 298-D Williams. The other patient is O-Williams 246. The nurse came in and said, ‘you have the wrong Mr. Williams,’” the wife said.
Williams said it’s been one problem after another.
“Swelling of his hands, can’t digest, can’t swallow. Then he ended up with pneumonia, then he had a fungus in his throat and stomach,” she said.
Williams reportedly developed blood pressure problems and bed sores from feces being left on him. His wife said feces was also left around his room and bathroom for several days.
“When I walk to the nurse station, I hear other veterans say, ‘help me, please somebody come change me bring me some water,’” she said.
In a statement a spokesperson from the VA said:
“These circumstances are unacceptable, and we have reached out to the Veteran and his family to apologize. In addition to immediately addressing this specific situation, we have already begun a systemic review to ensure that this doesn’t happen in the future.
Veterans have earned and deserve the best care anywhere, and we at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center will never settle for delivering anything less. We will not rest until this issue is fixed – for this Veteran and for all Veterans who entrust us with their care – and we will be transparent every step of the way.”
“I told them ‘you’re not sorry, you got caught,’” Williams said.
Williams said the hospital did make some changes after her complaints.
“The day after I called you, Dr. Biati immediately came down. She put in a one-on-one nurse for Mr. Williams and made sure he can stay clean, “the wife said.
Family and friends were praying for Mr. Williams, and also hired an attorney.
Mrs. Williams said they asked staff to move her husband to a different hospital but was told “no” because they performed the kidney transplant. She added that her husband also developed blood clots in his legs, arms and over his heart, and was not sure when he would be discharged.