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Woman Says She Lost Her Fingers And Toes Because Of Hospital Infection [Graphic]
A woman is suing a Duarte hospital after she says doctors did not give her vaccinations that could have prevented an infection that resulted in the amputation of several fingers and toes. Janet Garner, 49, is a mother of three and a former U.C. Irvine Medical Center worker, KTLA reports. She appeared today at 10 a.m. with her husband, Stefan, at a press conference at the L.A. Downtown Hotel, according to CBS LA.
Garner said that she was received a bone marrow transplant at the City of Hope National Medical Center in 2004. According to the Garners' lawyer, Moseley Collins, the hospital staff "chose to ignore their own written procedure and did not give her the required pneumococcal vaccinations following the transplant."
She later suffered an infection—pneumococcal sepsis—in 2011. Garner said she almost died in the ICU. Her lawyer explained that she was given life-saving drugs at another hospital which drew the blood into critical organs and away from her extremities, which has resulted in the amputation of several fingers, all of her toes and parts of her feet. There is a possibility that Garner will eventually lose the entirety of both feet, due to wounds that have yet to heal.
At today's conference, Garner said, "Everyday, I wake up I still can't believe this has happened to me because I was so active and took care of my kids."
LAist reached out to City of Hope for a statement. The hospital responded with the following statement:
"Providing the best possible treatment for all patients is City of Hope’s highest priority. In observance of federal and state privacy regulations, we will not comment upon any individual patient."
The Garners' trial begins in March 2015.
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