As a vital part of our Safe Patient Project advocacy, we have collected thousands of stories from people all across the nation who have experienced medical harm. One of our newest voices in our midst is Veverly Edwards, who has recently joined our California Safe Patient Network.
Veverly’s daughter Robyn was just thirteen when she experienced the tragic consequences of a medical error. When a rare vascular disease was misdiagnosed as a migraine, she was prescribed a drug that triggered a massive stroke. Declared brain-dead and suffering incredible damage to her brain and body, Robyn’s recovery has been years in the making, and the toll on her and her family has been drastic.
I was told that Robyn would never be an honor student again. Her aspirations of running track, playing basketball, practicing piano and drawing were all extinguished. I didn’t know how to tell her that a preventable medical error had robbed her of these dreams. I didn’t know how to say that her doctors predicted she would never get out of bed, when only a year prior she had hoped to attend Yale University. All I could tell her was that we were trusting God–that she needed to work hard, and have faith.
You can read the rest of Veverly’s story here.
Have you or someone you love suffered from medical harm? How has it impacted your life?
-Savannah Wood