An Outrage Overlooked: Anti-Trans Biased Nightmare at Denver Health!

December 4, 2009 was my first visit to Denver Health. I was brought back into the ER to see the triage nurse for evaluation. Vitals were taken along with medical history, current chief complaint, and current symptoms. Due to rectal bleeding I was taken directly to a room in the ER. I was seen by female doctor who asked me what was going on. I explained to her my condition and about my special surgery that was done at the University of Chicago Hospital by Dr. Gregory Bales. She ordered the start of an IV of normal saline and bloodwork. She then went to examine my vaginal area and could not figure out what she was looking at. I explained what she was looking at and she still could not figure out how my surgery was done. She then left and came back and asked me if a medical student could see the surgery that was done on me. Being a former CNA and EMT I said "yes". She then brought in a student and they together were puzzled. During this time the nurse taking care of me started the IV and blood was drawn.

After a while of waiting the attending ER physician came in to see me. He stated that he got a call from a physician from the Womans Clinic who asked if I was there as a patient. The attending said that he told that I was and that they talked about my situation. I was also told by the attending that this OB/GYN at the Womans Clinic was familiar with transgender patients and that I would be discharged with an appointment to the clinic. The appointment given to me was Decenber 18th, 2009 at 0830 and that the doctor I will be seeing is Dr. Carey. As the nurse came into my room to discharge me I asked how my labs were. She told me that my CBC (white blood cell) was elevated and my RBC (red blood cell) was low. I said that those are not normal labs for me and that I should be admitted and have a workup done. My nurse pleaded with the attending and he told her that "there is nothing we can do for her". Also, there was a CT Scan that I was told was ordered and cancelled. I was discharge with no prescriptions. My inital reason for comming into the ER was for rectal bleeding, vaginal discharge (fecal matter), pain, and possible infection. These symptoms started November 2009 and had been getting worse. With daily rectal bleeding (sometimes heavy like a period), fecal matter discharge comming out of vaginal, labs showning anemia and infection, weight changes, night sweats and fever, and pain....any other hospital would have admitted me. Instead the ED of Denver Health discharged me with nothing (not even antibiotics), with a diagnosis of a vaginal fistula, and only an appointment at the Womans Clinic.

I arrived for my appointment at the Womans Clinic to see Dr. Carey on December 18th, 2009 at 0815 for a 0830 appointment per ED (emergency department) discharge instructions.When i checked in I was told that my appointment was not until December 28th according to their computer and that Dr. Carey was not in. I was told to wait and they would see if there was another OB/GYN that would see me even though I was flagged in the computer to only see Dr. Carey. After waiting, they told me that Dr. Gretchen Heinrichs would see me if I wanted. I had no choice so I agreed to see her. They took me back to a room and got my vital signs and I waited for Dr. Heinrichs. She finally came in to see me and I explained to her about my current problems, past history, and changes since the ED visit. Dr. Heinrichs did examine my vaginal area and I explaind what she was looking at. She understood what I was explaining and what had been done in surgery. She ordered blood work and agreed that I needed more care. As she was writing up what she felt needed to be done for me I was filing out and signing medical release papers for my records from the University of Chicago. After all, I had been in contact with Dr. Bales and agreed to send any records needed to help with my care. I was then sent over to the Adult Acute Care Center for furthur care. The care she recommended was at the AACC was for a ct scan w/contrast, stool culture, and admission. In the AACC I had the CT scan done w/nothing showing, pain meds, and IV started. I was sent home with a script for morphine sulfate 15mg which is my normal pain meds that I take. No admission was done and the script was incorrectly filled out and I had to go back to have it corrected. I was also instructed to make an appointment with the Surgical Clinic and the GI Clinic.

After that, I did make an appointment with the sugical clinic and the GI clinic. However, things were still bad and got worse by January 15th, 2010. I then went back to the AACC to be seen. After a couple hours of waiting I was taken back. More discharge was commming out of my vaginal area along with infection.The doctor came in after she went through my records in the computer to know what has been going on and what had been done for me. Lab work was ordered again and we waited for those results. During that time she examined my vaginal area and noticed the discharge from that area. Labs came back and showed that I was severly dehydrated due to not eating well because of my condition. An IV was started and she also ordered blood cultures to make sure there was no infection in the blood (which can happen with a vaginal fistula). The nurse came in and started taking the blood for the cultures. After 2 syringe full of blood I felt myself going unconscious and that is the last thing I remember until I woke up in the ED (emergency department).

When I woke up I noticed I was not in the same room. I looked at my female friend and asked her where I was. My friend told me I was in the ED and that I was brought over here because I had been unconscious for about 3 hrs and that this is the way they AACC could get me admitted to find what happened.. I then asked if anyone had been in to see me. She then told me that someone from the psychiatric department had been in to see me, but I was still unconscious. I then realized that the ED thought I was over here as a psych patient and not for a medical condition. I then told my friend that I was leaving and started to get out of bed. My friend then went and told the nurse who was taking care of me. The nurse came in (as I was on the bench in the room starting to get undressed) and told me that "if you do not get back into bed I will restrain you". I then told her that would be illegal. The nurse left and I continued to get changed. A couple of minutes later the ED doctor came in and told me "We would like to find out what is wrong with you, but it is your decision if you want to leave. Make your choice because I have 45-50 other patients that need my help." I the told him to take care of his other patients and asked him if he even knew why I was here. The doctors response was "NO". I then explained to him what happened to me in the AACC and that I woke up over here. I told him to get my discharge papers ready and he and the nurse left. The nurse returned a couple of minutes later and told me that she needed to remove my IV. I told her that I would do it and to leave me alone (after all...she had threatened to restrain me and I did not trust her). The nurse did leave and I continued to get changed. The next thing I knew a male nurse came into my room, shut the door, and started comming towards me. I told him to get out. He ignored me and I swished a 4x4 gauze pad at him. I was scared for my life. I was not sure what was going to happen especially after being threatened to be restrained (my parents sexually abused me as a child and I have been raped). The male nurse then goes out and tells the doctor and other staff that I "HIT" him. The next thing I knew I had 2 security individuals at my room door, the female nurse (who threatened me) writing an incident report in my room, and then escorted out with a 24hr tresspass warning. I was forced out without being admitted, no meds, and no discharge orders. On the way out my partner, my friend, heard a nurse named Melissa say "good she is leaving...now we can take care of real patients".

On January 26th I went to my appointment at the Surgical Clinic. After waiting about an hour I was taken back to an exam room where I waited some more while my doctor looked up my records. He came in and examined me and we talked. He mentioned that I needed a primary care physician at the hospital and that I needed a team of doctors to coordinate my care. He said he would try to get me one and then found out there was a long waiting list. The doctor then told me that his nurse would call me with the date and time of an x-ray procedure that he wanted done. He also stated that we need to find the fistula and get me into surgery asap. The next day I received a call from his nurse. She set up a flouroscopy with barium for February 5th 2010 at 9am. The test was to include having the barium injucted into the rectum and the vaginal area. Paula told me when to pick up the prep for the test and that is what I did.

On February 4th 2010 I went to my appointment at the GI Clinic. When the doctor came in we talked about my condition, the flouroscopy that was being done the next day, examined me and scheduled me for a colonoscopy asap. It got scheduled for February 18th 2010.

On February 5th I arrived early at the hospital for my flouroscopy. After a little wait I was checked in for my test and then at 0900 I was taken back for my test. The x-ray tech showed me where I could change into a gown and put my clothes. I did and then went into the procedure room. After that, a physician came in and explained to me what we were doing for the procedure. He told me that he was going to start an IV and put contrast (iodine) into the rectum. I stopped him there and told him that was the wrong test. I explained that I was to have barium injected into the vaginal area and rectum and then films taken. He then went and checked the original order and found out that I was right. He also told me that he could not do that and went and called the physician that ordered the test. Also, the radiology physician told me that the clerk who put in the order for the flouroscopy put in the wrong test because she did not understand the orders. The test was cancelled and I had to go through extra pain with the prep all because a clerk could not call a physician and check on the order.

Since the first incident with the ED I have been in contact with patient representative Ely Singleton at Denver Health. A male friend has been there with me talking to Ely a couple of times. The rest of the time it has been myself and my female friend. During multiple conversations I have been told by Ely that matters are being looked into, his supervisor has been informed, and that people will contact me. I have only had 2 supervisors contact me since these incidents. One of them was a woman who just go into her position. I explained to her what has happened and have not heard from her since. The second one is a gentleman named Shawn. He called me on a Sunday night at 2000hrs over three weeks ago. He was given information that was incorrect and I explained everything to him. He told me that he would call me back in a week and I am still waiting for that call. Ely has also told me that he is working on 200 cases and as far as getting me a primary physician there are 30,000 people waiting for one. I have made many attempts to correct these problems through Ely and Denver Health and things have only gotten worse.

Friday, February 19, 2010, 1:22 PM

My female friend just told me something interesting. While she was waiting for me she decided to check on me and see what was going on. The staff there told her that I was gone. Meaning, that I left the hospital and went home. My clothes were in a locker and my friend had the rest of my belongings. Therefore, I supposedly left the hospital with no shoes and in a hospital gown and went home. My friend told them to check again because she knew I was there They came back and told her that it was a mistake and that I had gone into the procedure room and not gone home. This whole incident upset Smy friend because she knew that I was there and she thought they had lost me.

On 02/21/2010 I went to Denver health as directed from my discharge papers from my colonoscopy. Due to continued pain from the Colonoscopy on Thursday, heart palpatations, fever, 6lb weight loss, sweats, loss of feeling in my bad leg, and tingling in my right leg I went to the ED. I was able to get into the ED at 6pm on 02/21/2010. From there I was treated with an IV, morphine, EKG, x-rays, and CT scan. Things were going well until my last ED physician took care of me. At 10pm I complained that my pain was returning and my nurse went to ask if I could have more pain meds. She did not return until 11pm and told me that I was being discharged. I then started getting dressed and took out my IV. The third doctor who saw me then came in and explaind that I have mesentery adenitis and to come back in a couple of days if the pain and problems persisted and that they would have to admit me. When the discharge papers came from the 4th and last physician...it stated to ..make an appointment to the GI clinic to be seen in 1-3 days and to return to the ED department and listed the same symptoms I came in with. When I explained that I got the earliest appointment with the GI clinic and that it is March 3, 2010..I was then told by the nurse to go to that appointment. So, I am supposed to wait 2 weeks with the same pain and condition that they were telling me to get an appointment for in 1-3 days. Confusing the nurse with these facts she said, "This is above my pay scale..I am getting the attending". When the nurse and the 4th doctor came to see me at 1245am on 02/22/2010 he then wanted to examine me and the nurse came in with IV pain meds. This was all done after I was told that I was being discharged. I explained this to the 4th physician and told him that the discharge papers needed to be rewritten. My discharge papers came at 115am and I have that copy. As you can see...they were not even paying attention to me at the end. If they had, the doctor would have come in as he got on shift and examined me and talked to me then and the nurse would have not walked in with pain meds when there was no longer an IV in me. She did not know and the physician did not know that I took my IV out because I was told I was being discharged. What do I have to do to be treated fairly? Hell, a drug addict in cardiac arrest has a better chance of being treated fairly then I do or a drunk who just had a car accident has a better chance of being treated fairly then I do at Denver Health.

March 17, 2010

Good morning Dr. T. Since you have received my e-mails I have gotten Dr. Long for a primary care physician. I had an appointment with him and received an apology from him on how I have been treated. I very much like his personality and we hit it off. However, I recently got ill and e-mailed him and left a message with no response. This happened on Sunday and Monday. Yesterday, I found out that he is ill and will not be back until Thursday. Well, I could not wait because I had been running a fever, difficulty breathing, severe abdominal pain, and wheezing. So I contacted Eli just to let him know what was going on and that I was comming to the ED. I do not remember much due to my low oxygen level, but Shari was with me and told me what happened. First, at triage I was asked if I were male or female. I started leaving the hospital and they ran after me to get me back for treatment. Then they decided that they were going to put me in the Acute Care Clinic instead of the ED department. Not smart with the problems I was having. That turned into a discussion and then they agreed and started taking me back to a ED room. That is when security guard came running after me to yell and scream at me. I had to tell him that he chased me and that I was heading to the room and to back off. He did not so I left again and went to the washroom. I returned and finally got back there for treatment. Then while being treated a male nurse came in and asked me if I needed a miadol (implying I had PMS). And finally, my female friend went to get someone to check on me when the EKG and Pulse Ox alarms went off due to a heart rate of 146 and pulse ox level of 80. She went to the nurses station and told the nurse to check on me something was wrong. The nurse decided that her cell call was more important. A couple of minutes later my friend went to look for her again and she was no where to be found. It is a shame I cannot be treated well because of my transgender status.