please contact bruce bartlett, state attorney, (727)464-6221
I, Barbara Patton's husband, was asked by her, and others, and directed, to make changes to this web site and to publish her notes as the end to the story and to fill in what she could not write.
REASONS AND RESPONSIBILITY
My name is Barbara Patton. I was a patient at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, from early May 2024 until approximately June 14, at which time I demanded to be moved to Kindred Hospital in St. Petersburg. I am writing this story because I have no choice. I know for a fact, and have all the necessary evidence, that there are doctors—one in particular—who deliberately make and keep their patients sick for one reason only: to make money. As I write this, there are entire floors of patients who are sick and suffering, and some will die, as I almost did, because of this doctor. I call him Dr. Near Death because he keeps his patients near death to keep them in the hospital and bill more hours to the insurance company.
THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY
When I was in my 20s, I developed pneumonia so severe that I started coughing up blood. From that time on, I struggled with shortness of breath. I decided to see my physician, Dr. Bernita Sands, here in St. Petersburg concerning this issue about a year ago. Our insurance required us to use physicians in their network, and the only pulmonologist available was Dr. Rajesh Agrawal. Dr. Agrawal treats patients with lung and sleep issues.
He ordered several CT scans but was unable to make a definitive diagnosis. Each time I saw him, he had a different diagnosis. First, he thought I had COPD, even though I had never smoked. Then, he diagnosed me with asthma, only to switch back to COPD during the next visit. It seemed like he had a different diagnosis every time I saw him. Despite this, he always asked me the same question at every visit: if I was sleeping well. I always told him I was.
He finally decided that his best guess was that I had pulmonary fibrosis. I knew I had scarring on my lungs from the pneumonia, and by definition, fibrosis is simply scarring, so I accepted this diagnosis, even though he later changed it several more times. He prescribed a drug called Ofev. This drug is very expensive and difficult to obtain, requiring a charitable organization to purchase it for you. It took months to get the drug and qualify for it, mostly because Dr. Agrawal’s office would send the wrong forms or outdated forms, which were not accepted. This happened with every issue where his office needed to provide some form or paperwork. Everything we did, or tried to do through his office, was always delayed and mishandled.
OFEV AND ACTHAR
I finally received my first bottle of Ofev and started taking it twice a day. I could immediately tell a difference. The manufacturer makes it very clear that Ofev does not cure any disease; it is simply designed to stop the progression of lung disease. I was power walking an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening with no problem breathing. This continued for several months until I had a check-up and they found an issue with my liver test results.
The correct response to this issue would have been to simply reduce the dose of Ofev to once per day instead of twice. I took the liver test results to Dr. Agrawal's office, but he was not in, so I saw a nurse practitioner. As I waited, she returned from lunch with a pharmaceutical salesman who was telling her about a new drug called Acthar as they walked in.
The nurse practitioner decided that I needed to take Acthar, even though it had nothing whatsoever to do with pulmonary fibrosis and was generally prescribed for seizures in children. This drug required self-administered shots in the thigh every third day. A nurse came to my home and spent some time teaching me how to give myself these shots which were very painful and caused large bruising.
Very soon after starting Acthar, my condition worsened and new problems emerged. I quickly lost my ability to power walk an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. I developed a persistent cough that often lasted most of the day, keeping me bedridden. After taking Acthar for several months and seeing my health deteriorate, I went to my next scheduled visit with Dr. Agrawal.
I asked him why I was taking Acthar. He was surprised and a little shocked to learn that I had been on the drug, as he was unaware of this. This seemed rather odd, and I continued to question him about the drug. Despite his initial surprise, he advised me to continue taking it.
I continued administering Acthar shots to myself, but my condition worsened, eventually requiring an emergency visit to my doctor. She advised me to go to the hospital's emergency room, which I did. There, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. I am certain this was caused by taking Acthar and being bedridden for several days.
I spent several days in the ICU, receiving treatments and antibiotics to cure the pneumonia. Additionally, I was prescribed oxygen therapy. I began using an oxygen supply at two liters per minute to breathe properly and maintain the appropriate oxygen level in my blood. It was beyond obvious that I should have never been prescribed Acthar and it should have been discontinued as soon as I started reacting negatively to the drug.
A FEW MONTHS PASS AND THE NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL NIGHTMARE BEGINS
At the beginning of May, in the middle of the night, I found myself unable to breathe. I rushed to the emergency room at Northside Hospital, certain that I had pneumonia again. I expected to be treated with antibiotics and to recover within a few days, as had happened before. However, this time was different. I was kept in the hospital for an extended period, ranging from several days to a week.
Dr. Agrawal insisted I be moved out of the ICU because another doctor was overseeing my case there, and he couldn't control the situation. His rationale was that I was doing well and ready to be released. Despite my initial confidence that the treatment would be straightforward, this stay turned into a prolonged and complex ordeal.
As you will see by the end of this story, I have been through so much that I have trouble writing it in a succinct and chronological manner. I will do my best. After I was moved out of the ICU, I was doing quite well and was preparing to go home as my vitals and medical indicators supported my release. My husband even notified our family that I would be released the next day.
That night, however, Dr. Agrawal ordered a BIPAP procedure. This decision was completely unwarranted and should never have been made based on my condition. The BIPAP caused my lungs to over-expand, and the pressure forced air out of my lungs and into my chest cavity, where it collected around my heart.
This caused my heart to beat erratically, necessitating my return to the ICU for treatment. The damage inflicted on my heart now requires lifelong medication to manage. It is impossible to argue that this incident is anything other than a clear case of medical malpractice. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of repeated incidents where my medical condition and indicators would allow for my release from the hospital, only for Dr. Agrawal to intervene and cause further harm, as was done in this incident, forcing me to remain hospitalized.
The facts of this story are undeniable, and the records prove the malicious intent to repeatedly commit malpractice for the sole purpose of keeping me in the hospital. This narrative will describe each instance of malpractice and how these events directly corresponded with preventing my release. These events continue today with other patients at Northside Hospital, and those responsible, as well as those who enable the perpetrators, must be held accountable in a criminal court. This is not merely malpractice at a civil level; it is far too egregious to be considered civil. This is criminal and must be treated as such.
THE STORY CONTINUES
While in the ICU being treated for the damage done to my heart, I gradually began to recover, despite never fully regaining my strength. The ICU doctors were primarily in control of my situation, but what I did not realize was that Dr. Agrawal had been prescribing a dangerous concoction of drugs. This mixture included extremely powerful steroids known to destroy the tissues of the stomach and intestines.
(Note: In the future, when I was transferred to Kindred Hospital, the doctors there were baffled by my prescriptions, especially the steroids, as they were completely unnecessary for my condition. They stopped administering these drugs as soon as it was medically possible.)
One night, around 2 a.m., I started experiencing excruciating pain in my stomach. I called my husband and asked him to come to the hospital. He arrived just as I passed two pints of blood from my rectum, which spread across the bed and onto the floor. An internal medicine doctor was called but refused to come to the hospital. Eventually, the next day, a doctor ordered blood transfusions and inserted a probe down my throat to determine the cause of the internal bleeding. He discovered a wound in my duodenum and performed a procedure to seal it. He later performed a second procedure to reinforce the seal and scheduled a third. I will describe these events in more detail later.
At this juncture, I must emphasize that when the list of drugs I was prescribed is reviewed, and their interactions analyzed, every doctor agrees—without a shadow of a doubt—that this mixture would cause severe damage and potentially kill any patient receiving it. You don’t need to be a doctor to understand this. The research I later conducted confirmed that other hospitals have protocols in place that would never allow their pharmaceutical departments to distribute such a dangerous combination of drugs. These hospitals indicated that the issue would have been caught long before I was ever given these powerful steroids, which should never have been prescribed and ultimately caused the erosion of my duodenal tissue.
I continued receiving treatments in the ICU to help me breathe due to the damage caused by Acthar, to treat the damage to my heart from the BIPAP, and to address the harm done to my duodenum. I felt as if not much more damage could be inflicted on me by this hospital and this doctor. Boy, was I wrong.
They moved me out of the ICU again. Let me reiterate, as I have previously stated in this story, that I am recounting these events to the best of my ability in the order they occurred over a month. While I believe I have not made any errors in the timing, my current condition may have affected my accuracy. Nonetheless, the events themselves, regardless of their exact timing, are all documented in Dr. Agrawal’s records and Northside’s records. I can provide copies of these records to any law enforcement organizations that require them.
JUST WHEN YOU THINK IT CAN’T GET ANY WORSE
I was moved from the ICU yet again and examined by the doctor who had repaired the damage to my intestine. Given my condition and situation, I decided to refuse any medication except the one treating my intestine. The doctor examined me and told me everything looked good. Thanks to additional blood transfusions, my hemoglobin count was finally back to normal, and I was ready to be released. I should have known what was about to happen.
A nurse came in and wanted me to sign a form for another procedure to examine my intestine. I should have been outraged long before this, but I am, by nature, kind and gentle. I never get mad or raise my voice, and in fact, I was in no condition to do so. However, I not only refused to sign the consent form, but I also wrote a Cease and Desist Demand, which will be attached at the end of this story. This demand insisted that the procedure not be performed and that I be released from this hospital and allowed to move to another hospital.
I asked my husband to find out who "accepts service" for Northside Hospital. He discovered that the person was Ms. Alicia Osborne, and he managed to get a copy of the Cease and Desist Demand to her. She came to my room and met with my husband. Although I couldn't hear everything that was said or going on, the doctors, including Dr. Agrawal, were in and out of my room, creating what seemed like a madhouse.
Despite my limited abilities, I was aware of some of what was transpiring. After over an hour of confusion with nurses, doctors, and staff constantly in and out of my room, they finally determined what I already knew: the procedure was unnecessary, and they would not be requesting or performing it.
As I watched this "in and out" meeting, several aspects stood out in my mind and caused me to reevaluate my perspective on everything that had happened to me and the things that were about to happen. I was struck by how cavalier and nonchalant Ms. Osborne was. My opinion and belief at the time was that the cease and desist demand I had written (see below) contained very damning events, and I expected her to take it seriously and offer some comment or suggestion beyond, "I will refer it to the head nurse.”
At that point, I experienced a revelation. Ms. Osborne, although it was her job and responsibility, had no interest in what was done to me, regardless of how egregious. She simply did not care, just as none of the doctors or hospital administrators cared or had any interest in my well-being or what had happened to me. For a moment, I was confused, and then the revelation struck me: Why should they care? They and the hospital are protected by insurance. They don't need to care about the patients.
As I delved deeper, I began to understand how well-known Northside Hospital was among the legal community, who receive calls about the situation all the time. The hospital staff had no desire to do the right thing or perform their jobs out of fear of the civil legal system. I was soon to discover that the attorneys who handle such cases are as bad, if not worse, in their administration of civil justice as the hospital is in handling the care of patients.
This insight led me to a sobering realization: the entire system is flawed. The hospital's indifference and the legal community's shortcomings create a cycle where patients like me suffer without recourse. It's a deeply entrenched problem, one that requires systemic change to protect the vulnerable and hold those responsible accountable. More on this later in my story.
THE LAST STRAW
Well, we've been here before: in terrible shape, desperate to go home, and trying to muster the strength to stand and walk enough to make that happen. But what happens that night? You guessed it. Dr. Agrawal, or Dr. Near Death as I call him, orders that I be put on a device. I don’t fully understand it, but I think it’s similar to the one he used to overinflate my lungs. It’s a high-capacity device that heats and treats the oxygen, drastically increasing the amount and flow of air into my lungs.
A nurse/technician who administered treatments to help with my lung capacity came into my room, bent down, and whispered to me, “I begged him not to do this. I knew what this device would do to you—incapacitate you. But I could not convince him not to do it. He does it to every one of his patients. None of his patients ever leave this hospital. Please, please do whatever it takes to get out of here and don’t ever come back.”
Hearing this was both terrifying and eye-opening. It confirmed my worst fears: that Dr. Agrawal’s treatments were not in my best interest and were, in fact, designed to keep me in the hospital indefinitely. It was clear that getting out of there was a matter of life and death. I resolved to do whatever it took to leave that place and never return.
PAUSE IN STORY FOR AN UPDATE
I was told by people at Northside Hospital that I could never go home because Dr. Agrawal had prescribed a high-capacity oxygen machine. They said it was a sophisticated machine not sold for home use because it was too big, complicated, and expensive. According to them, I would need to be on it for the rest of my life.
However, after only a few days at Kindred, they took me off the high-capacity machine and put me on the regular oxygen that is commonly used. They initially started me at 10 liters because of the previous situation at Northside, but my oxygen levels in the blood were so high that they decided to turn it down to 7 liters, which was still too high. I am now on 4 liters, and at home, I was on 2 liters. So much for the predictions made by the so-called experts at Northside.
Additionally, they have taken me off all the various medications Dr. Agrawal had me on. A few days ago, they even took me off the heart medication that Northside had prescribed after causing the overexpansion of my lungs. The doctors at Kindred repeatedly told me that medication would be devastating for anyone with pulmonary fibrosis. They monitored my heart for a few days to ensure it wasn’t needed, and it turned out it wasn’t. Northside should have taken me off that medication before I left.
Every single day I have been at Kindred, they have corrected the mistakes made by Northside and removed unnecessary medications. I am feeling great and can say with the utmost confidence that I will be going home tomorrow or the next day.
NOW THE MORE ON THIS LATER I PROMISED
Before describing my move from one hospital to the next, I need to finish discussing the legal system and its dependency on the hospital system. If you have been mistreated at a hospital and subjected to malpractice, as I was, and you think suing them is the answer, think again. Here's how it works: Doctors have a huge monetary incentive to keep you in the hospital as long as possible and perform as many procedures as possible. That’s how they make money. They earn a lot less if they simply treat you, cure your problem, and allow you to leave the hospital than if they keep you there.
Are there good doctors who genuinely care about your health? Of course, and I'm currently under the care of one. But let me emphasize something crucial: Kindred Hospital in St. Petersburg does not allow Dr. Agrawal in the building. Read that again and again. How many hospitals do you know of that have barred a doctor from entering the premises? If Kindred has refused to allow Dr. Agrawal in the building, please tell me why Northside doesn’t do the same.
The answer is simple: When Dr. Agrawal generates money for himself, he also generates excess cash for Northside Hospital administrators like Alicia Osborne. Her salary is likely tied to the hospital's profits, and if she has a money-making machine like Dr. Agrawal, there is no way she will bar him from the building. She prioritizes maintaining profit margins over patient well-being. She doesn't care how many patients get sicker or even die under Dr. Agrawal's care. Her focus is on maintaining the hospital's financial margin, regardless of the human cost.
So, the hospital profits from malpractice, the doctors make substantial money from it, the insurance companies charge a fortune for the privilege of committing malpractice, and the attorneys exploit this relationship and the allowed loopholes to profit from the process. The patient sues, the insurance company settles, and the attorneys keep most of the settlement. Meanwhile, people like Alicia Osborne and Dr. Agrawal laugh all the way to the bank.
Let me digress for just a moment. How would you describe these two individuals? What words would you use? You might think of some rather unflattering names, but remember, you didn't endure a nightmarish month in near-death conditions because of them. There were several times when I used my phone—until my husband took it away from me, so I stole his—to call and text some people at Northside. Whatever names you thought of, I assure you mine were much worse. There can be no doubt that these are some of the lowest forms of human beings on the planet.
If they have any problem with me saying this, let me make it clear: I am a legal resident of Alabama, which is where I have my home and legal address. I have had the same attorney for over 30 years. His name is Chad Lee, and his office is in Wedowee, Alabama. He is easy to look up, and if you want to challenge anything I have said about you, by all means, "make my day."
THE STORY OF HOW THIS ENDS IS NOW AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT
Cease and Desist Demand
To: Northside Hospital
Attention: Hospitalist, Nurses, Staff, Doctors
Date: June 13
RE: Immediate Cessation of Treatment and Release of Barbara Patton
Upon information and belief:
The following document outlines the extensive pain and suffering inflicted upon my wife during her stay at Northside Hospital. The series of egregious incidents and medical negligence detailed below are unacceptable and demand immediate action. My wife has been hospitalized for a month, the majority of which has been spent addressing injuries caused by the hospital rather than treating the condition for which she was originally admitted.
Specific Incidents of Pain and Suffering:
- Initial Encounter:
- Upon arrival, a nurse informed my wife that due to her IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis), she was too old to receive a lung transplant. When my wife responded, the nurse claimed it was her job to manage patients' expectations. This statement caused significant emotional distress and is wholly inappropriate.
- ICU to General Floor Transfer:
- My wife was transferred from the ICU to a general floor where a staff member incorrectly adjusted her CPAP device, increasing the pressure to such an extent that it caused her lungs to expel air into her lung cavity. This created additional medical complications that are still being treated.
- Medication and Food Issues:
- My wife received something, either through medication or food intake, that led to a ruptured intestine, causing severe internal bleeding and necessitating a blood transfusion and subsequent procedures to control the bleeding.
- Oxygen Mismanagement:
- In Room 307 on the third floor, a nurse was instructed to remove my wife’s oxygen tube, an act that is life-threatening for a patient with IPF. As her oxygen levels dropped, she repeatedly questioned the nurse, who dismissed her concerns. The third floor staff failed to adequately monitor her oxygen levels, leading me to purchase a monitor and manually adjust her oxygen flow to safe levels.
- Unnecessary and Confusing Procedures:
- After undergoing multiple procedures to address the damage caused by the hospital, a third procedure was requested due to low blood counts, despite recent transfusions and assurances from the doctor that her blood count was acceptable. The reasoning provided for this procedure was both contradictory and nonsensical, further illustrating the hospital's incompetence.
Demand for Immediate Action:
I demand that Northside Hospital provide me with the name of the person or of the firm that accepts service on behalf of Northside Hospital. I also demand that Northside Hospital immediately cease all treatment of my wife. She is to be provided with a wheelchair, oxygen, and any other necessary items, and be released for transport out of the hospital. My wife’s health and safety have been severely compromised due to the hospital’s actions, and I can no longer allow her to receive care from your facility.
Signature:
Patient Information: Barbara Patton
Enclosures to follow
Please consider this document as a formal demand for the immediate cessation of all medical treatment and the prompt release of my wife from your facility. Failure to comply will result in further legal action.
Sincerely,
Mark Patton and Barbara Patton
THE END OF THE STORY, MAYBE
I cannot write as my wife did so the rest of the story will have many typos and errors and misspellings. She was not able to write near the end, but could make notes. And having lived through this story I am able to fill in some of the things I know she would like to have said but couldn't and I will now publish her notes as she wrote them..
After, as instructed, I took what she wrote and put her writing on this web site, it created enough interest that some really good doctors at Kindred Hospital took a second look at her x-rays. I was summoned to a room at Kindred where there were many x-rays displayed for viewing. I was shown x-rays of people who had pulmonary fibrosis. I was then shown an x-ray of my wife's lungs. Holly cow, they were nothing alike, I will publish them on this website in the future, the difference would be like comparing a tanker ship to a sail boat. They were completely different. I can say that no one could possibly not see the difference (you will see for yourself) . I was then told that , "My wife did not have pulmonary fibrosis".
Are you shitting me? Then what does she have? Now remember we have been told this whole time, after, my estimate, some 53 x-rays done at Northside, that she had, accordingly to Agrawal, pulmonary fibrosis, which is a death sentence.
I don't know the medical term, but they went down her windpipe and took a sample of the big white spot I saw on the x-ray and sent it to the labs. It came back a few days later. The lab easily identified it as a common bacteria, easily treatable, and in almost all cases the bacteria is killed by a regularly used antibody.
TOO LATE
By the time she was given the life saving antibodies the damage Agrawal had done to her was too great, too extensive. Ms. Barbarta died June 29 2024, two days after starting the treatment. She believed as I do that Agrawal was intentionally keeping her ill and it eventually led to her death.
NOW WHAT
Are you really going to let her death be for nothing? She clearly statted that she was writing the story in an attempt to same others. I have taken evidence of crimes to prosecutors, and testified before grand juries in other states and I can telll you in those states Agrawal would have already been in jail. Remember, he is not allowed in the building , much less pratice medicine, at any other hospital in the area except Northside. I encourge you to fact check that statement, call the hospitals in the area your self. Do you think there is a reason?
SHE STARTED THIS STORY WITH THE HEADING "REASONS AN RESPONSIBILITY"
Now it is your responsibility. This is the only state where any criime committed by a doctor is considered a civil matter, even murder. Stop right now and Google Harold Shipman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman).
He was a doctor who killed his patients, more then 250, and made his money by forging their wills and taking everything they owned. Agrawal has found a new method of doing what Harold Shipman did. Make them sick and make all the money you want off the insurance companies. Agrawal knew all along that dong the procedure that would identify the bacteria in her lungs would cure her and send her home. Instead he intentionally made her sick. I have met, and got to know many, many of the people who work at these hospitals and I have heard countless stories of Agrawl's intentional actions done to make patients sick so they would be forced to stay in the hospital. I kept the names of over 50 people who work at hospiotals who are willing to testify in court to the actions committed by Agrawal to keep peoople sick or do other harm to patients. Plus, there are the hospital records that are undinable proof of how prople are kept sick. Just prosecute! They won't and that is where you come in.
WHAT I'M ASKING
What I'm asking to keep Ms. Barbara from having died without succeeding in her efforts to save others is to simply go to you phone and dial (727) 464-6221 and when they answer simply ask, "When are you going prosecute Agrawal?" You can wait for an answer or stay on the phone and if they ask anything simply referr them to drneardeath.com. After you hang up, do it again, and again, and again. It is the only hope of getting any other answer then, "Oh, it's a civil case." Do for Barbara, fo it for all the people he iis keeping sick, do it for the ones he has killed like Ms. Barbara. But don't let her deatth be for nothing. Please just call, you don't even have to live in Florida, it is your responsibility.
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My name is Barbara Patton. I was a patient at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, from early March 2034 until approximately June 14, when I was transferred to Kindred Hospital in St. Petersburg. I am writing this story because I have no choice. I know for a fact, and have all the necessary evidence, that there are doctors—one in particular—who deliberately make and keep their patients sick for one reason only: to make money. As I write this, there are entire floors of patients who are sick and suffering, and some will die, as I almost did, because of this doctor. I call him Dr. Near Death because he keeps his patients near death to keep them in the hospital and bill more hours to the insurance company.
When I was in my 20s, I developed pneumonia so severe that I started coughing up blood. From that time on, I struggled with shortness of breath. I decided to see my physician, Dr. Bernita Sands, here in St. Petersburg. Our insurance required us to use physicians in their network, and the only pulmonologist available was Dr. Rajesh Agrawal. Dr. Agrawal treats patients with lung and sleep issues.
He ordered several CT scans but was unable to make a definitive diagnosis. Each time I saw him, he had a different diagnosis. First, he thought I had COPD, even though I had never smoked. Then, he diagnosed me with asthma, only to switch back to COPD during the next visit. It seemed like he had a different diagnosis every time I saw him. Despite this, he always asked me the same question at every visit: if I was sleeping well. I always told him I was.
He finally decided that his best guess was that I had pulmonary fibrosis. I knew I had scarring on my lungs from the pneumonia, and by definition, fibrosis is simply scarring, so I accepted this diagnosis, even though he later changed it several more times. He prescribed a drug called Ofev. This drug is very expensive and difficult to obtain, requiring a charitable organization to purchase it for you. It took months to get the drug and qualify for it, mostly because Dr. Agrawal’s office would send the wrong forms or outdated forms, which were not accepted. This happened with every issue where his office needed to provide some form or paperwork. Everything we did, or tried to do through his office, was always delayed and mishandled.
I finally received my first bottle of Ofev and started taking it twice a day. I could immediately tell a difference. The manufacturer makes it very clear that Ofev does not cure any disease; it is simply designed to stop the progression of lung disease. I was power walking an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening with no problem breathing. This continued for several months until I had a check-up and they found an issue with my liver test results.
The correct response to this issue would have been to simply reduce the dose of Ofev to once per day instead of twice. I took the liver test results to Dr. Agrawal's office, but he was not in, so I saw a nurse practitioner. As I waited, she returned from lunch with a pharmaceutical salesman who was telling her about a new drug called X as they walked in.
The nurse practitioner decided that I needed to take Acthar, even though it had nothing whatsoever to do with pulmonary fibrosis and was generally prescribed for seizures in children. This drug required self-administered shots in the thigh every third day. A nurse came to my home and spent some time teaching me how to give myself these shots.
Very soon after starting Acthar, my condition worsened and new problems emerged. I quickly lost my ability to power walk an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. I developed a persistent cough that often lasted most of the day, keeping me bedridden. After taking Acthar for several months and seeing my health deteriorate, I went to my next scheduled visit with Dr. Agrawal.
I asked him why I was taking Acthar. He was surprised and a little shocked to learn that I had been on the drug, as he was unaware of this. This seemed rather odd, and I continued to question him about the drug. Despite his initial surprise, he advised me to continue taking it.
I continued administering Acthar shots to myself, but my condition worsened, eventually requiring an emergency visit to my doctor. She advised me to go to the hospital's emergency room, which I did. There, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. I am certain this was caused by taking Acthar and being bedridden for several days.
I spent several days in the ICU, receiving treatments and antibiotics to cure the pneumonia. Additionally, I was prescribed oxygen therapy. I began using an oxygen supply at two liters per minute to breathe properly and maintain the appropriate oxygen level in my blood.
At the beginning of May, in the middle of the night, I found myself unable to breathe. I rushed to the emergency room at Northside Hospital, certain that I had pneumonia again. I expected to be treated with antibiotics and to recover within a few days, as had happened before. However, this time was different. I was kept in the hospital for an extended period, ranging from several days to a week.
Dr. Agrawal insisted I be moved out of the ICU because another doctor was overseeing my case there, and he couldn't control the situation. His rationale was that I was doing well and ready to be released. Despite my initial confidence that the treatment would be straightforward, this stay turned into a prolonged and complex ordeal.
As you will see by the end of this story, I have been through so much that I have trouble writing it in a succinct and chronological manner. I will do my best. After I was moved out of the ICU, I was doing quite well and was preparing to go home as my vitals and medical indicators supported my release. My husband even notified our family that I would be released the next day.
That night, however, Dr. Agrawal ordered a BIPAP procedure. This decision was completely unwarranted and should never have been made based on my condition. The BIPAP caused my lungs to over-expand, and the pressure forced air out of my lungs and into my chest cavity, where it collected around my heart.
This caused my heart to beat erratically, necessitating my return to the ICU for treatment. The damage inflicted on my heart now requires lifelong medication to manage. It is impossible to argue that this incident is anything other than a clear case of medical malpractice. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of repeated incidents where my medical condition and indicators would allow for my release from the hospital, only for Dr. Agrawal to intervene and cause further harm, as was done in this incident, forcing me to remain hospitalized.
The facts of this story are undeniable, and the records prove the malicious intent to repeatedly commit malpractice for the sole purpose of keeping me in the hospital. This narrative will describe each instance of malpractice and how these events directly corresponded with preventing my release. These events continue today with other patients at Northside Hospital, and those responsible, as well as those who enable the perpetrators, must be held accountable in a criminal court. This is not merely malpractice at a civil level; it is far too egregious to be considered civil. This is criminal and must be treated as such.
While in the ICU being treated for the damage done to my heart, I gradually began to recover, despite never fully regaining my strength. The ICU doctors were primarily in control of my situation, but what I did not realize was that Dr. Agrawal had been prescribing a dangerous concoction of drugs. This mixture included extremely powerful steroids known to destroy the tissues of the stomach and intestines.
(Note: In the future, when I was transferred to Kindred Hospital, the doctors there were baffled by my prescriptions, especially the steroids, as they were completely unnecessary for my condition. They stopped administering these drugs as soon as it was medically possible.)
One night, around 2 a.m., I started experiencing excruciating pain in my stomach. I called my husband and asked him to come to the hospital. He arrived just as I passed two pints of blood from my rectum, which spread across the bed and onto the floor. An internal medicine doctor was called but refused to come to the hospital. Eventually, the next day, a doctor ordered blood transfusions and inserted a probe down my throat to determine the cause of the internal bleeding. He discovered a wound in my duodenum and performed a procedure to seal it. He later performed a second procedure to reinforce the seal and scheduled a third.
I will describe these events in more detail later.
At this juncture, I must emphasize that when the list of drugs I was prescribed is reviewed, and their interactions analyzed, every doctor agrees—without a shadow of a doubt—that this mixture would cause severe damage and potentially kill any patient receiving it. You don’t need to be a doctor to understand this. The research I later conducted confirmed that other hospitals have protocols in place that would never allow their pharmaceutical departments to distribute such a dangerous combination of drugs. These hospitals indicated that the issue would have been caught long before I was ever given these powerful steroids, which should never have been prescribed and ultimately caused the erosion of my duodenal tissue.
I continued receiving treatments in the ICU to help me breathe due to the damage caused by Acthar, to treat the damage to my heart from the BIPAP, and to address the harm done to my duodenum. I felt as if not much more damage could be inflicted on me by this hospital and this doctor. Boy, was I wrong.
They moved me out of the ICU again. Let me reiterate, as I have previously stated in this story, that I am recounting these events to the best of my ability in the order they occurred over a month. While I believe I have not made any errors in the timing, my current condition may have affected my accuracy. Nonetheless, the events themselves, regardless of their exact timing, are all documented in Dr. Agrawal’s records and Northside’s records. I can provide copies of these records to any law enforcement organizations that require them.
I was moved from the ICU yet again and examined by the doctor who had repaired the damage to my intestine. Given my condition and situation, I decided to refuse any medication except the one treating my intestine. The doctor examined me and told me everything looked good. Thanks to additional blood transfusions, my hemoglobin count was finally back to normal, and I was ready to be released. I should have known what was about to happen.
A nurse came in and wanted me to sign a form for another procedure to examine my intestine. I should have been outraged long before this, but I am, by nature, kind and gentle. I never get mad or raise my voice, and in fact, I was in no condition to do so. However, I not only refused to sign the consent form, but I also wrote a Cease and Desist Demand, which will be attached at the end of this story. This demand insisted that the procedure not be performed and that I be released from the hospital and allowed to move to another hospital.
I asked my husband to find out who "accepts service" for Northside Hospital. He discovered that the person was Ms. Alicia Osborne, and he managed to get a copy of the Cease and Desist Demand to her. She came to my room and met with my husband. Although I couldn't hear everything that was said or going on, the doctors, including Dr. Agrawal, were in and out of my room, creating what seemed like a madhouse.
Despite my limited abilities, I was aware of some of what was transpiring. After over an hour of confusion with nurses, doctors, and staff constantly in and out of my room, they finally determined what I already knew: the procedure was unnecessary, and they would not be requesting or performing it.
As I watched this "in and out" meeting, several aspects stood out in my mind and caused me to reevaluate my perspective on everything that had happened to me and the things that were about to happen. I was struck by how cavalier and nonchalant Ms. Osborne was. My opinion and belief at the time was that the cease and desist demand I had written (see below) contained very damning events, and I expected her to take it seriously and offer some comment or suggestion beyond, "I will refer it to the head nurse.
At that point, I experienced a revelation. Ms. Osborne, although it was her job and responsibility, had no interest in what was done to me, regardless of how egregious. She simply did not care, just as none of the doctors or hospital administrators cared or had any interest in my well-being or what had happened to me. For a moment, I was confused, and then the revelation struck me: Why should they care? They and the hospital are protected by insurance. They don't need to care about the patients.
As I delved deeper, I began to understand how well-known Northside Hospital was among the legal community, who receive calls about the situation all the time. The hospital staff had no desire to do the right thing or perform their jobs out of fear of the civil legal system. I was soon to discover that the attorneys who handle such cases are as bad, if not worse, in their administration of civil justice as the hospital is in handling the care of patients.
This insight led me to a sobering realization: the entire system is flawed. The hospital's indifference and the legal community's shortcomings create a cycle where patients like me suffer without recourse. It's a deeply entrenched problem, one that requires systemic change to protect the vulnerable and hold those responsible accountable.
Well, we've been here before: in terrible shape, desperate to go home, and trying to muster the strength to stand and walk enough to make that happen. But what happens that night? You guessed it. Dr. Agrawal, or Dr. Near Death as I call him, orders that I be put on a device. I don’t fully understand it, but I think it’s similar to the one he used to overinflate my lungs. It’s a high-capacity device that heats and treats the oxygen, drastically increasing the amount and flow of air into my lungs.
A nurse/technician who administered treatments to help with my lung capacity came into my room, bent down, and whispered to me, “I begged him not to do this. I knew what this device would do to you—incapacitate you. But I could not convince him not to do it. He does it to every one of his patients. None of his patients ever leave this hospital. Please, please do whatever it takes to get out of here and don’t ever come back.”
Hearing this was both terrifying and eye-opening. It confirmed my worst fears: that Dr. Agrawal’s treatments were not in my best interest and were, in fact, designed to keep me in the hospital indefinitely. It was clear that getting out of there was a matter of life and death. I resolved to do whatever it took to leave that place and never retur
I was told by people at Northside Hospital that I could never go home because Dr. Agrawal had prescribed a high-capacity oxygen machine. They said it was a sophisticated machine not sold for home use because it was too big, complicated, and expensive. According to them, I would need to be on it for the rest of my life.
However, after only a few days at Kindred, they took me off the high-capacity machine and put me on the regular oxygen that is commonly used. They initially started me at 10 liters because of the previous situation at Northside, but my oxygen levels in the blood were so high that they decided to turn it down to 7 liters, which was still too high. I am now on 4 liters, and at home, I was on 2 liters. So much for the predictions made by the so-called experts at Northside.
Additionally, they have taken me off all the various medications Dr. Agrawal had me on. A few days ago, they even took me off the heart medication that Northside had prescribed after causing the overexpansion of my lungs. The doctors at Kindred repeatedly told me that medication would be devastating for anyone with pulmonary fibrosis. They monitored my heart for a few days to ensure it wasn’t needed, and it turned out it wasn’t. Northside should have taken me off that medication before I left.
Every single day I have been at Kindred, they have corrected the mistakes made by Northside and removed unnecessary medications. I am feeling great and can say with the utmost confidence that I will be going home tomorrow or the next day.
Before describing my move from one hospital to the next, I need to finish discussing the legal system and its dependency