Kingman's Very Poor Medical Care for Patients (daycare, homes)
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This was in 1999. December. The rep I spoke with was a woman, sounded to be probably in her 30's. That's all I know. She said they would address the two women who did the x-rays, and that I could submit a written complaint. But although I was upset and angry, I didn't really want anyone to lose their job. I mean, especially at that time, Kingman was not full of great jobs, and these were older women. I would have felt badly if they'd gotten fired, even though I was furious over the way they had treated my son.
As far as the missed diagnosis, I wasn't really angry about that. I mean, I know docs are not infallible. I was thankful we'd made it back home in time for my son to receive the correct treatment. I didn't feel that the doc (who was somebody entirely separate from the women who did the x-rays) had misdiagnosed him out of laziness or negligence, you know? She just thought his injury was something other than what it was.
However, again, it leaves one to wonder what level of care is availabe at KRMC. I know this was 9 years ago, but has it changed a lot in that time? I don't know. My last bad experiences there were in 2005, so it would seem that things still are not great.
Also, Rambrush, you mentioned that the docs' boss would like to hear about one of them not reading the blood results correctly. That was in 2005, but I'd still be willing to report it. Do you think it is still something they'd want to hear about?
Thanks for the clarification. Lemanski was (or possibly still is) at Cerbat Medical, if I'm not mistaken.
I didn't report the last incident with him to anyone in authority, just to other docs in the practice. It was one of those docs who helped me figure out that Lemanski was reading the results incorrectly in the first place, after my husband went into the office and demanded a copy of our son's blood test results (When Lemanksi called my house, he sounded all sad, like he really believed my 5 month old had cancer...). Although, even then, I was still left to have to go figure it out on my own. What was ridiculous, is that the people working in the lab had no idea how to read the results for an infant, either. So, at that point, I called the Oncologist in Phoenix that Lemanski wanted me to take my infant son to, and asked if they would review the results via email or over the phone, so that they could help me determine whether or not there was truly a reason to have my son brought to them for further testing. They wouldn't hear of it! Freaking retards! It REALLY felt like they just wanted the money from the insurance co. for the visit, and they weren't taking into consideration that it was going to take us 3-4 hours to get there, travel expenses, etc. I mean, reviewing the results would have taken them what, 10 minutes? True, Lemanski was the one ultimately to blame for all of this, but still. The Oncology office could have helped.
Instead, I spent a week straight, day and night, every free moment I could make, researching and educating myself about blood levels for infants. I even had to ask questions via email of volunteer docs from other countries online! Once I'd compared all the levels considered normal to my son's results, I then went to see that other doc at Cerbat Medical and he confirmed what I had found...that my son's levels were completely in the normal range, except for one thing, and that was because he'd had a patch of eczema on his face, so the level of one certain element in his blood was slightly elevated.
Because of that experience, I wouldn't take my kids back to Lemanski for ANYTHING. It's frightening how underqualified and incapable he seems to be as a physician. He's like, one of those physicians who'd end up amputating the wrong foot or something.
Let me guess was your sons WBC count elevated? That is the only thing I could think of that might be interpreted wrong because they vary with age. Oh and just in defense of the lab, they are just taught how to correctly run the machines. The machines tell the technician if the value is high or low or critical which they report to the nurse and the nurse tells the physician. They would have no clue how to interpret those findings, they didnt go to school for that. Again, Im not saying that this was no big deal! I just wanted to inform you about the lab part of it. And Im nosey so Im curious about the blood levels. eheh,
Yeah, I figured that, about the lab techs only knowing how to run the machines, take the blood, etc. But at the time, I was exasperated....it seemed there wasn't a single person in Kingman who could read my son's blood results correctly. That's the only reason I even went to the lab to ask.
Actually, after all the research I did, it appears that most of the levels vary with age, if not all. I believe it WAS his wbc that was genuinely elevated, all of his other levels fell into the normal range for his age. I was thinking that when I typed the last post, but didn't have the results in front of me, so didn't just incase I was incorrect.
What happened, was that Lemanski was reading the results as they should have pertained to an ADULT. Now in that case, obviously my 5 month old son's levels would appear abnormal.
My son suffered from prolonged jaundice, due to a head injury he sustained as he was being delivered (Dr. Taylor delivered him - and although I was stressed and sad about the injury, I was in no way upset with the doc because I truly believe that it was ENTIRELY accidental. Birth is a traumatic, and potentially dangerous event, and I know it doesn't always go entirely smoothly, no matter how dedicated the physician. My two oldest nearly died at birth, despite the fact that they were delivered by highly competent physicians (cords wrapped around their necks, shoulder dystocia) so I know firsthand just how "iffy" birth can be.)
Anyway, the prolonged jaundice caused him to fail to gain weight (despite the fact that he was taking in plenty of nourishment), and the blood tests came about to first check his billirubin levels, and then at 5 months, to find out why he wasn't thriving. He only weighed 12 pounds at 5 months of age!
And all I could think, was what kind of horrendous testing would he have been subjected to if I had followed Lemanski's instructions to take him to a pediatric oncologist? I mean, some of those tests are just horrible (I'm thinking specifically of that bone marrow test). After Lemanski called me to tell me these things, I fell apart, thinking there was no way my tiny son could likely even survive some of those tests!
Thankfully, a month later the jaundice finally cleared, and my son began to grow by leaps and bounds, catching up fast both physically and developmentally. He is HUGE now, lol, bigger than any of my other children were at this age, and at 3, has a very advanced vocabulary for his age. So, even though the jaundice was scary and the head injury did leave his head a little lumpy (the hematomas calcified), it's only something a mom would notice, lol. He can still wear his hair super short and nobody notices. I remember Dr. Taylor joking that if the hematomas calcified, he'd need to wear a hat forever!
One of these days, I should send a card and let doc Taylor know that my son ended up just fine. He genuinely appeared to feel quite badly about the hematomas.
You know, I would far prefer having a doc refer me to a specialist who ends up giving me good news, rather than overlooking something because he wasn't sure of the results. I lost my best friend due to the latter case a couple of years ago because of a mis-diagnosis by a medical clinic in Palo Alto, CA, a town that otherwise has world-class medical care. Docs aren't gods, and medicine isn't always an exact science. I don't know Lemansky, but I see he's an OB/GYN, not a pediatrician. So referring you to a specialist doesn't really seem like a criminal act.
I didn't say he was a criminal. I said he wasn't capable of reading blood tests as they pertain to 5 month old infants, as of Spring 2005. I met Dr. Lemanski in person a few times, in fact he examined me during my pregnancy. Nice guy. Refuses to perform circumcisions, which I admire. But honestly, in not knowing how to read blood test results, he not only can send a family off for intrusive, painful testing that was entirely unecessary, but he could also MISS a serious condition as well.
Considering he isn't a Pediatrician, it seems the more obvious thing for him to do would have been to have referred me to one, before sending me to a Pediatric Oncologist. Furthermore, when I was in his office as he examined my son, he made mention of how he was a "General Practitioner". Perhaps he is a certified OB/GYN now, or maybe he even was then, but that's not what he said when I was there.
Considering I've had personal experience with him (as opposed to you who have not), I think I have some ground to say what I have. If he sounds so wonderful to you, then entrust somebody that YOU love into his care.
he not only can send a family off for intrusive, painful testing that was entirely unecessary,
I'd imagine the oncologist would review the blood test before he went right into the "painful testing", right?
But it does sound like Lemanski bungled things from your description. I'd be more pissed off about having to drive to Phoenix for further testing, when a local pediatrician might have made a better call.
So did you ever share your findings with Lemanski and what did he say?
I hear what you're saying, and you're right, the likelihood that the Oncologist would have checked the blood results was probably there, and I sure hope that that particular physician does just that. However, I called that office, spoke with him, and asked him if he'd let me fax or scan/email the blood test results (I explained the situation so that he would understand why I was asking), and he wouldn't hear of it. This seemed quite unreasonable to me? I really got the impression that they wanted to make sure we actually showed up because they wanted to be able to bill our insurance for a visit and tests, you know? So, because of the way he acted on the phone, I didn't know what to hope for as far as competence.
To answer your other question, no, I never spoke with Lemanski after that myself. My husband did go into the office and made it clear he felt Lemanski shouldn't even be practicing, lol. No, from the point that I got the copy of the test results, I just poured my energy into trying to get them properly read, and then finally, into learning how to read them myself.
I totally agree with what you said about docs not being gods, and medicine not being an exact science. I'm sorry you lost your friend due to misdiagnosis (failed diagnosis?), I'm sure that must have been terrible for everyone involved.
I did feel like I had grounds to expect that blood tests could be read though, you know? I mean, considering there are well established "normal" ranges widely available (even online to laypeople), I do feel that physicians have the answers set right there before them, and it's reasonable to expect that they at least put the effort into reviewing the results even if they don't know the expected levels for every age group by heart.
So....anyone want to report some good things about KRMC? Specific nurses, doctors, experiences? Would be refreshing on this thread...hehehe
When I delivered my son in 2004, the nursing staff on the labor unit were really nice.
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