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f you are injured because of medical malpractice, good luck trying to recover if you are permanently damaged and can’t get back to work. Not being able to return back to work means homelessness. Getting money back from your doctor after you file a medical malpractice suit is tiresome. In the state of Florida the most you can get back on medical malpractice now is about $200,000.00. The state has now put a cap on what you can recover when the hospital or doctor messes up leaving you scarred for life. So what do you do to prevent things like this from happening? You must pay attention to your health care and read the labels for warnings on the medications you are taking. Not only the ones that are prescribed to you but the ones that are over the counter sometimes cannot be mixed with other over the counter medication or prescribed medication. Tell your doctor and the pharmacist what medication you are on and ask them if there will be any problems, and of course if you have access to the internet go to WEB, MD and seek the truth yourself. Checking with your doctor and getting a second opinion is a must. It also never hurts to check out a doctor first, before choosing one. This month we got a female at the shelter who had become the victim of a bad transfusion. The hospital mixed tainted blood with good blood and they did a transfusion on her. Now she has a terminal illness. Since then she really hasn’t been able to work because (Continued on page 10)
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AED. Oxygen, and airway t was a really sad Holiday Seatools in case she coded son because one of our girls prior to rescue getting who has been featured in our there. paper several times known as Later the Dancing that night we Queen became very sick. She Later that night we called the hospiwas very sick called the hospital tal to check on her and they said one day and her r o o m m a t e to check on her and Carol was in was intecalled the office they said Carol ICU, bated and they up and said “Carol needs was intebated and needed to speak to her next of your help.” We all they needed to kin. She really had no family went to her room to see speak to her next that knew anything about her why she was of kin. so Sean had to sick. By the step in. She had assigned time we got to her room and Sean as her health care surrogate. checked her oxygen she was at 68 This is done a lot by clients who percent and that is near death. So have no family, they prefer us to we called an ambulance and thought make medical decisions for them in she would be home in a few days. As we were waiting for the case they were extremely sick. Sean consented to all forms medics to arrive Sean, who got up from bed, decided to make sure we of aggressive treatment because he and Carol talked about it in the past. were ready for a full code. He orWe all had faith that Carol would dered the in-house-medics to get the
pull through.
Now lets tell you all a little about our Carol Some of you may remember her, “The Dancing Queen,” the “Queen of Tent City” where she was raped and got HIV and Hep C (Continued on page 6)
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ahead and trying not to worry t happens from time to time. about the death but think Disaster after disaster. And about how many we can save. when you see it on TV, some Years ago when 911 struck respond in the most saddened us all my assisway and some just make a comment But for me, that tant Mary Lingo, died just a like, “This is so day I remained who few years ago, bad, how can that strong and was just sat on the happen, this is a of her ofshame”, while othplanning in my couch fice/bedroom and ers do not even say a had tears in her word. head what I eyes. All she kept on Do we not even would do if saying was, “those poor say a word because we don’t care or do something like this people.” I think I fell in love with her mind , we not say a word because we want to ever came our way. soul and spirit when I saw how upset she was. block it out? Years This was a woman with ago I would have said people just don’t care but today more compassion than any person I have known. To see her sit there an I find myself saying and thinking weep for total strangers proved she that people just want to block it out. had so much love in her heart. But I do consider myself a compasfor me, that day I remained strong sionate person but I fall short in and was planning in my head what I other areas of my life. When a diswould do if something like this ever aster strikes I try to be the level came our way. I thought what hapheaded person always thinking
pens if we in Broward got attacked are we at the shelter prepared to assist the community and our own clients. Are we the shelter ready for a local disaster? I did not want to panic the staff so I started, without anybody in the office really wondering what I was doing, checking to see if we were really prepared. I called my mom and dad and told them to remain inside for a few days and watch the TV for better instructions. As some of you may remember (Continued on page 8)