Melanie S. McCoury

On October 9th of 2017 my 44-year-old daughter woke up in pain in her lower back, so bad she couldn’t walk. I called for the EMS to come take her to the ER. After only an hour or so we got the call to come get her. I, her mother, had a DEXA scan scheduled and after I was done my grandson (her son) picked me up and we went to the ER and picked Mel up. She was still in pain, severe pain. The hospital ER did nothing for her.

Fast forward to October 11. Her son drove Mel to our urgent care to be looked at. She was complaining of a severe pain in her back. They gave her a dip urine test, negative, then prescribed prednisone and a muscle relaxer, and sent her home. Then on October 12, she was not any better and a rash appeared all over her body. Thinking it was the prednisone, I went and got some Benadryl for the rash. But later that evening Mel ended up in another ER at our local hospital. This is where it gets really weird. We told the doctor that this is the third place we’ve been to, my daughter needs help, she’s becoming suicidal, she’s in so much pain. Of course we had to be honest and tell and to explain that she was a drug user and that she might be in withdrawal. The doctor just stood there and looked at her and said, “Well you know heroin is the ultimate pain reliever but we c’t give you that. We can give you a valium.” So we took that and left really upset.

Move forward to October 13, she’s became very bad. She wasn’t able to talk, sit up or do anything. She was soaked from sweat and feeling clammy during the dinner time, around 7. We ate but she wasn’t able to eat or sit up or carry on a conversation with her son. She and her son lived with us, her father and me. They had their own quarters downstairs. Around 8 my grandson come running up the stairs and said, “Mommom come look at my mom, she’s not doing to’ well.” I go as fast as I can and has soon I saw her, I said, “call 911 now.” She was dying, no pulse, no nothing. The poor grandson was just devastatedm couldn’t even talk to the 911 operator. I took over the call. They finally arrived and couldn’t get her back. They injected 6 epinephrine and 2 narcan. Slight pulse, but she died at home in her son’s arms. I told EMS to take her to last place that sent her home.and that’s when the horror begins.

She as put on life support and a machine to help her heart pump IV fluids in her. I called the family in with all the bad news the next day. She was brain dead on Saturday the 14th and she died on the 15th at 9:59, all because of “sepsis,” something I had never heard of. The doctor explained it to me but at that time and the way I felt I just couldn’t process what had just happened. I believe in my heart that they just dismissed her because she as a drug user, and sent her out the door. No other test was done to help find out why she as feeling so bad and in so much pain. I’m still in disbelief that my beautiful daughter is gone. So that’s my story about SEPSIS !

Source: Roxana Mccoury, Melanie's mother