When Things Go Terribly Wrong at a Hospital
I haven’t blogged in the past week because I’ve been in a hospital, twice.
Last Thursday, I underwent a delicate operation on my knee, followed by three days at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD. The procedure is called a “revision” to my total knee replacement last October, and was to fine-tune a tendon, remove scar tissue and a few other minor things. The surgery was routine, and an outstanding success. It was done by a surgeon who is legend in the Washington, D.C. area for his skill.
When my surgeon examined my knee Sunday evening, just before discharging me from the hospital, my knee performed strong and terrific, and there was no pain.
It all changed about an hour later when things went bad … very bad. As I was being discharged from the hospital, a young orderly – who was responsible for transporting patients by wheelchair yet with apparently poor training – dropped my foot as I was getting seated in a wheel chair, ready to leave. She dropped it even though I told her three times to hold it securely because my knee could not be allowed to bend even though it was in a brace. What she did was not an accident, in my opinion. She heard; I just believe she chose not to listen. When she dropped my foot, there was excruciating pain that cannot be described in plain language. It was in the realm of torture. In a hospital, they ask you to rate pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being worst. This pain was maybe 24 … unimaginable.
The X-ray image (top right) is of my knee the morning after the incident in the hospital. An attorney skilled at hospital malpractice might look at the X-ray image of my knee, read this story, and see a jackpot. In the photo, you can see my kneecap (on the right) pushed far away from my knee joint, caused by extreme swelling. Later, it got worse. What I was feeling was constant severe, searing pain that escalated in intensity, caused by the swelling. A few hours later, I underwent emergency surgery for a significant hematoma in my knee, the result of the orderly’s incompetence.
As I write this from my hospital room (thanks to my wife for bringing my MacBook), I am thinking about the long-term effects on my active life, and what’s ahead for now will undoubtedly be a complicated road to recovery. I am extremely concerned whether a careless orderly may have crippled me for the rest of my life.
I am also thinking about the many highly trained, dedicated, skilled, caring and competent physicians, nurses and staff I have met at this unquestionably good hospital. But something failed … something very seriously failed, and I think it was training and hiring competence, perhaps in an area that is taken for granted. And, when that failed, how the adverse impact of such incompetence can have the effect of rippling upward, and can tarnish an otherwise good reputation of an organization.
This orderly apparently thought she knew better than me. After all, I was just a patient, and she’s an orderly. The real failure was her communication skills in listening.
The irony of all this is that I had told the orderly I wanted to walk out of the hospital because my knee had felt so good. But she insisted that I had to be in a wheelchair, citing hospital rules.
By the way, I am not writing this for sympathy, and I will disown, and publicly humiliate anyone who sends flowers or balloons or anything else. Good wishes, however, are welcome and appreciated.
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Please accept my warmest wishes and hope for a speedy recovery. I’m not usually an advocate of legal retribution…BUT…
Sending you warm wishes and get well soon. I miss your tweets! FYI, something similiar happened to a friend of mine after his knee surgery. It was awful. In his situation, no one wanted to admit to a mistake or take responsibility.
That’s tough. I understand that recovery from knee surgery can be painful in any event (Jane Brody, NYT) Is it possible you were being discharged too soon? I hope your recovery now is smoother.
Sorry David, but Twitter’s 140 spaces just couldn’t do sufficient justice for me to fully acknowledge what’s happened to you.
The full quote I referred to is: “Never accept unacceptable behavior.”*
The second applicable quote is “If there’s a problem….it’s a Communication
problem.” **
You are already taking measures to turn this unnecessary
experience into a valuable lesson for all through your blog and your wide
range of influence. Unfortunately it cannot begin to nullify the discomfort
you must be experiencing.
May your attentive wife, the availablity of the Internet and Twitter, along with
your B’hai faith be among the many things that can support you in attaining
robust health and flexibility soon. No Balloons, No Flowers. Just admiring
and supportive wishes from one of your Neighbors in the TwitterHood.
*Jack Boland
**Gilles Desjardin
Sickened by what this seemingly stubborn orderly has done to you — and possibly others because she wouldn’t listen to patients’ concerns.
I wish you a speedy and *complete* recovery. To the orderly — I wish for her to get into another line of work at the very least.
I wish for you a recovery filled with awareness of how to proceed so as not to be made victim to another’s incompetence. We spoke a little before this surgery and I hope you will investigate The Feldenkrais Method (R) to assist you in your healing and learning how to dance beyond this hopefully temporary trauma and to return to your life doing what you what to do with ease and comfort. If I may be of any assistance please do get in touch.
I found a link on Twitter that led to this blog. I’m sure you’ve heard a thousand times how sorry people are for your situation so I won’t dwell on that, but I do mourn the potential long-term effects of this accident. Being active is so important in my life; I can’t imagine being in your position wondering if I’ll ever hike long distances, run whenever I wish or hop on a bike just because. Heal fast … heal well!
Yikes! That’s totally awful. Hope you heal fast.
David, I’m sorry to hear about your experience and resulting anxiety. I’m very familiar with Suburban Hospital and hope the leadership there (1) responds to you appropriately on a personal level and (2) drills home the importance of – as you said – staff listening to patients. Turns out from time to time we actually do know a thing or two.
I do hope you get back to full fitness soon. I miss your tweets too! I’ve had similar experience of carers not listening and it is frustrating in the extreme especially when it causes so much pain and distress. If I knew the icon for balloons and flowers I’d send you virtual ones, just because!
Darn. I was at the front door of the hospital with the finest bouquet of ballons. Now, you tell me to scoot.
I hope you do well. Rehabbing a knee can be an ordeal.
Hey Dave,
It is amazing what a few seconds can do to someone’s life. As someone else mentioned, I am not a propenent of being sue happy…..
But, if you are going to endure an endless life of pain and suffering, you may want to think about how this really is going to affect you the rest of your life.
I wish you a speedy recovery and wish only the best outcome for this terrible experience. Effective listening skills are essential in everything a person does….especially in this situation.
David, How agonizing to have this happen just as you were leaving the hospital. Your insights here and on Twitter have been missed, and everyone in your extended community hopes you have a quick recovery.
That is horrible. You go to a hospital to be fixed not broken up. You have a lot to go though now. I hope this doesn’t affect your future goals, but……. I wish you a recovery back to where you were prior to getting into the wheel chair.
On a philosophical level, we can all hope that the era is soon coming when everyone will expect patients to be the keepers of the best knowledge about their own bodies, and when everyone will respect that information.
On a personal level, best wishes for finding completely competent and effective physical therapists, pain medication, and friends to support you while you heal.
Also, I expect you will continue to find important ways to communicate about this experience as it unfolds.
I know you don’t want sympathy, but you have mine, as well as WELL WISHES! My knee was broken last year by a large dog who smashed into me in a park. I thought my knee would never be the same, but a year later, it’s fine. Lots of PT and hard work, but I am stronger all over for it (I know, searching for that silver lining, but – it’s there.) Best wishes!!
David:
Adrienne and my thoughts are with you. Get well soon. You will overcome this and get better. Keep a positive attitude.
David – I had been missing you on Twitter and now I know why. My goodness, what an ordeal! My wish for you is that you are pain free now and recovering with a speed that will give your doctors and any nearby orderlies whiplash! You are in my thoughts and prayers.
David,
I’m sad and angry, although knowing you and your spirit, I believe that you will pull through and translate this into something we can all learn from. Personally, I will do my best to have my instincts be my guide and speak up (not that you didn’t–that’s just the lesson I need to learn) and be especially mindful when I go into surgery next month. Your experience serves as a warning and a reminder: nice girls and guys finish last. Dang! Life can be so challenging. I wish you all the best.
David:
Sorry to hear about your ordeal. As someone who will one day have to have a right knee replaced I read your story and cringed. I hope the healing process goes quickly and you get well soon. Also, thanks for the mention on Twitter.
Mike Smith
ActiveGeezering.com
And people ask me why I do most of my surgery at a Surgicenter? Hospitals with their low profit margins pay poorly for many of their workers and get that for which they pay. My hopes to you for a speedy recovery.
JPD
Katie,
I agree with you that I would hope for some response of a personal level from the hospital. Nothing so far even though numerous managers have asked me questions, and have taken notes.
It’s my hope that I do not leave this hospital with a feeling that they are unaccountable for actions of staff … but that’s the signal so far.
David
David, I hope things get sorted out soon and that you heal quickly. What a mess. I’m so sorry you have to deal with such things.
We’re dealing with a case of accountability with my dad and a car accident he had a week ago. I don’t wish it on anyone.
It’s painful to see so many with silly lawsuits and claims being pushed through and settled with ease while people with real concerns are being overlooked.
Stay on it and don’t let this slide. Mistakes like this could cost another much more. Responsibility and accountability need to be paramount – Always!
It’s sad to watch the growing numbers of jobs being filled with warm bodies at a cheaper cost than with competent, caring individuals who take their job seriously.
It’s terrible that so much damage can be caused by people simply not listening and caring about the people who they are ostensibly there to help.
Here’s hoping a quick-as-possible return to your feet and your bike.
This event was unacceptable in any circumstance, but given your contributions to communication, the irony that you were injured because someone failed to listen surely resonates.
And, this would not have happened had you been allowed to walk out, instead of being pedantically ordered into the wheelchair. More bad communication.
Thanks for sharing this, so we can all learn, but I’m so sorry it had to happen. Most importantly, I send you my best wishes for a very speedy recovery, and am hoping you’ll be up and about and mobile very soon.