My Father

[itzhak]

My father was 85 years old, he was diagnosed with AML in Oct. 2008, he started Vidaza and for 7 months he was ok and in remission. After the Vidaza stopped working we went to Jefferson Hospital where they gave him a new treatment, of Decagon (I am sure I misspelled it). With the new treatment his cancer was controlled and the Dr. Re diagnosed it as CLL.
All this time with the new treatment his CBC numbers where low and he got transfusion once every 2 weeks. His platelets where between 0-8, and the Dr. put him on Amicorp , unless there was a visible sign of bleeding, for the past 3 weeks there were no major visible signs of Bleeding but his platlets level were at 1,000, I kept asking the Dr. to infuse platelets and he refused. Well I guess the Dr. knows better, my father died Dec. 16th from blood in his brain. ( well it was still not a visible bleed), after his death, I called the Dr. who said “I am sorry”,
My father and I were very very close, we had done everything together, including our business, are we so disposable?...

[cheri]

I am so sorry to hear this...I have often wrestled with to what degree those who we depend on for care are really treating us as individuals. Often I feel that my health is in the hands of some people who treat this line of work as just a job, when my LIFE depends on their actions and responses. I don't understand why the doctor would not transfuse platelets. In my experience, platelet transfusions usually occur below 20K, definitely under 10...mine have been as low as 2K and I still did not have any type of bleed. But they had in me the hospital immediately and gave me platelets asap.
Could your father's age been a factor in any of this? Or any other cause? It seems like he beat the odds with AML for 2 years, and then being rediagnosed as CLL....
Hopefully, someone can give you some answers, but all I can offer is my sincere sympathy for your loss. Take care....

[lindy]

Sorry about your father passing, my condolences.
I have lost my mother to AML too. I am close to her too so I understand how difficult it is for you now. It's still painful after all these years & now I'm diagnose with a blood disorder & worry what my son will need to go through emotionally. Life is somtimes not easy.

I hope your family & friends will give the strength to cope during this difficult period. Take care.

[Lisa V]

I am so sorry about your father, Itzhak. What reason did his doctor give for refusing to give platelets? Perhaps it was only a matter of time, but to simply refuse a request like that without talking it over with the patient or family just seems like bad medicine to me. Only you can decide if you want to pursue this. It won't bring your father back, but we all deserve some sense of closure, and that's hard to acheive when there are unanswered questions.

[Lisa Z]

Lisa V

Sorry for your loss.

Lisa Z

[itzhak]

I am going to seek legal representation so I can take action against Jefferson Hospital In phila. Thank you for all your support, I feel that I have lost my right hand now.

[launch]

I am so sorry to hear about your Father's passing and I hope that, through, legal representation, you receive peace in your heart. I pray that through your fight, you make it better for other families that are going through the same type situations. Sometimes I believe the medical facilities forget that it's our "First time going through things".... and we become statistics and voices without faces...

Again, I am sorry for your loss....

I pray for your strength in fighting the system and making it better for others!

Hugs, Cindy