He went to the hospital for routine procedures. He left without arms or legs

Clearwater – On the day of the patient’s procedure to remove kidney stones, Chad Gerlaugh took himself to Morton Plant Hospital in a specially modified van.

Since the 1998 car accident caused a spinal cord injury, he was trapped in a wheelchair, with only arm movement being restricted. Kidney stones were a frequent problem caused by catheters that we relied on to drain the bladder through the holes in our abdominal areas.

However, he refused to let his obstacles hinder him.

Gerlaught, 46, won around $70,000 with technical support at Spectrum. He hunted with his father using a modified bow and rifle. To brush his teeth, Pinellas Park residents pressed toothpaste against their mouths and then reached inside with a toothbrush.

Hospital procedures in April 2019 should have been routine. However, during his recovery, Gerlaugh’s blood pressure dropped dramatically. As a result of an infection that led to sepsis, he suffered a heart attack.

When he was discharged from the hospital 23 days later, he was unable to return home. His legs and arms had been amputated. Independence and independence, which were the source of his greatest pride, have disappeared.

“My life will never be the same,” he said in a family video. “We have to ask for help. For everything.”

In 2021, Gerlaugh filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Morton Plant and Baycare, the nonprofits that run the hospital. The lawsuit was scheduled to go to ju trial later this month, but both sides agreed to a settlement this week. The terms and conditions of payment to Gerlaugh are confidential.

Speaking before the lawsuit becomes mediation, Gerlow’s lawyer Steve Yerid said the hospital could be able to escape limbs despite clients developing sepsis and key sign surveillance devices being alerted. He said he could not recognize that there was.

“I have been taking this young man for years and I want to give this young man some kind of accountability because this hospital needs to be held accountable,” Yerrid said. “Do you go to kidney stones and come out without your legs and arms? Take a break.”

A Baycare official said in a statement that Morton Plant Hospital is “committed to maintaining the highest possible standard of patient care.”

“Our team carefully reviewed this patient’s journey, which makes patient safety a top priority and finds opportunities to learn from his experience,” the statement continued.

The regular procedure was wrong

The kidney stone procedure was carried out on April 9th. The doctor inserted a small flexible area into Gerlow’s urethra to remove the stone.

He was recovering in the post-anaesthesia care unit when the problems began.

Gerlaugh’s blood pressure has dropped sharply. He had breathing problems and gasped excessively. He then developed a fever and was recorded in court. He was transferred to intensive care, but his condition continued to deteriorate.

The next day, Gellow’s heart stopped for seven minutes before resuscitation. The doctor noted that cardiac arrest was a result of his body not receiving sufficient oxygen. Yerrid said it was evidence of Gerlaugh’s abuse at the hospital. Had he been intubated, Yerid wrote in a motion to the ju trial, but he would have barely ever died.

Yerrid said the hospital also failed to diagnose sepsis. Life-threatening infections require rapid administration of intravenous antibiotics.

According to a review by the National Institutes of Health, about a quarter of all cases of sepsis are thought to be caused by hospital infectious diseases. According to Leapfrog, a nonprofit ranked for patient safety, the Morton plant has fewer cases of such infectious diseases, and is better than average.

The doctor placed Gerlow on the course of twin medication, a class of drugs used in people with hypotension. It constricts blood vessels in the body’s limbs, increasing blood flow to important organs.

However, loss of blood in that flesh can lead to necrosis or decay of the flesh. Gerlow was taking the drug, but Elid characterized it as a last resort to keeping his patients alive for several days.

“The longer you use the type, the more likely you will lose,” says Yerrid.

Gerlow had to see his arms and legs rotting, causing the rot to progress. The hospital ultimately determined that amputation was the only option.

His legs were amputated well above his knees. His left arm had to be cut down to half the humerus above his elbow. His right arm was cut off in the early stages, but the movement contracts due to missing parts of the muscle.

Yered said it is unlikely that there will be enough limbs to support the prosthetic leg.

Life after amputation

Before the cutting, Gerlow relied on his parents to dress up and get out of bed and into a wheelchair.

Then the day was his own.

He took his 10-year-old sister to coffee, donuts and to the park. Other days he disappeared into the forest and St. Pete Beach.

His car was his freedom. He had a cooler behind a van filled with water bottles that could be opened using his teeth. He was able to cut his own food using cutlery tied to his hands.

“To be able to jump into a van and get coffee sounds like the simplest thing in the world,” he said. “But I remember being so grateful for what I could do.”

His ability to overcome obstacles was an inspiration for other paraplegia he met in person online.

Melissa Walsh, a Tavares resident who suffered a spinal cord injury in 2008, was among those whose life changed when she met Gerlow.

Gerla, one of the first times they spoke on the phone, said he had just driven to Dunkin’ Donuts to have some coffee. It encouraged her to learn to drive a modified vehicle.

They became friends and she was “super, super inspiration” where people like her could be so independent and hold back on their jobs, she said in the deposit.

“I said, ‘How are you going to do it?’ ” she said. “I was trying to understand what I could do to make the most of my potential as an individual living with a cervical spinal cord injury.”

Now, Gerlow is completely dependent on his parents and cannot be left alone. The loss of his leg means he must be tied to a wheelchair.

He can no longer drive, and depends on his parents to eat, dress, wash, and go to the bathroom. He must call them just to scratch his nose and head, said his mother, Joy Guru.

When he wants to be alone, his only option is to sit in his garage.

“He was very independent,” she said. “We can’t leave him. We can’t afford a nurse, so my husband and I have overcome it and we are family.”

Guerlaf will move to Hickory, North Carolina to not only live in a more rural setting, but also reduce the cost of living. His father retired early to help his wife take care of his son.

It was hard for Gerlaugh to adapt. He feels like he is putting a burden on his parents. He grew a beard just to spare his mother the task of shaving him every day.

The family still has a home video taken by Gerlow’s father in the momentary spurt of his son leaving for kidney stone treatment at the Morton factory.

“That was the last time I drove,” he said, “it’s one of those things about keeping thinking.”