A Roxanne Burnham Gardens man says he ended up in intensive care for one week after a private medical institution failed to detect a four-inch piece of wood that was lodged in his foot.
Zitman George, 49, of Rasville, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, said he was bed-ridden after doctors at the Diamond Diagnostic Hospital managed to extract the piece of greenheart wood from his left foot after doctors at a private hospital misdiagnosed him.
George, a miner, had been cleaning his yard on August 4 when he gashed the sole of his foot. Twenty minutes later he was taken to a private medical facility as he was in severe pain. According to George, the hospital took tests and x-rays but found nothing so he was sent home despite the gruesome injury.
“They said they saw the slice on the foot but when they did the x-ray they didn’t pick up anything in it,” he said. “They told me nothing was wrong with me.”
Five days later, the foot was swollen and inflamed. George said he was in unbearable pain and went to the Diamond Hospital. When the doctors at the public hospital saw him, they immediately sent him into emergency surgery after which he was hospitalised for one week in the Intensive Care Unit.
“These doctors saved my life. I could have lost it if they didn’t act fast. So many things could have happened…I could have died from blood poisoning,” he said.
George asked that the private hospital not be identified because he is seeking legal advice on whether to sue for negligence.
He is, however, angry and believes that if the doctors at the hospital had paid more attention to his treatment, he could have avoided a potentially life-threatening situation.
“Their carelessness makes me feel betrayed. I used that hospital for years and was shocked that they couldn’t see a wood so big in my foot,” he said.
The man further said that he was surprised that he received better care at the public institution rather than at the private one.
“Things like these shouldn’t be kept a secret. The public should know what is going on….,” said George, who noted that he was unable to stand to do anything for himself. “I have two daughters that I have to take care of. How would I provide for them in this condition?” he asked.
