A.

[Guest guest]

,

I just read your inital post about this CPS/drug issue tonight and

have now read your update. I am so sorry for what you have had to go

through, all because people jump instead of thinking first. Not only

do you have to deal with your chronic health condition, but are a

new Mom dealing with recovery and everything else that goes along

with it.

I am an RN myself and have worked in pediatrics for about 12 yrs

now. I work in Canada, but I have to say that prejudgement knows no

borders. I am appalled that the social worker did not consult a Dr

or lab when she didn't understand how to read the results...That is

criminal. She is not expected to be a Dr and a lab tech in addition

to a SW...but she SHOULD BE EXPECTED to be a professional with the

best interests of both you and Hannah at heart.

Besides being an RN, I have had the misfortune to have suffered from

post traumatic stress syndrome and severe depression - which was

almost fatal about four yrs ago. Here I am expecting my first baby,

totally well and what am I thinking? I am not going to deliver at

the hospital which is closest to my home because people that I work

with at that site would have records of my old admissions. People -

health care professionals - would read things like: " ...suicide

attempts " ... " certified patient " ,.... " self harm

behavior " .... " ECT " .... and they would not look beyond these phrases

to the person they see in front of them. I have put my life together

yet, stuff like this is so sensational, who could resist the gossip,

right?

Anyway, ...I wish you and Hannah and Glenn nothing but the

best...With the potential lawsuit and in your lives. I hope that one

day you can put this all behind you and have some peace of mind and

enjoy your beautiful little girl...

Many Hugs,

VBG May 6/03 -104lb (in the first 9 mos post op..now 3 mos preg)

EDC Nov 10/04

> First, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to send

prayers and positive vibes up for us and baby Hannah plus take the

time to send me words of advice and encouragement, everything has

helped tons and things are turning towards a positive direction as I

have good news to share with all of you.

>

> We got back the drug test results from the tests that both baby

Hannah and I took last Friday. Of course my test came back positive

because of the medications I take and Hannah's test came back

totally negative. Though it sucks that I had to put my baby girl

through the crap of taking this drug test I'm glad to have the

information that there are no drugs showing up in her system from

the meds I'm taking and the fact I'm breastfeeding. I have been

breastfeeding her according to the guidelines recommended for women

who have to take meds and still want to nurse, timing taking my meds

right after she nursed so my body has time to process before she

nurses again. The test is proof that this is working as none of the

meds I'm taking is crossing over into the breastmilk, this is the

one positive and comforting thing that I can take from all this

difficulty that we have been put through.

>

> I was contacted by patient advocacy from the hospital yesterday

and believe it or not, the lady in charge of investigating the case

totally admitted that the hospital screwed up not once, but

twice!!! Glenn and I picked up my records and Hannah's records and

we found the problem started with the nursery nurse practitioner as

she is the one who first made the leap about my medication as she

notated in Hannah's chart that I was a " narcotics addict " . Now if

she had noted that I was " narcotics dependant " versus " addict " that

would have flown with me, but the fact that she said " addict " that

told everyone that she was assuming incorrect things without

consulting with my OB. I then found out from the patient advocate

from the hospital this problem was compounded when the drug testing

company sent an amended report to the hospital two days after we

were discharged about the levels of drugs in Hannah's system. The

way it was explained to me was that the first test was a screening

to show what drugs were in her system and the second test was to

show how much of the drug was in the system. What happened is when

the drug testing company sent the results it went to the hospital

social worker and for some reason this social worker freaked and

lost her mind when she saw a baby tested positive for drugs and that

baby was already discharged from the hospital, so when she read the

results she read them all wrong. She ended up reading the results

and thinking that everything they listed as negative was positive,

so when she contacted CPS she told them Hannah had tested positive

for all these drugs when the report the company sent was saying she

tested negative.

>

> The patient advocate lady said she didn't even know where to start

to apologize because the hospital screwed up so bad. She told me it

took her a couple of days to get back to me because it took her that

long to track down " all the many errors " that the hospital made. I

guess they are using my case as an education tool for the nursery

nurses, bringing in the pain management team to teach them about the

many drugs used in patients with chronic pain problems and how they

would show up on drug tests and how they would effect a baby. There

was also emphasis on having the nurses and nurse practitioners

communicate with the doctors if they see patients on suspects to

clarify what the meds are being taken for. There has also been

meetings with the hospital social workers on how to correctly read

these tests results and that they need to communicate with the

patients doctors and make sure they gather all the information

before they make that call to CPS.

>

> Both Glenn and I are very glad that the hospital is supposedly

taking action to make sure that this doesn't happen again to another

mother like me, but it still doesn't take away the fact that this

CPS report is going to follow us for years and cause us problems

regardless that it was unfounded and we cleared our names. We are

going to consult a lawyer about a malpractice suit because of the

fact that this report could cause both of us problems in our careers.

>

> We are very grateful that this is clearing up for us and we can

stop worrying and completely focus on how blessed we are to have the

child we have prayed for for so long. Now if I could just get some

sleep and a shower I will be in heaven! LOL! Thanks again for all

the support!

> Axelrod

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