St. Catharines man says undiagnosed infection was result of poor medical care
A St. Catharines man is facing a long road to recovery after a bacterial infection caused damage to the discs in his spine.
It’s something he feels could have been avoided had his concerns not been brushed aside during an earlier hospital visit.
Darcy Patrick started the year on a high note, only to be struck with back pain a day later.
“I was riding high going into the new year (and) 2022 was going to be the most spectacular year ever,” he said. “I landed a permanent position at St. Joseph’s (Hospital in Hamilton), I was just going to release my fifth book and I was riding high.
“Then, Jan. 2, I woke up with the most excruciating back pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”
The 50-year-old is into wellness, has no history of back problems, does yoga for two hours every day and is an avid runner, so he knew something was wrong.
By the time paramedics got to his home, Patrick said the pain had travelled to his thighs, and he could barely lift his feet off the ground.
Despite that, he alleges paramedics had him walk to the ambulance.
Niagara Emergency Medical Services said it is aware of the incident and will be conducting an internal review.
Once he got to hospital, Patrick alleges things didn’t get much better.
“The doctor comes in, he looks at me and he says, ‘So, you’ve got a bad back, eh?’ and I said, ‘Well no, there’s something really wrong,’ ” he said.
Patrick said the doctor told him he just had a bad back with a pinched nerve and gave him Tylenol and printed handouts listing stretching exercises.
“He didn’t ask for a blood sample, and if he had he would have seen that my inflammatory markers would have been through the roof,” said Patrick.
Feeling humiliated, Patrick said he left and fought through pain for nearly two months before going back to hospital on Feb. 28.
“I woke up at 5 a.m. to do yoga and my legs weren’t doing what I told them to,” he said. “I was lying downstairs on my yoga mat and I thought ‘I’m done.’ ”
On this visit to the emergency room, Patrick had a very different experience.
“(The doctor) was amazing. From that point on, I got the best care that I could imagine.”
He was sent for blood and urine tests, a CT scan and an MRI.
Tests showed he had a bacterial infection that had completely eaten through some of his intervertebral discs, the spongy cushions that separate the bones of the spine. It started at the bone at the L2 and L3 vertebrae.
He was transferred to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, where doctors put in rods along his spine to connect and stabilize the area. They used bone-fusing material to fill in the spaces where bone was missing.
By the time of his March 18 surgery, he had lost almost all use of his right leg. He also had residual numbness from his knee, all the way up to his hip.
Recovery has been slow. He can sit for maybe 15 minutes at a time, stand long enough to shower and go on walks with a walker for 30 to 40 minutes.
Patrick said he has submitted formal complaints to both Niagara EMS and Niagara Health about his treatment.
In a statement to Niagara this Week, Niagara Health said: “We are taking actions to be of assistance and are working with Mr. Patrick directly. Our patient relations team works with patients and families to answer their questions and address their concerns. This is a collaborative process with the clinical team involved with the patient’s care. Once we have more information, we follow up with the patient directly to share outcomes and determine next steps.”