Injection Gone Wrong: Part 2

Brenda F. Johnson, MSN

I'm not crazy. I'm not the only one. Frozen with emotions, Susan shifted between relief in the acknowledgment that there were other people who had residual problems from the shots, meaning it wasn't in her head, and fury that this brutality took place. Were credentials not checked beforehand? If flu shots are mandatory, shouldn't that mean that it is expected that the person giving the shots are required to know what they are doing. We as nurses are held to a professional level of expertise, should we not expect that when our employer holds us just as precious as our patients?

Shivering, Susan pulled her colorful scrub jacket closer around, and tucked her hands under her arms.

"Susan, follow me." Wrapped up in her own thoughts, Susan found herself back in the waiting room. The television droned on with talking heads. Numb, Susan glanced at the outdated magazines. Just as she reached for one, she remembered that she had read how germy magazines can be, she relented to staring at the wall.

"I think they gave you the injection in your shoulder joint," the doctor said. Their eyes met, Susan searching for something she wasn't aware of yet. "Actually, it's a good thing that the virus is dead, because if it had been a live virus, it would be growing in your joint." "Continue with the ibuprofen, increase it if you need to, and use ice on your shoulder. Come see me in a week and we will see how you are doing." With that, he turned his back and began writing on her chart. Pausing, Susan waited.

"Doc, the ibuprofen is really bothering my stomach," Susan said, one hand on the door knob. "Make sure you take it with food," he said, standing and pushing past her to exit the room. Susan followed him out, her eyes fixed on his dirty jogging shoes.

The following week, Susan sat in the doctor's office again. "It feels the same. I have used ice and taken all the ibuprofen my stomach can handle, but it still hurts the same!"

He ordered an MRI and aspercreme. Get freakin real, ASPERCREME?! Susan thought as she took the script for the MRI. He had offered a narcotic pain pill, but holding out hope that this would get better, she refused.

Lying on the cold, metal MRI bed, Susan felt like she was getting some redemption. Finally, she would have a legitimate diagnosis. Tears pooled in her eyes and drifted down the side of her face.

After the MRI, Susan talked to the tech who told her that the machine kept wanting to scan her right shoulder instead of the left. "I'm sure we got some good pictures." She reassured Susan. Her words left Susan with a sinking feeling.

Wiping the residual salty tears from her face, she slowly walked out of the MRI department. Thinking over the past couple of weeks, Susan wanted to throw herself on the floor and have a full out temper tantrum.

The MRI results came back as essentially normal, only reporting mild tendonitis. Susan knew that the test wasn't accurate. How can it be normal when she cannot lie on her left side at night, or raise her left arm over her head. Driving home, she let out a sigh of frustration as she tried to use her left arm to turn out of the parking lot. Letting her left arm go limp in her lap, she shook her head and mumbled to herself. Any use of her left arm created pain in her left shoulder. She was told she would have to choose a workman's comp orthopedic doctor and was given a list.

Looking at the list of orthopedic doctors workmen's compensation sent her, she quickly made an assessment: that one does mostly knees and hips, that one she hadn't heard of, so the third one was who she decided to see. Not able to see her personal orthopedic doctor left her uneasy.

Sitting in the orthopedic doctor's office, Susan fidgeted with her hands. Frowning, she gazed at the picture behind the doctor's graying hair. She wanted to be in that picture, swimming in the bubbling brook under the shade of the spring foliage, she could almost smell the sweetness of the flowers. She forced herself to focus on his words. He acknowledged her pain while discounting the flu shot being the problem with her shoulder.

"The MRI didn't show anything." he said, "I'm not sure what is causing the pain. I'm going to give you a script for an anti-inflammatory that I want you to take twice a day. I see that you have been doing physical therapy, so that is good! Come see in two weeks and we will evaluate at that time how you are."

It didn't seem to matter when she protested, telling him that the problem started the moment she received that shot. Her words seemed to float randomly out of her mouth up to the ceiling, never landing on listening ears. Alone and defeated, Susan knew that this doctor was aware that she is a nurse, she had taken care of his patients. How could he not be more aggressive in finding out what her problem was? Just because he had not seen this happen to anyone else, how can he rule it out that it didn't happen?

The stomach problems Susan suffered from the NSAIDs forced her to stop them, but she did keep going to physical therapy. At her follow-up, Susan asked the doctor if he had read the MRI report or looked at the disc. He told her he had looked at the disc and agreed with the report. He wanted to try an injection, which Susan agreed to. He injected her left subacromial area, not directly into the joint. The only result from the injection was soreness and a huge bruise.

"Look, Susan, I know you are in pain. I also know that you noticed it right around the time you got the flu shot. But I really think that there is something else. . ."

"No! You look! I have done everything you have told me to do. I think the MRI was faulty, the scanner kept moving away from my left shoulder, how could it get a thorough picture if it wasn't working correctly? I am not looking for drugs, in fact, I never filled any prescription given to me for pain medications. I need someone to listen to me! My problems started with the flu shot. Can I get another MRI? Maybe with contrast this time?"

Her words started to falter as sobs rose up in her chest. All the built up pain and frustration bubbled out. When Susan was able to catch her breath, she blew her nose and inhaled deeply.

He agreed to another MRI, and possibly another doctor for a joint injection.

Stay tuned for the conclusion.

To read the beginning of this story, go to Injection Gone Wrong: Part 1

Injection Gone Wrong: Part 3

Injection Gone Wrong: Part 2

About Brenda F. Johnson, MSN

Share on other sites

More Like This

Keeping Seniors Safe in Their Own Homes: Part 1 Bathroom Safety

Patient Safety: We could be the killer!

Just Another Statistic

5 Diamond Patient Safety Project

Survival Miracles - A Ghost Story