The COVID-19 decease continues to take thousands of lives in the US, but behind every figure is a person – a human being with relatives who now mourn a beloved grandfather, mother, father, brother or sister.
Keith Gambrell has experienced this. In a short time, he was forced to say goodbye to his grandfather, 76-year-old David Fowler, who died at Henry Ford Hospital on April 6.
Then, just hours later, Keith’s dad, 56-year-old Gary Fowler, also died.
“So about 6:30 the next morning my brother Troy calls me, ‘Daddy won’t wake up, Daddy won’t wake up,’ so I get over here as fast as I can,” he said.
“I go upstairs, my dad is sitting in the blue recliner next to the bed that he and my mom slept in, and he looks asleep, but he’s blue. I just broke down, man, I just broke down.”
But could this tragedy have been avoided?
According to Keith, it probably could. He says his dad would still be alive if it wasn’t for him being denied care and testing, according to Keith.
Keith says that both Beaumont Grosse Pointe, Detroit Receiving and Henry Ford denied the father care and testing.
“My dad passed at home, and no one tried to help him,” Gambrell, 33, told USA Today. “He asked for help, and they sent him away. They turned him away.”
Also, Keith nearly lost his mother to this horrible virus. His mom tested positive for the coronavirus and required intensive care. She was hooked up to a ventilator for two days.
According to Keith, his mother was also denied testing at Beaumont Grosse Point.
“My mom’s fever goes up to 102. We take her to Beaumont, there’s a young lady in front of her, a Caucasian lady, she instantly complains about her stomach hurting from sushi from Grubhub,” Keith said.
“They immediately take her back. She’s in the back five minutes after she tells these people what’s wrong, they get her information, get her insurance.
“Now it’s my mother’s turn to be checked out. (They) take her temperature, my mom gives her the prescription for the coronavirus that she got from her doctor to get tested for it, because her husband just died and her father-in-law Law died from the virus less than 12 hours ago. They tell my mom, ‘Ma’am there’s nothing we can do for you here, but go home, here’s a piece of paper. Go home and isolate yourself with your family, come back if you really need our assistance. ‘”
FOX 2 received a statement from Beaumont and they explained that:
“COVID-19 is hitting southeast Michigan particularly hard. As patients come to Beaumont for care during this extraordinary time, we are doing all we can to evaluate, triage and care for patients based on the information we know at the time. decisions, we do not discriminate against anyone based on their gender, race or any other factor. We grieve the loss of any patient to COVID-19 or any other illness. “
Keith’s mother is still in a hospital in Detroit.
Now, while fighting the disease, she is also forced to mourn her beloved husband.
“They have been married 25 years, man. It’s just not fair, but they say that’s life,” said Keith.
Henry Ford Health System said Saturday that no one who comes to the hospital is denied care. They provided a statement stating:
“Our thoughts and prayers are devastated by the effects of COVID-19. with the Fowler’s and all families. We are unable to share details due to patient privacy, but we do not take lightly any concerns of biased care given our dedication to Putting patients first Throughout this pandemic, we have followed CDC guidelines related to testing and clinical care protocols. Henry Ford has also been a leader in addressing health disparities and driving true health equity as part of our core mission and values and that work will continue.”
I’m heartbroken reading this. So incredibly tragic for this family. 😥 I’m so sorry for your families loss. This should have never happened 🙏🏻❤️
