Cheryl K Mandell

I came to Rush because I am pregnant, only 15 years old, and I was having scary symptoms that made me worried about preeclampsia. My blood pressure had been close to 160, and I was having bad headaches almost every day, dizziness, lightheadedness, throwing up, vision changes, rib pain, and my blood pressure was going up and down. I was seen by Cheryl D. Mandell, NP. I felt like she was rude, dismissive, and talked to me in a way that made me feel like I did not matter. I told her my symptoms, but I did not feel like she cared or took me seriously. I had already been to other emergency rooms, and we were told I needed to be seen by Rush/high-risk pregnancy care. My grandmother/legal guardian brought me to Rush because we thought I would finally be taken seriously. Instead, I felt talked down to and pushed away. Cheryl D. Mandell, NP told me teenagers do not get preeclampsia, even though my own mother had preeclampsia as a teenager when she was around 15 or 16, and again around 17 or… 18. That made me feel like she was ignoring my family history and my real concerns. She also told me I was new to Rush and had never been a patient there, which is not true because I was born at Rush and my doctors are at Rush. She also told me to go to Silver Cross because it is closer to my home, even though we came to Rush because we were told Rush was where I needed to go for high-risk pregnancy care. I did not feel like my symptoms, my medical history, my family history, or my high-risk pregnancy concerns were taken seriously. I left feeling hurt, scared, disrespected, and like Cheryl D. Mandell, NP did not care. A pregnant teenager with high blood pressure, almost severe headaches every day, dizziness, lightheadedness, vomiting, vision changes, rib pain, and blood pressure going up and down should not be brushed off, talked down to, or made to feel like she does not matter. This was a horrible experience, and I hope Rush reviews how I was treated so no other pregnant teen is dismissed like this.