Dr. Nneka Ifeoma Nzegwu, DO

It was comforting knowing she was taking care of her by giving her a paralytic for several days, which left my daughter unable to move. It felt like they wanted to stick with the wrong diagnosis of brain death and make sure she couldn’t recover, especially after being in the hospital for almost four months. What stood out was that, after months in the hospital without needing to be paralyzed for simple moves, my daughter suddenly needed to be given this medication. It seemed more about keeping her from recovering than helping her get better. I’m also concerned about the long-term side effects of paralytics, like muscle weakness and trouble breathing. It seemed like these risks weren’t properly considered. It felt like the goal wasn’t healing but ensuring she couldn’t leave the hospital. Additionally, my daughter’s feeding tube kept malfunctioning, needing five changes in one month. This should not have happened, especially after being in the hospital for months. One thing I do… appreciate is that she did finally admitted, after I showed her a recording of the pulmonologist saying my daughter was breathing on her own, that she was indeed showing signs of life. But it was hard to trust the doctors pushing the idea that my daughter was brain dead. It’s upsetting to think that some doctors ignore signs of life to fit a diagnosis. The way my daughter was treated showed me it’s not always about healing, but sticking to a story that ignores what’s really happening. I hope no other families have to go through what we did