In honor of a son who died too soon ... Mother helps others through boy's legacy
By Jill Coley
Lewis Wardlaw Blackman
On the Web
To read more about Lewis Blackman (left), go to www.lewisblackman.net.
In 2000, Helen Haskell's healthy 15-year-old son underwent elective surgery at Medical University of South Carolina to correct a congenital condition called pectus excavatum, or a sunken chest.
Four days later, Lewis Wardlaw Blackman died.
"He was a ball of energy," Haskell said. "We thought he was going to be a person who really put South Carolina on the map."
MUSC admitted that a chain of negligent acts by inexperienced staff led to Lewis's death. The hospital settled for nearly $1 million, money Haskell used to establish a scholarship.
Her son's legacy has grown to include legislation, an endowed chair and most recently the Lewis W. Blackman Patient Safety Champion Awards.
Dr. Rick Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety with the hospital association, said Haskell "has taken what was obviously a very sad situation with her son and turned it into a positive."
She feels gratified and humbled to see her son's legacy continue, Haskell said. "I am well aware that few children who die are able to leave a public legacy. That's more than most bereaved parents have."
Soon after Lewis' surgery, his condition worsened. He wasn't producing urine. He grew pale, broke a cold sweat and suffered great abdominal pain.
But Haskell's concerns went unheeded. She asked several times for a veteran doctor, to no avail.
Then, Lewis' pain suddenly stopped, a sign that a more experienced physician might have read as impending death.
Within hours, Lewis was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed he bled to death from a perforated ulcer, a known risk of the painkiller Toradol.
In 2005, the Lewis Blackman Hospital Patient Safety Act became law and required all clinical staff in hospitals to wear identification tags, labeling job and status. The law also mandated that patients be informed of how they can contact an experienced doctor or summon help quickly.
A plaque bearing her son's likeness will be hung in a simulation center at MUSC, where health care workers can practice procedures and rapid response. The center, scheduled to open in June, along with several sites across the state, is the work of Dr. John J. Schaefer, the Lewis Blackman chair for patient safety.
Simulation, a training technique already used in aviation and the military, allows students to practice without the risk of injury to patients, Schaefer said. Simulating crisis situations also helps rapid response teams practice together and understand their roles before reaching the bedside, he said.
Although Schaefer was not at MUSC at the time of Lewis' death, he said, "If people had gotten to the bedside earlier, would it have changed things? Possibly, yes."
Dr. Jerry Reves, dean of the Medical University of South Carolina's College of Medicine, said, "Lewis Blackman was a healthy young man who died and showed things go wrong from time to time." While human error will never be eliminated, Reves said, systems can be reviewed and improved.
When Haskell started her advocacy shortly after her son's death, she said, she was a voice in the wilderness of the medical establishment.
"They were against us, but that has changed" said Haskell, the first patient consumer to sit on the S.C. Hospital Association Quality Council.
Reach Jill Coley at 937-5719 or jcoley@postandcourier.com.
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Hey_U_Guys (anonymous) says...
I am curious as to why this surgery didn't happen earlier in his life. Normally, doctors recommend you take care of it in the toddler years. This poor child and his family. Negligence, negligence, negligence.
I'll tell you one thing, after one HORRIFING experience with my son at MUSC Children's Hospital, I will NEVER use them again. My son wouldn't put his weight on his hip. He wouldn't walk. My pediatrician thought he had a staph infection in his hip, so she sent us over to a Sport's Medicine doc at MUSC, to check it out. He was running late for a flight, so he said, "Yep, we need to cut him open and drain the infection." We spent 5 hours in the Children's ER before they admitted my son. During that time 6 different NEWBS tried to take my son's blood to run tests. Only 2 girls were able to do it properly, and then ACCIDENTALLY cancelled the lab work. I told them they had ONE MORE chance to get their crap together. They sent in the VETERAN nurse, with 22 years experience. She got it, first try. After they admitted my son, they immediately wanted to schedule surgery. I told them, if they didn't want a negligence suit, they would perform an ultrasound and xray to confirm or deny the presence of a staph infection. They found nothing, but insisted my son needed to be cut open. Keep in mind, he was 13 months old at the time. Poor baby. Any way, they kept him overnight and watched his vitals. Never administering antibiotics of any kind, for the staph infection they all just KNEW he had hiding in his hip. The next morning they re xrayed and ultrasounded him. Nothing. They wanted to perform an MRI. My husband and I told them no. They had put our son through enough. My son started walking, normally, about an hour later. Turned out he had just bruised his hip. He had only been walking for about 3 months, kids fall. We were discharged shortly after. To top it all off, I received a bill for close to 6 grand. I had insurance, but MUSC accidentally kept submitting the wrong ID #. They just pulled their heads out of their rears last month. It took them 11 months to straighten it out. I called them and the insurance company I don't know how many times between April of last year and last month. GRRRRR. MUSC SUCKS! I've never had any problems with St.Francis, from the delivery of my son until now, they've been wonderful.
April 7, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
When I had a child that needed to be seen by a specialist at MUSC, my husband and I specifically stated that our child would not be touched by anyone but the specialist or his senior resident. They didn't like this very much, but we stuck to our guns on this.
Our child continued to get sicker as months went by, as the doctor insisted that she would outgrow the condition.
Thank goodness we took her to a private doctor who decided to do surgery to correct the problem.
She would have suffered permanent kidney damage had we not.
I know a lot of good things happen at MUSC, but all it takes is one bad experience to turn a person off.
I admire this family for the courage and unselfishness they have shown in the face of their loss.
April 7, 2008 at 9:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oldglory (anonymous) says...
Hey_U_Guys - thanks for sharing your child's and your horrific experience. Often 'the grapevine' gives us good information :)
April 7, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
heartmommy (anonymous) says...
For the past 18 months, my son has been in and out of MUSC. He has never received anything but STELLAR care! He was born premature with congenital heart defects. He also has lung disease, asthma, a poor functioning swallow, eats by Gtube and breathes with a trach. I would never, ever, ever send my child anywhere but to the specialists he sees at MUSC. As a matter of fact, we've put off moving out of state to be closer to our families because we don't want to lose the care my child gets at MUSC. He's been seen on every floor of Children's hospital and I've never had a problem getting a doctor to treat my child. He is treated with respect, love and care as if they were treating their own child and not a patient. I'm sorry for the parents that have had a bad experience, but it's just not like that for us. My child is benefiting from this magnificent place!
April 7, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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