WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A man had his arms and legs amputated after a common hospital procedure went horribly wrong.
Chad Gerlaugh, now 46 and from outside Tampa, Florida, was admitted to the hospital in April 2019 for an operation to remove a kidney stone.
The procedure went well, with doctors inserting a tube into his urethra — the tube that carries urine out of the body — to remove the stone and transferring him to the recovery unit.
But days later, Mr Gerlaugh’s blood pressure would drop dramatically and his heart would stop for seven minutes.
Doctors found he had contracted a post-surgery infection, causing sepsis — a life threatening condition that leads organs to start to shut down.
He was put on antibiotics and a vasopressor drug, used to treat low blood pressure, that caused his blood vessels to tighten, redirecting blood to his vital organs but away from his extremities.
Over the next few days, he had to watch as his limbs turned black and started to die. Eventually, doctors were forced to amputate them.
Mr Gerlaugh had been in a wheelchair since 1998 after a car crash left him with spinal damage and only limited motion in his arms.
But he didn’t let that affect his resolve, modifying a vehicle so he could drive, working a $70,000-a-year job as a technical support worker for Spectrum.
Chad Gerlaugh, 46, is pictured above in hospital after having all four of his limbs amputated
He was able to do nearly everything himself, and only needed help getting dressed and getting into or out of bed.
But since the amputations, Mr Gerlaugh has been left relying on his parents to help him eat, wash, shave and go to the bathroom. Sometimes, he has to call someone just to scratch his nose or head.
For the amputations, both his legs were amputated above the knee, while his left arm was amputated above the elbow halfway up the bicep and his right arm was amputated mid-forearm.
It is unlikely that there is enough of any limb left for prosthetics, attornies said.
‘My life is never going to be the same,’ he said in a family video, reports Tampa Bay Times, ‘I gotta ask for help. For everything’.
The tragic case was revealed in court filings from attorney Steve Yerrid against the hospital where he was treated, Morton Plant Hospital.
In court papers, the hospital was accused of failing to manage Mr Gerlaugh’s care properly, which may have avoided the need for the amputations.
The case has now been settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Lawyers not involved in the case say that, in Florida, the typical settlement for the amputation of one limb ranges from $200,000 to $2million.
BayCare officials, which run the hospital where he was treated, said in a statement that Morton Plant Hospital is committed ‘to maintaining the highest standards of patient care possible’.
They added: ‘Our team makes patient safety a top priority and has carefully reviewed this patient’s journey to find any opportunities to learn from his experience.’
Mr Gerlaugh is pictured above before the surgery. He has been in a wheelchair since 1998 after a car crash left him with spinal injuries
Mr Gerlaugh, pictured before he had sepsis, had made the most of life while in a wheelchair, working a $70k-a-year job and only needing help to get in and out of bed and to get dressed
Mr Greenlaugh drove himself to the hospital for the initial operation to remove his kidney stones.
He was in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit when his blood pressure suddenly plummeted and he started to struggle to breathe.
The next day, his heart stopped for seven minutes before he was resuscitated, which doctors said on his notes was due to him receiving too little oxygen.
He was then put on a vasopressor drug for days which redirected blood to his vital organs but away from his extremities — causing them to start to die.
Since the amputations, the family revealed how their son now has to rely on them for almost everything.
His mother Joy told Tampa Bay Times: ‘He was so independent. We can’t leave him; we can’t afford a nurse. So my husband and I just get through it the best way we can because we’re a family.’
Shown above is Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Florida, where he was treated
His father retired early to help his wife with caring for their son at home. The family has now also relocated to Hickory, North Carolina, to live in a more rural setting and lower their living expenses.
A kidney stone removal surgery is common in the US, with about a million of these procedures carried out every year.
It is rare for the procedure to lead to spesis, with studies suggesting there is a five percent risk of this happening to patients.
