This is the story of how the unmonitored use of patient-controlled analgesia and nursing errors led to the unexpected death of a mother’s only child (and how it might have been prevented).
By Victoria Ireland
On Saturday, the 5th of November, 2011, my life fell apart when my only son Tyler left this world.
One week before that, on the morning of the 28th of October, I received a phone call that no mother ever wants to receive. I was asked to go immediately to the hospital. And when I arrived, I was told that Tyler was found unresponsive and had suffered two cardiac arrests. I never got to speak to Tyler again.
Those days will forever be etched in my memory. While my heart will always ache from the loss of Tyler, I am telling his story in the hope that it will help prevent similar tragedies and that no parent will have to endure the pain of losing their child to nursing errors and unmonitored use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps.