Patients, families say VA center failed them
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As Brandon Gauvreau slowly walks down the corridor at Seattle's Swedish Medical Center, he calls to his mother, "love you mom." Carol Blake, waiting just a few steps away, answers, "love you too Brandon."
It's been just a few, short months since Blake, of Tacoma, thought her son would never walk again.
And in Port Orchard, Linda Orton had given up hope for her son John, who lays nearly motionless in a hospital bed in her front room. Her cry strikes a chord in any parent's heart, "And the VA should stand up and take responsibility for these men that are getting hurt."
Both women suffered their moments of deepest despair at the one place that should have given them the most hope: the VA's Polytrauma Rehab Center in Palo Alto, California. It's the VA's premiere facility for severe brain trauma - one of only four such hospitals in the country -- and the only one on the West Coast.
The notion makes Carol Blake laugh, "If that's premiere then I don't know what the worst is - honestly."
And Orton has a warning: "to all parents who want their children to get better - don't take them to Palo Alto."
Blake describes her view of the VA Palo Alto rehab center simply. "Incompetence, the level of incompetence was very high at the facility."
Her son Brandon suffered an aneurism at McChord Air Force Base. After surgery, he went to Palo Alto VA for intensive therapy.
Carol Blake says the therapy was minimal, and the staff was ill-equipped for someone with such a severe brain injury. "My son's first doctor was a student from Stanford specializing in orthopedics," she said.
She says the worst was when doctors and nurses ignored her for days after she discovered swelling on Brandon's head. "I said 'did you look at the site that was swollen?' he said 'yes I did.' I said 'then how on earth could you not notice that his skull has opened and pus is coming from it?'"
An infection had penetrated Brandon's skull. Emergency surgery removed the infection along with part of Brandon's skull. As soon as she could, Blake transfered her son to Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.
What was she afraid of? "That he would die! I mean how could they, I mean this is his brain."
"Certainly our goal is to make sure that the veteran or the serviceman or woman has a full recovery," said Dr. Stephen Ezeii-Okoye, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Polytrauma Center. Directors at Palo Alto PRC insist quality of care is not a problem.
"This hospital is run very well and the care has been exemplary," Ezeii-Okoye said. "I think we've had some terrific outcomes."
But several families have raised concerns, including Linda Orton. "I wasn't happy with the way my son was treated," said Orton, who insists she made several complaints.
Orton now cares for her son John around the clock. Following a tour in Iraq, John was in a car crash in Spain. After surgery, he went to Palo Alto for rehab.
His mother says many days John, who is only minimally conscious, got no therapy at all.
"But if you couldn't talk and you had a brain injury and you couldn't move they're not - he can't tell on them," she said.
She knows the active son she raised will never be the same, but she expected more from the government he served.
"He's got so much more life to go."
The KOMO 4 Problem Solvers contacted Washington Senator Patty Murray so she could see what these families are battling.
"I want those families to know they're not alone," said Murray, who holds a powerful position on the Senate Veteran's Affairs committee
By the time of our interview, Murray had already put the new secretary of Veterans Affairs, General James Peake, on notice about Palo Alto, and he promised to investigate.
"Now, I don't want to just hear words," added Murray. "I want to see action."
And Murray made a promise to the families we interviewed and to any other vets who may need care at Palo Alto: "I am not giving up on this issue, it is too important."
The Veterans Affairs Committee expects to ask the VA for specific improvements at Palo Alto later this week. And Murray promised to follow up what is said in D.C. with on-the-ground inspections of the California hospital.
We will stay on top of it and let you know what happens.
It's been just a few, short months since Blake, of Tacoma, thought her son would never walk again.
And in Port Orchard, Linda Orton had given up hope for her son John, who lays nearly motionless in a hospital bed in her front room. Her cry strikes a chord in any parent's heart, "And the VA should stand up and take responsibility for these men that are getting hurt."
Both women suffered their moments of deepest despair at the one place that should have given them the most hope: the VA's Polytrauma Rehab Center in Palo Alto, California. It's the VA's premiere facility for severe brain trauma - one of only four such hospitals in the country -- and the only one on the West Coast.
The notion makes Carol Blake laugh, "If that's premiere then I don't know what the worst is - honestly."
And Orton has a warning: "to all parents who want their children to get better - don't take them to Palo Alto."
Blake describes her view of the VA Palo Alto rehab center simply. "Incompetence, the level of incompetence was very high at the facility."
Her son Brandon suffered an aneurism at McChord Air Force Base. After surgery, he went to Palo Alto VA for intensive therapy.
Carol Blake says the therapy was minimal, and the staff was ill-equipped for someone with such a severe brain injury. "My son's first doctor was a student from Stanford specializing in orthopedics," she said.
She says the worst was when doctors and nurses ignored her for days after she discovered swelling on Brandon's head. "I said 'did you look at the site that was swollen?' he said 'yes I did.' I said 'then how on earth could you not notice that his skull has opened and pus is coming from it?'"
An infection had penetrated Brandon's skull. Emergency surgery removed the infection along with part of Brandon's skull. As soon as she could, Blake transfered her son to Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.
What was she afraid of? "That he would die! I mean how could they, I mean this is his brain."
"Certainly our goal is to make sure that the veteran or the serviceman or woman has a full recovery," said Dr. Stephen Ezeii-Okoye, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Polytrauma Center. Directors at Palo Alto PRC insist quality of care is not a problem.
"This hospital is run very well and the care has been exemplary," Ezeii-Okoye said. "I think we've had some terrific outcomes."
But several families have raised concerns, including Linda Orton. "I wasn't happy with the way my son was treated," said Orton, who insists she made several complaints.
Orton now cares for her son John around the clock. Following a tour in Iraq, John was in a car crash in Spain. After surgery, he went to Palo Alto for rehab.
His mother says many days John, who is only minimally conscious, got no therapy at all.
"But if you couldn't talk and you had a brain injury and you couldn't move they're not - he can't tell on them," she said.
She knows the active son she raised will never be the same, but she expected more from the government he served.
"He's got so much more life to go."
The KOMO 4 Problem Solvers contacted Washington Senator Patty Murray so she could see what these families are battling.
"I want those families to know they're not alone," said Murray, who holds a powerful position on the Senate Veteran's Affairs committee
By the time of our interview, Murray had already put the new secretary of Veterans Affairs, General James Peake, on notice about Palo Alto, and he promised to investigate.
"Now, I don't want to just hear words," added Murray. "I want to see action."
And Murray made a promise to the families we interviewed and to any other vets who may need care at Palo Alto: "I am not giving up on this issue, it is too important."
The Veterans Affairs Committee expects to ask the VA for specific improvements at Palo Alto later this week. And Murray promised to follow up what is said in D.C. with on-the-ground inspections of the California hospital.
We will stay on top of it and let you know what happens.
