Sentara Potomac Hospital Potomac Hospital The Emergency Doctor sent my 23 month old daughter home with a severe illness and she also have a severe heart condition Woodbridge, Virginia

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....I am writing this letter with deep concerns of the Prince William County 911 system and Potomac Hospital practices. I recently encounter an emergency situation with my child who has a severe heart condition that could have ended up in a deadly situation. On October 27, 2011 my 23 month old daughter was turning blue, her heart rate was very low and she became extremely ill with in matters of seconds. I dialed 911 and it went to voice mail. I finally found someone to get my daughter to the emergency room as soon as possible because in the past she almost died and if I didn't get her to the emergency room in time enough she would have been gone.

After being transported to the emergency room I encountered a doctor who was caring for my daughter. I was trying to explain to the doctor about my daughter's severe condition and the dynamics of how things work in order to make sure
that she wasn't in this dire situation again. I also asked the doctor to please give Children's National Medical Center a call because in the past my daughter has had to be flown the hospital to ensure of her life being sustained. This doctor brushed me off and said, Ok, I will give them a call. Between 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm the doctor still hadn't contacted Children's National Medical Center to ensure my daughter's safety or to call the cardiologist to make sure she wasn't in any danger due to her illness and her severe heart condition. Approximately after 9:00 pm, the nurse came in to give me discharge papers for my daughter. I told her to look at my daughter she is very sick she can't go home. At the time
she was still running a high fever. I ask the nurse could she please take her temperature to see were it was before we left. The nurse said, They haven't taken her temperature, and I said only one time. She looked it up in the computer and saw that her temperature was taken only once and this was not the protocol that was suppose to be followed. Well, come to find out my daughter's temperature was still high. I asked the nurse if she could get something for fever before we leave. The doctor came in and said that my daughter was fine and she was good to go home and I said, Look at her something
is wrong and she is not fine. His response was her CBC's are better than mine and she is fine. I told him that he only met my daughter once and I know my daughter for two years and she is not fine. Well, the doctor was in a rush and ready to go home.

My decision at this time was to leave this hospital and take my daughter to Children's National Medical Center because she was not fine. Before the doctor left the nurse asked him could she give my daughter more medicine to bring her fever down and his reply was, Yeah, whatever, and then he left. I left Potomac Hospital very sad that this doctor just brushed my daughter off like she was nothing seeing that she really looked sick. I took pictures of my how sick my daughter looked and video taped how she was acting. I also have a video tape of how she is when she is not sick. After leaving Potomac Hospital, I went straight to Children's National Medical Center and told them how this doctor sent my daughter home looking the way she was and not even calling Children's National Medical Center to make sure she wasn't in
any danger with her illness and her severe heart condition. Children's National Medical Center doctors said they couldn't believe what happen and that I made the right decision to come there. My daugher was put on and I.V. because she was dehydrated and Children's treated her extremely well taking everything into consideration. They kept her in the hospital. The next day Potomac Hospital gave me a call and asked me where was I and I told them I took my daughter to
Children's National Medical Center. They told me that they are glad that I am there because my daughter tested positive for Gram Positive Rods. I said, What! I was furious because if I would have followed the doctor's orders to go home, there is no telling what could have happened to my daughter that night.

I am thankful that I have the wisdom, knowledge and intuition that God gives me to make the right decisions. The doctor's at Children's kept telling me that they are very glad that I made the right decisions to bring my daughter there. My daughter was still extremely sick and because Potomac Hospital informed myself and Children's Hospital of the positive cultures everything was in a upheaval and they sent the Infectious Disease doctors to me asking questions. Researching
this positive culture and asking questions myself, I was told that if this is a blood infection that it could be a serious situation because of my daughter's heart. I was under extreme stress during this time. What if I didn't know how to advocate for my daughter with serious health issues? What if I had listen to the doctor and went home? What if this and what if that?

I am speaking for the families who do not know how to advocate or who do not know what to do when they see something wrong and believing the doctors because they have credentials when they see something different. This practice should never happen again. This doctor at Potomac Hospital should have at least taken in consideration to call Children's National Medical Center just to make sure she would be safe but because he was such in a hurry to go home he didn't and
something serious could have happened and this should never happen again. Also the Prince William County 911 system going to voice mail is serious. Any one can die with in seconds. I am asking that measures be taken to make sure that right practices and protocols are followed to prevent another incident like this from happening because it doesn't take
long to make a phone call to Children's Hospital and say would this child with a severe heart condition be ok to send home due to her illness and with her still being very sick. Children's National Medical Center probably would have said, bring her in, we just want to make sure she is not in any danger.