Deborah Gatewood, a phlebotomist for more than 30 years, has passed away from coronavirus after being denied testing for the virus four times by her employer, Beaumont Hospital in Michigan.
Kaila Corrothers said that her mother, 63, was initially sent home after requesting a test from her work and started experiencing symptoms in mid-March.
“They said she wasn’t severe enough and that they weren’t going to test her,” said Kaila, Deborah’s only child.
“They told her to just go home and rest.”
After developing a cough on March 19th, she again attempted to get another test, but was given cough medicine by Beaumont Hospital.
“So they gave her a prescription for cough medicine,” Kaila said in a phone interview Friday.
After developing a fever that spiked, Deborah again tried to get tested for a third time on March 21st and was said that despite it being likely that she did have coronavirus, she was still not tested.
Deborah went to the hospital for the fourth time for testing on the 23rd.
After a visit from Kaila to her mother’s house, she found Deborah unresponsive in bed.
“My husband and I got her ready,” Kaila said. “It was taking her a long time to catch her breath, to take any steps.”
The trio approached the door and Deborah collapsed.
“Her eyes kind of rolled back,” Kaila said. “She was unresponsive. We got her back to the bed and laid her down.”
Deborah was quickly taken to a different hospital where she was tested for coronavirus. She had developed bilateral pneumonia and was intubated for more than two weeks, where her kidneys began to fail and then her heart quickly followed.
Deborah was then declared dead on April 20.
What bothers Kaila the most is that her mother wasn’t treated well by the hospital she worked at for 31 years.
“If people feel symptoms, go to the doctor. You’re the only person who knows how you feel,” Kaila said.
“If you can’t get treated at one hospital, go to another.”
The hospital has since spoken out to a local Fox News station, saying they evaluate patients as they come in.
“As patients come to Beaumont for care during this pandemic, we are doing everything we can to evaluate, triage and care for patients based on the information we know at the time. We grieve the loss of any patient to COVID-19 or any other illness.”
However, Kaila is set that her mother’s death could have been prevented.
“This did not have to happen this way”.
Photo credits: 7news
