A mother was unable to walk due to a brain aneurysm after she was discharged from A&E on paracetamol.
Moji Akinremi, 65, from Newham, has been in hospital for eight weeks, while his family questioned whether his brain damage would have been this great had doctors acted sooner.
She first experienced back pain and headaches in early February which lasted for several weeks until the pain became unbearable.
According to Ms Akinremi’s daughter, 40-year-old Kehinde, the mother was taken to A&E by a friend and waited hours to be seen by a doctor.
“My mom was always fit and healthy and never suffered from any underlying conditions,” said Kehinde.
Moji Akinremi, 65, unable to walk due to a brain aneurysm after she was sent home from A&E on paracetamol
The mother first experienced back pain and headaches in early February which lasted for several weeks until the pain was unbearable
Her daughter said they eventually took a blood sample but the tests showed nothing, so Ms Akinremi was sent home on paracetamol and referred back to her GP for an X-ray.
“I left work to meet him because he had come home from A&E,” said Kehinde.
‘He’s just a little stiff. That’s all I can say. He still talks, walks well and just laughs and jokes as usual.
’ We told him “if you are not feeling well let us know”. I’m afraid they don’t do scans at A&E. I’m also worried that he will have to wait a long time for a doctor’s appointment so we are thinking of going private.’
Kehinde went to see her mother again two days later, and said she was still dealing with back pain and headaches. On Saturday things quickly escalated.
“I got another call from my mum’s friend saying they were at A&E again,” Kehinde continued.
‘He told me the pain was getting worse and my mum seemed a bit confused at this point. I immediately went to the hospital and said to the doctor “my mom came in on Tuesday, she was discharged but it was clear something was wrong. She’s a 65 year old woman, she has a headache and she’s in a lot of pain. Please can you do something?”.’
After being persistent enough, Kehinde said the doctor agreed to do a CT scan.
According to Ms Akinremi’s daughter, 40-year-old Kehinde, the mother was taken to A&E by a friend and waited hours to be seen by a doctor.
From here they discovered Ms Akinremi was suffering from bleeding in the brain. He was immediately transferred to the Royal London Hospital where further tests showed a ruptured aneurysm.
“They thought he was suffering for three to four weeks,” said Kehinde.
‘Even though she had a headache, the mother mainly complained of back pain, so we assumed it was her back. We didn’t know back pain was a symptom of a brain aneurysm. It makes sense now that the spine and brain are connected. But like most people, we don’t know about all the symptoms that present themselves.’
Two days later, Akinremi underwent emergency surgery to save his life. But he ended up having two more surgeries due to various complications. These include secondary cerebral hemorrhage, seizures and vasospasm.
He also has post-traumatic Hhydrocephalus – a condition in which there is excess fluid in the brain that causes dangerous pressure. Therefore, he was fitted with a VP shunt in his head to drain the fluid that had accumulated in a tube into his stomach.
The impact of the aneurysm has caused significant brain damage and disability in Ms Akinremi.
He is still bedridden at the Royal London Hospital. He couldn’t walk and his arms were shaking a lot. Additionally, he suffers from severe memory loss.
“He knows who my brother and I are but he can’t remember what day it is and sometimes he gets really confused and doesn’t know where he is,” Kehinde explained. While they said the treatment at Royal London was outstanding, Kehinde and her two brothers wondered if things would have been different if doctors had acted sooner.
At this time doctors reportedly do not know if or when Ms Akinremi will regain her mobility and cognitive function
“The five day gap between our mom’s first visit to A&E and her first surgery was so important,” says Kehinde.
“When he first went to A&E he was in a lot of pain but he was so much stronger.” He has had this brain hemorrhage for weeks but is yet to feel the full effects of it. And then a few days after going to A&E he got really bad.
“I hope they scan him straight away instead of referring him back to the GP.” They’ll find the aneurysm and, maybe because he’s stronger at that point, he won’t have so many complications and so much damage.’
A spokesperson for Barts Health NHS Trust said: ‘We continue to provide Ms Akinremi with the best possible care at this difficult time. We take any concerns raised very seriously and will be reviewing the care he is receiving at Newham Hospital.’
At this time, doctors reportedly do not know if or when Ms Akinremi will regain her mobility and cognitive function. They have asked him to go to a rehab center, which will be crucial to his recovery, but the waiting list is at least four to six weeks.
Kehinde and his family are raising money to cover the cost of the private unit. They also hope to adapt Ms Akinremi’s home for her post recovery.
“Our mother was always a very strong independent woman,” said Kehinde. ‘When my twin sisters and I were eight years old and when our brother was a baby, our father passed away. Mother raised us alone after that. So the three of us are trying our best to make sure he is okay and taken care of.’
She added: ‘As well as a dedicated rehabilitation centre, we wanted to make sure our mum had an amazing space to come back to. Before he fell ill, he worked in catering and he loved cooking Nigerian food.
“We want to make the kitchen easy to use and, if she’s in a wheelchair, we plan to install ramps.” We also want to build a bathroom downstairs. Our mother thought about retiring not long before she became ill. So ultimately we want him to enjoy his retirement and live as independently as possible.’
Source: | This article originally belonged to Dailymail.co.uk
