Illinois

David Rapier
Urbana, IL

David Rapier was born prematurely, and had a number of problems as a result. By the time he was 6, his body functioned normally in most respects but his lungs were still prone to have problems, including asthma.

When he was 6, David contracted a respiratory infection and was running a temperature. His regular doctor was out of town so his parents took him to a night clinic for care. The clinic gave him an antibiotic and sent him home. However, he continued to get worse so his parents took him to the Emergency Room. He stayed overnight. The next day they went back to the doctor. The doctor admitted him to the hospital at 5:00 PM. They took his temperature when they admitted him and sent him to a room. A nurse later came in and observed that David was going into a pre-seizure condition. She called an emergency code and by the time the team arrived he was in full seizure and then went into cardiac arrest. Though the issue that brought him to the hospital in the first place was his elevated temperature, there was no temperature monitor put on him. David was rendered a quadriplegic, and lost all expressive ability. There is no chance of recovery, and he is now more prone to infection.

August 2004