A mother was to the moon when she gave birth to Jacob, her youngest son, at Florida’s Naval Hospital Jacksonville 14 years ago.
Two months after her C-section delivery, Amy Bright started to experience back pain. Over the years, she has suffered nerve damage that made it hard for her to use her left leg and foot.
Doctors first diagnosed her with sciatica but a CT scan in 2017 revealed the underlying cause of her 14-year struggle: a part of a needle had been stuck in her spine since the day she gave birth to her son.
Bright said to People: “I was absolutely livid and upset and scared. Every time I move and walk and bend and twist and sleep, that needle moves inside my spine. For 14 years, I’ve been creating scar tissue in my spine from this needle moving. I’m angry.”
The frustrated mother and her attorney, Sean Cronin, say that a large part of a spinal needle broke off and lodged in her lower back when medical staff at the hospital administered spinal anesthesia during Bright’s C-section.
Bright and Cronin are accusing the hospital staff of malpractice and fraud, claiming that they were aware of the piece of a needle stuck in her body but did nothing to remove or mention it.
“This is something that was not disclosed,” Cronin said.
“These needles are about 9 or 10 centimeters and they have a tip on the end that the provider is supposed to inspect to make sure they have the whole needle. They knew this was in her, according to our experts, because so much of the needle was missing. And the safety tip is still in her.”
Bright added: “It has gotten to the point where it just burns constantly. I’m very scared of my future. [My leg] is getting weaker.
“I’m probably going to be in a wheelchair. It’s scary because I don’t know.”
Experts and doctors told Bright that removing the needle now could leave her paralyzed but Cronin alleges her prognosis would’ve been different had medical staff removed the trapped needle immediately.
“There was a golden window of opportunity for them to remove the needle,” Cronin said. “By them not disclosing what had happened, it took that chance away from her.”
Bright continued: “I don’t know what my future holds. I’m very paranoid and scared. The reflexes in my legs are affected already. I’m trying to make arrangements for [physical] therapy, I’ll probably be in that for the rest of my life.
“I’ll probably going to be on medication for the rest of my life. I’m trying to prepare for my future and the help and support I’m going to need.”
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