Mom Discovers She Had a Botched Epidural From Giving Birth 14 Years Ago

Alright, folks, are you ready for your daily dose of “this story is so horrifying, it makes me want to jump out of my body?” If so, then we have quite the cautionary tale for you, straight from the source herself–an Illinois mother who ended up suffering years of needless pain, all at the hands of incompetent medical professionals.

But, we’re getting too far ahead of ourselves… Let’s first meet the subject of today’s story. Her name is Amy Bright, and all the way back in 2003, she gave birth to her son, Jacob, at Florida’s Naval Hospital Jacksonville.

Like many mothers, Bright received an epidural, which was given to her prior to her C-section. Although Jacob was fine after the birth, the mom, however, wasn’t.

You see, just eight weeks after her youngest son came into the world, Bright began experiencing intense lower back pain. Over the years, the mom of six has visited several different doctors where she was eventually diagnosed with sciatica. This lead to her being prescribed a bevy of addictive and mind-altering pain killers and muscle relaxers.

It wasn’t until a doctor finally ordered a CT scan of her back that the mystery behind Bright’s back pain was finally solved—it wasn’t sciatica, after all, it was 3 inches of a partial needle lodged in the mom’s back.

Yep, let that sink in for a moment.

The above scan shows that the needle is currently positioned “at L4 through the spinal canal and into the L4 vertebral body.”

Naturally, when Bright discovered the culprit behind her years of debilitating agony, she was incensed. In an interview with People, the unlucky patient recalls what it was like to finally find her pain’s source.

“I was absolutely livid and scared,” Bright says. “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.”

Yep, we would be angry, too! Especially considering that hospital staff likely knew that the needle broke off during the epidural. Her attorney, Sean Cronin, alleges that the 3 centimeters of the needle, including the 2 centimeters that are currently lodged in her bone, accounted for a third of the instrument—there’s no way they couldn’t have known!

“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,” Cronin explains. “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.”

Unsurprisingly, Bright has filed a complaint against the hospital with a potential malpractice lawsuit set to be filed soon. At this point, though, the mom is most worried about what implications this carelessness might have on her long-term health.

“It has gotten to the point where [my back] just burns constantly,” Bright says. “I’m very scared for my future. [My leg] is getting weaker. I’m probably going to be in a wheelchair. It’s scary because I don’t know.”

Jeeze, Louise, this one creeped us out. We sincerely hope that this woman gets the justice she deserves. Stay strong, Amy Bright!

We can’t wait to hear your take on this horrifying story of medical malpractice. Have you ever heard of this happening to anyone else? Did you suffer complications from an epidural? If so, what was your experience?