If you haven’t already heard, Congressman Mike Coffman has been running a series of ads attacking Sen. Morgan Carroll’s record of standing up for Colorado families. On the radio, or at home on TV, you will find an unnamed, unseen woman speaking on his behalf, taking extra care to try to smear Morgan by calling her a legislator who has made it easier to hold medical professionals accountable. That is one thing I can guarantee is true about Morgan Carroll, but it doesn’t make her a villain. It makes her my champion, the one person who has done the most to support me and my family after years of struggle and pain, and the one public servant who listened to my story and has given me the opportunity to transform a tragedy into betterment for all our fellow Coloradans.
My son, Michael Skolnik, had a seizure at 22. Mike was an EMT, a nursing student. My husband and I rushed him to the ER, where they found a three-millimeter cyst in his brain. We immediately sought out a second opinion, trying to make sure we got the best care for our only child. The neurosurgeon told us we only had 48 hours, and that Michael needed to go into surgery as soon as possible. He assured us the procedure would be relatively simple, only three hours, he’d performed many such surgeries before, and Mike’s life was on the line. We did what any parents would: we said yes.
The next morning, we received a message from our primary care physician. He told us to hold off, to wait for more information before pursuing treatment. But the neurosurgeon said the primary care Physician was incorrect. He had obtained Michael’s signature the night before while he was under the influence of strong narcotics–failing the criteria required for informed consent. Michael endured a six and half hour surgery and not the three hour surgery he originally quoted us to remove a cyst that was never even found. After which he would never be the same.
That was September 21, 2001. From that point on, Michael lived a parents’ nightmare that I could never wish on anyone. Michael suffered greatly from maladies including paralysis, psychosis, and respiratory arrest for five months in ICU for systemic infections, pulmonary embolism, sepsis, additional surgeries and more. He was partially blinded, and unable to walk or speak. As much as we hurt from watching the pain of our son, he lost his future, his ability to take part in this world.
Michael passed away on June 4, 2004. My husband David stood by his bed. Michael looked up to his father and mouthed “I love you”, his last words.
All of this because of a surgery we later learned was unnecessary, performed by a doctor who had not conducted “many” such surgeries but only one before operating on our son, and who had a history of malpractice.
No one should have to suffer through a story like ours because of lack of information and medical error. After the loss of my son, I quit my job and founded Citizens for Patient Safety (CPS), in aims of saving anyone from the suffering that Michael did. I have done all I can–traveling worldwide to educate consumers and train medical professionals through CPS–to reduce medical harm and promote transparency, but private citizens can only do so much alone. In 2006, immediately after speaking with me, Morgan Carroll, set to work on the bill that became the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act. House Bill 07-1331, our Michael’s Act, became law March 22, 2007 because of Morgan Carroll with the help of Colorado Medical Society who shaped and strongly supported the measure. Because of Morgan, everyone in Colorado now has the right to access information about their doctors, from malpractice and discipline history to board certifications to past affiliations with hospitals and health care facilities. This information serves as a starting point for discussions about quality of care between patients and doctors, and if any doctor, like the neurosurgeon, who improperly treated my son–has a malpractice settlement on his record, patients can ask about it and learn the circumstances.
That law, that fight which Coffman hopes to use as a black mark for Morgan’s character, exists because of me. Because of my son. And it exists to prevent any of our neighbors from having to go through what we did, because when Morgan finds injustice in our communities, our workplace, our bureaucracies, special interests, and our world, she sets out to discover how she can make it right. That’s the Morgan Carroll I have come to know as my representative who has represented and served us these past 10 years. For my family, and at least for the countless families across the state who have suffered because of unnecessary medical procedures, we know Morgan fights for us. And I know she’ll fight for you too
Patty Skolnik, Founder and President/CEO of Citizens for Patient Safety.