Teenage girl dies from diabetes just HOURS after doctor ignored warning signs and gave her sleeping pills instead

Thursday, March 24, 2016 by: Julie Wilson staff writer
Tags: type 1 diabetes, medical negligence, sleeping pills

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(NaturalNews) Claire Taylor, 17, had a bright future ahead of her, with aspirations of becoming a dietician someday. But due to what some are calling negligent care, Taylor will never get the chance to fulfill her dreams.

Things started to go downhill for the teen in 2012 when she began experiencing an array of unusual symptoms including stomach pain, vomiting, sunken cheeks and a pale, purple-like complexion.

Taylor, from Angus, Scotland, had been sick for about two months, exhibiting signs of weight loss, cold hands and difficulty communicating, but her symptoms were reportedly overlooked by her primary care physician, Dr. Michelle Watts, who failed to perform the proper testing, instead prescribing the girl sleeping pills.

An overlooked diagnosis

The teenager visited Dr. Watts on several occasions but never received a diagnosis until after it was too late. Two days after Taylor last saw her doctor, she passed away suddenly in the early hours of November 8, 2012.

Her death was later determined to be a result of type 1 diabetes, a disease associated with hereditary factors as well as inflammation and changes to the microbiome. Children under the age of 14 are at the highest risk of developing type 1 diabetes, which is often associated with symptoms such as increased thirst, extreme hunger, weight loss, changes in mood, blurred vision, weakness and fatigue, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Taylor's family is taking legal action against Dr. Watts, and has accused her of keeping "dishonest and misleading" records, reports the Daily Mail. While admitting that she failed to accurately recognize the girl's symptoms, Dr. Watts maintains that her record keeping was accurate.

But her family isn't so sure. The doctor failed to follow protocol when she did not test the girl's urine, said the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, which is considering whether or not Dr. Watts should be allowed to continue practicing.

After Taylor refused to submit to a pin prick test for blood sugar analysis, Dr. Watts took no further action, and omitted the girl's refusal in her reports.

"High levels of ketones can poison the body"

Despite returning to the teen's home after her health continued to deteriorate, Dr. Watts still failed to recognize signs of diabetic ketoacidosis, "a serious condition that can lead to diabetic coma (passing out for a long time) or even death," according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

"When your cells don't get the glucose they need for energy, your body begins to burn fat for energy, which produces ketones. Ketones are chemicals that the body creates when it breaks down fat to use for energy. The body does this when it doesn't have enough insulin to use glucose, the body's normal source of energy. When ketones build up in the blood, they make it more acidic. They are a warning sign that your diabetes is out of control or that you are getting sick," the ADA warns. "High levels of ketones can poison the body."

Dr. Watts reportedly did not perform an abdominal examination either, although the teen complained of severe stomach pain. She also declined to put together a plan for "appropriate management," instead choosing to prescribe Taylor diazepam, a sedative used to treat anxiety, muscles spasms and seizures.

Insufficient record keeping

Only after Taylor died did tests reveal that the girl was suffering from a complication of type 1 diabetes that required urgent treatment. The Daily Mail reports that Dr. Watts did not document Taylor's symptoms correctly, wrongly recording that she had "no abdominal pain" and "no new symptoms," before prescribing her a seemingly useless pharmaceutical drug.

Taylor's family asserts Dr. Watts avoided documenting the new symptoms in an effort to safeguard what could be viewed as malpractice. The doctor disavows accusations of improper record-keeping.

Dr. Watts could lose her medical license pending an investigation.

The teen's family says her illness was progressive. "The virus got steadily worse," the girl's mother said before the test results were known. "She'd been getting weaker and weaker and she just slipped away. We had 17 beautiful years with her and we'll always remember the good times."

Taylor's family is now dedicated to raising awareness about type 1 diabetes, a condition normally diagnosed in children and young adults that affects around 10 percent or less of diabetics.

Approximately 18,000 American youth have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, according to data from 2008 through 2009 released in a report by the CDC.

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

Drugs.com

Diabetes.org

Diabetes.org

MayoClinic.org

Diabetes.org

AIHW.gov.au^[PDF]

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov

Science.NaturalNews.com