An Illinois woman suffering from severe back pain has discovered an epidural needle lodged into her spine more than 14 years after she gave birth.
Amy Bright, 41, of De Soto, Illinois, gave birth to her youngest son, Jacob, at Florida’s Naval Hospital Jacksonville in 2003. Just two months after giving birth, however, she began experiencing severe back pain that has only gotten worse over the last 14 years, and a recent CT scan revealed the cause of the pain: a portion of an epidural needle has been lodged in her spine since the day she gave birth.
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“I was absolutely livid and upset and scared,” Bright told PEOPLE. “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.”
According to Bright, she has suffered nerve damage along with back pain, making it progressively more difficult for her to use her left leg and foot. Doctor’s initially diagnosed her with sciatica until the November CT scan revealed the needle, two centimeters of which is directly “buried into the bone.” Now, doctors are telling Bright that removing the needle could leave her paralyzed.
“It has gotten to the point where it just burns constantly. I’m very scared of my future. [My leg] is getting weaker,” Bright says. “I’m probably going to be in a wheelchair. It’s scary because I don’t know.”
Bright and her attorney, Sean Cronin, are accusing the hospital staff of fraud and malpractice, claiming that they were aware that a portion of the epidural needle had broken off and remained in Bright’s body, but they chose to do nothing about it.
“This is something that was not disclosed. 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,” Cronin said.
Bight and Cronin have since filed a complaint against the hospital and are planning to file a lawsuit in the coming months.
