I'm a very proud mother of four wonderful young men and women who mean the world to me. My oldest son, who will be turning 31 years old on March 25th, has unexpectedly been in the hospital for over a month. He is a loving father of four beautiful daughters and as a family we are asking for help.

On February 9th, my 30-year-old son went to the emergency room in Terre Haute, IN. After a few hours and a few tests, he was sent home with a referral to an ENT (who never returned the message so he could schedule an appointment). But within a few hours, he had to return with shortness of breath and chest pains. After a quick examination by the emergency room doctor, he was making arrangements for my son to be seen in Indianapolis at St. Vincent Hospital because Union and Regional Hospitals didn't have an ENT consult. During the wait for the approval, the doctor noticed how bad my son's sleep apnea was and prescribed him oxygen, ordered blood work, and an MRI. Meanwhile, his heart rate and blood pressure were at a very dangerous level. My son arrived at St. Vincent Hospital emergency room by ambulance on February 11th and was quickly admitted. It's March 13th and he is still here with no answers. Jeremey is in MICU where he has been heavily sedated and on a ventilator for over 30 days. Despite having several tests done and consulting with numerous doctors, nobody has a clue what is wrong with him. If I had the means and I thought he was stable enough to survive the trip, I would have had him moved to another hospital. Please, no one ever let your loved one go to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital. I was warned by both current and past employees, from nursing staff to parking attendants, to never leave my son alone. Unfortunately, I have found this advice to be very true. I will not tell you that every nurse and other staff that I've encountered are horrible and unprofessional, but what I will say is the good, caring, and compassionate ones are few and far between. It is so incredibly scary that these are the people that hold our very lives in their hands. I have witnessed everything from medication being given and not charted to medication not being given and later on found hours later in my son's bed. Yes, a full syringe with a needle in the bed with my son. The nurses do what they want, not what is in my son's chart. Several times, the nurses are advised from shift to shift on the care of my son and the nurses ignored what was in the charts and said in the end of shift report, which ended in harm to my son.

I am asking for help with my son's care. To be moved to a different hospital. His insurance will not pay for the transfer.

I am asking for help with the financial burden from him being hospitalized for so long and not being able to provide for his children.

I am asking for help because as his mother I have been here advocating for him because he cannot speak for himself. I have not left the hospital and I have a child at home who I still have to provide for along with the cost of staying here at the hospital in another city.

Signed

A Desperate Mother