Fourteen years after she gave birth to her son Jacob at Florida’s Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Amy Bright’s doctors discovered a one-inch piece of epidural needle lodged in her spine, People reports.
According to Bright, two months after her C-section delivery in 2003, she began experiencing severe back pain that has persisted ever since. She’s also suffered nerve damage that has made it increasingly difficult for her to move her left leg and foot. Though doctors initially diagnosed her with sciatica, in November 2017, a CT scan revealed the old portion of needle.
“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.”
Bright has filed a lawsuit against the Jacksonville hospital where her C-section was performed. Her attorney, Sean Cronin, alleges that the Jacksonville hospital staff must have known the needle was in her because such a large portion had broken off.
“I don’t know what my future holds,” Bright said. “I’m very paranoid and scared. The reflexes in my legs are affected already. I’m trying to make arrangements for [physical] therapy, I’ll probably be in that for the rest of my life. I’ll probably going to be on medication for the rest of my life. I’m trying to prepare for my future and the help and support I’m going to need.”
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