Woman paralyzed after a Nashville hospital gave her a drug used for lethal injection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx28JHGbceo

A routine knee replacement surgery has left a 72-year-old Tennessee woman paralyzed from the chest down after her family says she was given the wrong medication during an epidural procedure at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown in Nashville.

Glenda Dorton, of Centerville, Tennessee, underwent the procedure on August 14. Her family says she was supposed to receive the anesthetic bupivacaine through an epidural, but the medication administered instead was potassium chloride.

Four Patients Were Affected

Dorton was reportedly one of four patients affected by the medication incident at the hospital that day. All four were undergoing joint-replacement procedures. Hospital officials acknowledged that patients were harmed and said the incident was reported to state regulators.

The hospital has apologized to the affected families and said it launched an investigation, identified the cause of the incident and implemented additional safety measures. Officials have not publicly released detailed information about the other patients because of privacy concerns.

Dorton Woke Up Unable to Feel Her Lower Body

According to Dorton's family, she knew something was wrong when she woke up after surgery.

Her daughter-in-law, Kristina Buell, said Dorton experienced a burning sensation and could not feel or move her legs. Doctors later determined she had suffered paralysis from approximately the chest down.

Dorton was transferred to another Ascension facility, where doctors reportedly drained spinal fluid and placed her on a ventilator while attempting to limit the damage. Her family remains hopeful that some of her condition can improve.

Investigation Underway

The incident has prompted an investigation by state health officials. The hospital has said it has implemented corrective safeguards following its internal review.

Potassium chloride is normally used to treat certain medical conditions when appropriately administered, but concentrated potassium can cause severe or potentially fatal complications when given incorrectly. The medication has also historically been used as part of lethal-injection protocols, which has drawn additional attention to the case.

Dorton's family says they are focused on her recovery and on understanding how the medication error happened so that a similar incident does not happen to another patient.