Denied pain meds, kidney stone sufferer says
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 | 1:18 PM NT
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
Randy Quinlan of Holyrood, N.L., collects the kidney stones that he passes in plastic containers to illustrate just how serious his condition is. (CBC)A kidney-stone sufferer alleges he has been mistreated by doctors in St. John's who suggest he's exaggerating his problem to get pain-killing drugs.
Randy Quinlan says he passes kidney stones at least once a month but he says some hospital doctors think it's a scam, and leave him to suffer without pain medication.
"My treatment has gone to nothing and I don't think I can continue to do it on my own. Sometimes its just too much pain," Quinlan said.
Quinlan has saved over a years worth of kidney stones. Enough to fill a dozen small jars, some stones are the size of a grain of sand, but others are as large as an apple seed and jagged like broken glass.
He says he started the collection after some doctors began to doubt that he was in pain.
For years, Quinlan has been going to the Health Science Centre in St. John's for treatment. He never had a problem until the oxycodone epidemic hit the streets.
Quinlan says he noticed a shift after Dr. Sean Buckingham was convicted on drug trafficking and sexual assault charges in 2007. Buckingham traded pain-killing drugs, such as Oxycontin and Percocet, for sex.
"I noticed after Buckingham had his scandal, that it was like policy changed at the hospital," said Quinlan.
He says a doctor once told him his jars of kidney stones could be jars of driveway gravel.
"It's so hard when a nurse comes in who knows you, and she looks at you with her sad eyes and says, 'He's not going to come in and see you,'" Quinlan said.
Share Tools
Latest Nfld. & Labrador News Headlines
- St. John's grapples with flood-related damage
- A weekend downpour in St. John's has kept city crews busy with scores of calls related to flooding and washed-out roads. more »
- Cat frozen to driveway gets warm rescue
- An injured full-grown male cat was rescued on Newfoundland's west coast Saturday afternoon after spending more than 24 hours frozen to a driveway. more »
- Call-back protocol for searches to be reviewed: MacKay
- Defence Minister Peter MacKay has asked for a review of the search and rescue protocol that puts the responsibility on searchers to call the military back for help. more »
- Accused murderer has assault trial postponed
- Ray Newman, who is accused of murdering his former wife five years ago, has again had a trial on lesser charges postponed. more »
Top News Headlines
- Whitney Houston's body headed home to New Jersey
- Whitney Houston's body was flown out of Los Angeles, and headed to New Jersey, where her family was making arrangements for a funeral at the end of the week. more »
- Mandatory gun sentence struck down by Ontario judge
- An Ontario Superior Court judge has struck down a mandatory minimum sentence for a first offence of possessing a loaded firearm. more »
- Online surveillance critics siding with child porn: Toews
- Critics of a bill that would give law enforcement new powers to access Canadians' electronic communications are aligning themselves with child pornographers, Canada's public safety minister says. more »
- Low vitamin D in womb tied to poor language skills
- Children born to women who had low levels of vitamin D during their pregnancy are more likely to have language problems, a new study suggests. more »
- A letter from a fisherman's daughter
- St. John's grapples with flood-related damage
- Russian men arrested after flight diverted to Labrador
- RNC cruiser caught in slippery Corner Brook collisions
- Storm lashes Newfoundland and Labrador
- Accused murderer has assault trial postponed
- Muskrat Falls hearings open amid criticism
- Cat frozen to driveway gets warm rescue
- Call-back protocol for searches to be reviewed: MacKay

