A 32-year-old woman is paralyzed after doctors mistakenly injected antiseptic instead of anesthetic during what should have been a routine epidural, The Age reported.
Grace Wang was in labor, about to give birth to her first child, when the mistake happened. Now, her nervous system has been poisoned, and she is in pain, unable to walk or sit and cannot hold her baby. She recently had surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain.
The baby, named Alexander Zheng, was born healthy. Alexander does not appear to have any side effects from the medical mistake.
Wang’s husband, Jason Zheng, said he is pursing legal action, as he is unsure whether she will get better.
"It’s like we are ignoring that we have a son," Zheng said. "Every day she’s suffering and she says she wants to give up. She was crying last night when she touched her son. I just want to change my body to hers."
Managers at St. George Hospital in Sydney, Australia, admitted they made a mistake and promised to help the family, but could not explain how it happened.
"This is an extremely distressing case and I offer my sincere apologies," said the state’s Minister for Health, Carmel Tebbutt.
Tebbutt said further investigations will take place.
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