A young woman named Alyssa Gilderhus was taken to a local hospital where it had been determined that she was suffering from a ruptured brain aneurysm, a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention.
The doctors took action by shaving her head and drilling a hole in her skull to help relieve the pressure on her brain.
Knowing this could very well be the end of Alyssa’s young life, her parents requested that she be taken to the Mayo Clinic, a world-famous medical center as they attempted to provide their daughter with the best care possible.
“They’re the best. People come from all over the world to go to Mayo,” said Alyssa’s mother, Amber Engebretson.
Eventually, she was transferred to Mayo and the surgeons gave her a 2% chance to live. In spite of this negative prognosis, Alyssa pulled through and survived after four brain surgeries.
It wasn’t until Alyssa entered the hospital’s rehab facility that conflict ensued.
Her mother had become disruptive to the hospital’s staff to the point where she had to be asked to leave the facility after she requested four different medical professionals be taken off her care team.
Ms. Engebretson confirmed this in a message she posted on Facebook
“I HAVE BEEN TOLD I AM NOT ALLOWED IN ALYSSA’S ROOM AND NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY SAY OR PARTICIPATE IN HER CARE. … I AM NOT ALLOWED TO SEE HER!! We have been given no reason why, no paperwork, and no explanations,” she continued. “I never imagined something like this could happen in our world and a very hard situation already has been made even harder!!”
Alyssa, who was legally an adult, requested she be transferred again, but she never heard back on this request.
“They refuse to let her go,” said Alyssa’s mother. We cannot transfer [Alyssa] out or get her discharged. No one has any say in [Alyssa’s care] and she is basically a prisoner of Mayo.”
Her grandmother would also confirm this assertion, saying that “She was truly being held captive. “I would never believe a hospital could do that — never in my wildest dreams.”
After the family became fed up with the hospital’s handling of the situation, they attempted to “escape.”
A dying teenager's parents begged for her to be sent to the Mayo Clinic.
The family says the world-renowned hospital saved her life, then tried to "medically kidnap" her. https://t.co/aoZvazZxNS
— CNN International (@cnni) August 13, 2018
Alyssa was wheeled out to a car that was waiting to take her away from Mayo, but two nurses ran after her screaming “No!”
They attempted to restrain the patient from entering the vehicle by grabbing her arm, to which her mother cried, “Get your hands off my daughter.”
Officers were called in a reported “patient abduction,” and a search ensued for Alyssa and her family.
They had taken her to Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, a teaching hospital for the University of South Dakota, and advised the doctors that they had left Mayo against their medical advice.
Unlike Mayo, this hospital believed she was well enough to go home and be with her loved ones.
Alyssa’s health has improved since and her mother “could not be more proud.”
Featured Image Via Google Images/Wikimedia Commons
