Daniel Wilkinson, Purple Heart vet, waited seven hours to be admitted to an ICU in Texas before he passed away.
He needed to have a gallstone removed, but doctors couldn’t find an ICU bed that was available.
His mom stated that he returned from Afghanistan with two Purple Hearts and a gallstone.
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Because doctors couldn't locate an empty ICU bed for him, a veteran who had served in Afghanistan twice died Sunday from a treatable illness.
Gallstone pancreatitis was the cause of Daniel Wilkinson's death. This condition causes pancreatic inflammation that can become serious. According to KPRC (a local NBC affiliate), Wilkinson waited seven hour for an ICU bed in Texas, before he died.
Michelle Puget, Wilkinson's mother, took him to Texas' emergency room on Saturday. A doctor advised that he have a gallstone removed in an ICU.
Puget explained to KPRC that the doctor tried to find him an ICU room. "He stated, "We have been denied so far." He stated, "We have called Texas and Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado, and Colorado.
The family discovered that Wilkinson was available at another Texas hospital. After many hours spent trying to locate him, Wilkinson, a Purple Heart vet and an ICU veteran, they were finally able to make arrangements for Wilkinson's transfer. They made arrangements to fly him there by helicopter.
KPRC reported that Wilkinson's organs had already shut down.
Puget stated that he believed the doctors did everything possible to save his life once he was taken. "But... it had taken [seven] hours. It was something that had to be addressed immediately.
Puget stated on CBS that "he loved his country." "He was deployed twice in Afghanistan and returned home with a Purple Heart. It was a gallstone which took him out."
Due to rising coronavirus cases, ICU beds are scarce in many parts of the country. This makes it difficult for doctors to make tough medical decisions. Insider was told by a Mississippi hospital that its staff has decided to cancel life-altering heart and brain surgeries due to a shortage of ICU beds.
A Texas judge warned parents that their child would die first before they can be admitted to the ICU. A man who had been shot six times recently was told to wait at most a week before he could have vital surgery.
Texas continues to see an increase in positive coronavirus cases. Texas had more than 13700 COVID-19-positive patients as of Friday. There were only 325 ICU beds available.
