The 27-year-old woman claims her husband was only ever given phone appointments and doctors would not arrange to see him in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, his symptoms worsened and he was booked in for a gastroscopy over the phone. But, he needed to wait 3 months for the procedure, his wife said. The grieving widow claims her husband died of cancer at the age of 30 following a misdiagnosis. The mother of one says her husband’s misdiagnosis delayed vital treatment for the cancer in his digestive system. She also believes if he had had blood taken at the beginning, his condition would not have become terminal so quickly or possibly at all. The young woman also said that the doctor should have seen him in person after his symptoms worsened.
According to the 27-year-old woman, Sam Crawford, her husband, Charlie, vomited and after his gastroscopy, he was told he had a hiatus hernia. The woman also said that doctors didn’t book a follow-up appointment despite him being sick after eating. The 27-year-old mother also said that Charlie was only ever given phone appointments and doctors would not arrange to see him in person during the COVID-19 pandemic as his symptoms became more serious, The News reports.
In April 2021, the 30-year-old man was booked in for a gastroscopy. But, according to Sam, he needed to wait 3 months. His vomiting increased and doctors told him he had a hiatus hernia. Sam told The News that doctors didn’t book a follow-up appointment despite him being sick after eating. So, Sam and Charlie made daily calls to their doctor, but were only given tablets. In July 2021, Charlie reportedly collapsed at the surgery as his kidneys and liver were shutting down.
The doctors initially told the 30-year-old man that he had duodenal cancer and that it would be curable with a seven-hour operation. Unfortunately, he was later told he actually had ampullary cancer with a pancreatic sub-type instead. During an interview with the Mirror, the 27-year-old widow criticized the delays her husband faced as his condition worsened and accused doctors of not taking it seriously.
Sam Crawford reportedly told The News: “People should listen to their body rather than trust that the professionals always know what they are talking about because unfortunately it is not always the case as this very much shows. Just because you are young doesn’t mean what is wrong with you might not be serious or make you any less of a priority. You need to be your or your partner’s own advocate. Without seeing him the doctors referred him for a gastroscopy which wasn’t booked in until July 8. As they didn’t think it was anything serious, and Charlie has always been fit and healthy, we trusted the length of time he was being asked to wait.
The doctor we were due to see was on annual leave so they tried to cancel his appointment. I said we would not leave until a doctor had reviewed him in person so they arranged for the emergency doctor to speak to us. Charlie asked me to explain how he was feeling as he felt too unwell to speak. As I was explaining that we believed his symptoms too severe to be a hiatus hernia and that he had not kept food or drink down for weeks he fell onto the floor and began to fit. It turns out that he was so dehydrated his body had begun to shut down and his kidneys and liver function was almost non-existent. I called an ambulance and begged for the doctor to help Charlie. I was four months pregnant and really concerned that our baby would have been harmed from the stress.”
Charlie was admitted to the hospital on August 9 and put on a surgical ward. He reportedly underwent seven-hour surgery and spent 10 days in intensive care. Four months later, the cancer returned and this time it was terminal. The doctors told Charlie told that the cancer was in his stomach lining and now terminal, although it could be treated with chemotherapy. The unfortunate widow from U.K. believes if he had had blood taken at the beginning, his condition would not have become terminal so quickly or possibly at all. Sam also told The News that the doctor should have seen him in person after his symptoms worsened.
The hospital officials released the following statement: “We are all aware of this case, and know how desperately difficult it has been for the family – we offer our utmost sympathy, and have looked into the tragic events to see what, if anything, we could have done differently. I cannot discuss an individual case in public, but we would be keen to meet and talk with the family if that would help them, and that offer will remain in place for as long as necessary.”
Charlie’s friend has launched a GoFundMe page to ‘alleviate some of the pressure for his new family:’