A North Texas family is speaking out after their loved one lost parts of both legs and was in critical condition after a routine gallbladder surgery went terribly wrong.
Airman 1st Class Colton Read, a 2007 graduate of Arlington's Sam Houston High School, fulfilled his childhood dream when he joined the Air Force, his family said.
The 20-year-old man was supposed to get his gallbladder removed laparoscopically -- via a small incision -- at Travis Air Force Base's David Grant Medical Center on July 9.
During the procedure, surgeons nicked or punctured his aorta, a large artery that carries blood from the heart throughout the body, according to his wife, Jessica Read. The surgeons repaired the breach enough to save his life, but the repair began leaking and disrupted the blood supply to his legs, she said.
Read was flown to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where doctors told the family that damage from the lack of blood required amputation. Family members say he's undergone 10 surgeries to remove dead tissue from his legs, leaving him without much of his right leg and the lower portion of his left.
And Read still hasn't had his gallbladder removed because of the surgery complications, relatives said.
Now the Air Force wants to medically discharge Read, leaving him with $1,600 a month and no additional compensation for the damage inflicted, his family said.
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Legal action is not an option because a 1950 Supreme Court ruling established that people injured as a result or during the course of military service can't sue the federal government for medical malpractice, the family said.
Travis officials would not comment on specifics, only saying a "serious medical incident" occurred at the hospital. The case is under investigation by the base, a national hospital accrediting commission and the U.S. surgeon general.
You can read updates on Read's progress and learn more about him through a Web site his family has created: http://www.coltonread.com.
