Rory Staunton, 12, was discharged from a New York emergency room last March as his body was in the throes of septic shock, an action that resulted in the boy’s death three days later.
Results of a blood test that would have saved his life were ignored by hospital staff, and now Rory’s grief-stricken Irish immigrant parents, Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, are determined that no other family will suffer the same tragic fate.
The Stauntons, who appeared on the NBC Today Show on Wednesday are seeking to create a “Rory’s Law” in New York to ensure that parents have full access to blood and lab tests done on their children as soon as results are available, and that a doctor will be present to assess the findings.
Rory’s heart-rending story is again in the news due to a lengthy report by Jim Dwyer in The New York Times last Thursday which exposed a series of major errors by Rory's pediatrician and emergency room staff at NYU Langone Medical Center who diagnosed him with a stomach virus – even though blood tests taken at the hospital showed clear evidence of a raging septic infection taking root in his defenseless body. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd also wrote about the case.
The blood results, though, were never acted upon by the pediatrician, Dr. Susan Levitzky, or the attending physicians at NYU who released Rory to his parents’ care with the diagnosis of a stomach virus.
The next day, however, with his condition severely worsened, Rory was brought back to the emergency room where his parents were given the devastating reality – their only son was gravely ill, suffering from septic shock likely obtained from a basketball game cut at school two days earlier. Rory died in the hospital two days later, on Sunday, April 1.
If the blood tests taken on Rory’s first visit to the emergency room were acted upon he would have been prescribed a strong series of IV antibiotics that would have saved his life. Now the Stauntons are mounting an effort to pass Rory’s Law to avoid a similar tragedy occurring in the future.
“Parents shouldn’t have to wait until their child is dead to see blood work results,” a broken-hearted Ciaran Staunton told the Irish Voice on Tuesday.
The Stauntons, also parents to 10-year-old Kathleen, have traveled to Albany to meet with state officials about the effort, and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. They are also liaising with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office with an eye towards introducing Rory’s Law early next year.
“What happened to Rory wasn’t a failing of human nature. It was professional incompetence. Rory’s blood work was right in front of their eyes and they did nothing until it was too late,” Staunton, a native of Co. Mayo and owner of two Irish bars/restaurants in New York, said.
The Stauntons, residents of Sunnyside, Queens, have been trying to pick up the pieces since bringing their first born child back to Orlaith’s hometown of Drogheda, Co. Louth, for burial alongside his grandparents. But knowing that their son was disastrously misdiagnosed has made the healing process that much harder, they say.
“We live with this tragedy every day, 24 hours a day. It will never end for us. Ever,” Staunton said.
The dynamic life that Rory lived was highlighted by The New York Times, both in Dwyer’s piece and a Sunday op-ed column by Maureen Dowd, who reached out to hero airplane pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, an idol of aspiring aviator Rory. Sullenberger, who miraculously guided a US Airways flight onto the surface of the Hudson River in 2009, saving 155 lives in the process, is an advocate for patient safety standards in hospitals, and has contacted the Staunton family to offer support.
On Wednesday, July 18, the Today show will feature a segment about Rory’s death in its 8 a.m. hour. The Stauntons will talk about the shocking loss of their boy who not only wanted to fly above the world, but was also determined to make it a better place through his interest in politics and civil rights.
Septic shock awareness has increased dramatically since the Times articles and other media coverage, and the Stauntons have taken some solace knowing that Rory’s tragedy will unquestionably help to save lives in the future.
“We now know of many emergency rooms throughout the country who have taken Jim Dwyer’s article and used it as a tool to improve their patient practices,” said Staunton, who also created a website,www.rorystaunton.com, both as a tribute to his son and as a portal to highlight septic shock awareness.
“Things will change. They have to. But they won’t change for us, unfortunately. Our Rory was destined for great things, and now he’ll never have the chance to realize his dreams.”
12 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Sandy Brady | Jul 18, 2012, 08:50 PM EDT
Condolences to the parents and family. With due consideration and resspect of their efforts, they are missing the point and root cause of their son's horrific death. They should be devoting their efforts to getting the Federal Government, including President Obama and the Executive Branch, and the Congress to enforce the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and get the ill designed electronic medical record devices that governed their son's care vetted for safety, efficacy, and usability. At present, these medical devices have NO surveillance or premarket safety assessment as a medical device. NONE. ZERO! Little does the public know that the electronic medical record of that ER, due to flaws in design, likely, was the culprit, the root cause of his death. Its failure to notify(a national crisis in EMR run care) that there was a new result impeded the doctors from seeing and connecting the dots to diagnose the criticality of Rory in a timely manner. There have been innumerable deaths because of this. Rory was a guinea pig for the hospital and the EMR vendor. The doctors, in a way, too, are guineq pigs.
jamieLM | Jul 18, 2012, 06:00 PM EDT
@agree with blackbearpause. Too many mistakes are caused by miscommunication and often by understaffed labs and overworked people.
Searlit | Jul 18, 2012, 05:15 PM EDT
Count me in for the establishment of 'Rory's Law'. Having Rory's name attached to a law protecting children will make people think twice before they ignore red flags in the test results.
blackbearpause | Jul 18, 2012, 03:56 PM EDT
As a nurse I know unfortunately they are way over worked and often lab results can not always be immediately addressed. But anything of the critical levels should be immediately called to the MD and nurses by the lab itself. The lab should also get the name of the person they delivered the message to. All to often lab results are just faxed to other persons. This should not be the case with critical lab values.This is clearly the results of poor communication between departments.
mkayb48 | Jul 18, 2012, 03:28 PM EDT
So sad... As an emergency room nurse I have to wonder when health care workers have become so negligent and so untrained not to notice when someone is seriously ill. My heart and prayers go out to this family.
KathyCallahan | Jul 18, 2012, 02:30 PM EDT
Medical doctors and other health care professionals as well as state licensing boards are highly motivated to follow and uphold laws and regulations.
IrishDragoon | Jul 18, 2012, 12:37 PM EDT
I'm very sorry about what happened to Rory, but I have to agree with the poster who said that we do NOT need "another law". We already have plenty. Rory's folks (as well as anyone else who suffers this fate) already have wide avenues for recourse. The "There ought to be a law!" mentality has done far more harm than good. That which governs best governs least.
IrishDragoon | Jul 18, 2012, 11:35 AM EDT
It's a bit silly creating a law that tells people to do their job. The hospital staff failed this young boy. The doctor is guilty of gross malpractice leading to the death of Rory. She has already committed a crime so why do we need another law? Such tear jerk action is used by politicians for self publication with no obvious benefit to society. Instead of creating new laws, existing laws should be used to prosecute any contravention.
KathyCallahan | Jul 18, 2012, 11:17 AM EDT
Rory's Law will happen. I was the creator of statewide petition and force behind the Jeffrey Curley Law in MA. From petition to voting in MA assembly to Governor Celucci signing the law as I stood to the right of him in the corner office with my sisters by my side...It took 4 weeks...I'm praying for Rory's Law and am happy to help in any way that I can...Kathy To this day Jeffrey Curley is well remembered in MA...His tragic death was not in vain.
bunkerhill | Jul 18, 2012, 10:49 AM EDT
We also saw Rory's parents on NBC this morning and applaud them for what they are doing. Rory is probably looking down so proud. I read the previous post from JamieLN an R.N.,and I know of two cases where nurses saved the lives of the children involved. It has always amazed me that these two nurses instantly knew the extent of the problem while the doctors involved did not. God bless nurses as they are invaluable. I recall a time after an operation when a kindly young nurse came to see me before I left to tell me what to expect in the coming year. I will never forget her and always pass her information on to friends after operations.
jamieLM | Jul 18, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT
I saw Rory's parents this morning on the Today show. I'm just sorry we need to have a "law" like this (should've already been standard good medical practice) and that Rory had to die in order to bring it about. In all cases, if you think something is seriously wrong because your child isn't responding to treatment, advocate for your child by demanding answers, getting 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions, and don't let the medical personnel make light of your concerns. Go with your instincts and make a lot of noise. I'm not blaming Rory's parents for this fiasco. The medical personnel failed them and Rory due to their gross incompetence. As an RN, you wouldn't be able to print what I think of Rory's pediatrician. My sincere condolences to Rory's family for his needless death. I applaud their efforts to make sure that others might live because of Rory.
joan1954 | Jul 18, 2012, 10:23 AM EDT
I hope Rory's law will not only benefit New York but the nation. It is not just in New York that these things happen but elsewhere.