I’m here sharing my story because something needs to change. Last year, in July 2025, my life took an unexpected turn. After a simple dip in the pool, my hand swelled to a concerning degree. It was just the beginning. Overwhelmed with worry, I went to the ER not once, but twice. They couldn’t pinpoint the issue and referred me to a surgeon. But he dismissed me quickly and said I need to go back to the ER, and if they don’t see a blood clot, he doesn’t want to see me again. After going to the ER and doing multiple images and ultrasounds, it was determined that I did not have a blood clot. The ER doctor did not know where to send me next, since the surgeon who sent me to the ER said he did not want to see me again unless I had a blood clot. This lack of urgency and desire not to investigate what was going on with me spiraled into a nightmare.

Four months passed, requiring visits to ten different providers. During that time, I endured uncertainty and escalating pain. I ended up getting a doctor to order the appropriate MRI, though I was skeptical of whether she could perform surgery on me or not. I had the same MRI sent to the surgeon who dismissed me because I didn’t have a blood clot. My MRI, long overlooked, finally caught the attention of that surgeon, revealing a need for surgery. But it was too late. Upon waking from the procedure, I was met with burning pain. Not to mention, I still needed to get rotator cuff, labrum, and cyst removal surgery the following week after waking up burning from the pec-minor surgery that was supposed to relieve my hand swelling and nerve pain. After getting both surgeries, I continued to do physical therapy and rehab for three months and gained very little progress. I kept telling myself that I had two major surgeries, and that if I kept working hard, the burning I continued to feel after the surgeries would go away. But that was not the case. On the third month, I ended up getting a really heavy feeling in my left arm again, and I sent a picture of my swollen hand to my surgeon who performed my pec-minor surgery. He told me to go to the emergency room, which was my fourth trip to the ER that year. After going to the emergency room, they discovered a blood clot this time. Thankfully, I had an appointment scheduled with my surgeon for the following Tuesday when I went to the ER on a Friday. After my surgeon got the imaging results back from my blood clot, he determined that I wasn’t an urgent matter. He rescheduled my appointment from the following Tuesday to 3 1/2 weeks out, stating that because he has cancer patients who are more of a priority, I needed to wait. Frustrated, but conditioned to the lack of urgency the medical system has treated me with, I accepted the reality of the situation and waited my turn to see my surgeon. Once I finally met with my surgeon—thankfully, my brother was with me to witness one of the most uncomfortable situations I’ve ever been in—instead of thinking logically about what could be wrong and why I got a blood clot, he started to accuse me of using intravenous drugs. He said that is a main reason why you get a blood clot in the area I got mine, then questioned why I was so thirsty during the meeting, and then accused me of always going too hard and being the cause of the recurring issues that I haven’t been able to get past post-procedure. He said there’s nothing he can do for me anymore and that I should go see a specialist because he’s out of options. Appalled by the meeting, I self-referred to a specialist, who within three days was able to get all of my documents and give me a real medical diagnosis for why I’m experiencing what I’m experiencing. He told me that I had Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, nicknamed CRPS, and that I needed to get treated immediately by a pain management specialist. It still shakes me to this day that I got accused of using intravenous drugs by the surgeon who operated on me, while another surgeon who does the exact same thing was able to figure out so quickly what I actually have. The nurse who helped me out during the visit to my surgeon where he accused me of using drugs came in afterwards and said that she’s never seen anybody be treated the way I’ve been treated. She said that she thinks there’s a racial issue going on here and that I need to be seen by somebody else, because she’s never seen anybody experience this at the office where she works. The delay was devastating—I had developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a severe nerve condition.

While being treated for CRPS, I had flare-ups from some of the procedures that were performed on me and ended up spending over 20 days in the hospital at one point. While I was at the hospital I was staying at, I had another uncomfortable experience with a night charge nurse. I had a couple of nurses participate in some of my blogging that I was doing to capture my experience of being in a hospital for 20 days. A few of my videos got a lot of views, and one of the managers at the hospital saw them. He kindly asked me not to have any of the nurses participate in my videos, but said that it was my right to record in my room and document my experience with the syndrome I’m going through. I 100% agreed with him and deleted the videos without him asking. I apologized and said if I would’ve known that was a problem, I never would have had them participate in the videos willingly. Mind you, I had my own room at the hospital for 20 days where I was able to have guests and private space for me personally because I was there so long with such an immense amount of pain. Instead of this being put to bed because it was a non-issue, a nightmare nurse started to gossip about me having a phone issue and secretly recording people while they were taking care of me, which was not the case. I never secretly recorded anybody. The nurses who were in three of my videos willingly participated in them, and it was quite obvious that they were participating in them. She told nurses who were going to take care of me to watch out for me and to make sure that I don’t secretly record them, which made me feel uncomfortable when other nurses confronted me about the issue, saying, "I can’t believe she would say that. I can tell by talking to you and by your attitude that you would never secretly record anybody." This made me so uncomfortable that I went and talked to the nightmare nurse about it, asking if she could please stop spreading misinformation about me secretly recording people, because I would never do that and it feels like defamation of character when I’m trying to peacefully heal at this hospital. She then rolled her eyes at me, said she’s doing her job, and then continued to tell her supervisor that I yelled at her instead of telling him the truth—that I went and talked to her peacefully about the misinformation she was spreading. This became such an issue that the hospital staff told me she wasn’t going to be working there until I left. I also talked to the manager in the morning, who apologized for communicating with his staff inappropriately about the situation and said he should’ve addressed them differently, because how she was talking about it was not at all how it went down. It was obvious that she was adding gossip to the fire and making other people feel uncomfortable alongside myself. So not only was I not allowed to feel comfortable at the hospital when she started to spread gossip, but when I talked to her about it, she lied and said I yelled at her, which painted me out to be some type of angry Black man when all I was trying to do was heal from one of the most severe nerve conditions a human can have. I told her that I already feel super uncomfortable in my own skin and now I’m starting to feel uncomfortable at this hospital. Additionally, she spread lies about the videos I was taking, saying that the staff who were participating in them were talking crap about the hospital. This was such a lie that the nurse who willingly participated in my videos filed a complaint to HR about her, because she was also telling colleagues at the hospital that the nurse who participated in the videos was in trouble when that was not true at all. The nurse was not in trouble, just like my issue was no longer an issue after talking with the manager and deleting the videos willingly, as I never secretly recorded anybody. This was such an uncomfortable situation. Unfortunately, all the looks I got and all the extra eyes really made my healing experience deeply uncomfortable when I was stuck in the hospital for such a long period of time. I thought, what better opportunity is there than to document this journey and try to connect to a community that maybe has experienced something similar to what I’m going through? I had no idea that it was hospital policy to not have nurses willingly participate in videos. As soon as I was told about this by the manager, I deleted them, apologized, and said I never would have done that had I known, hoping it wouldn't cause any issues. He promised me things would be good.

This situation is far from unique. When medical professionals disregard patients, assuming some conditions are more valid than others, they're gambling with lives. It's crucial that medical boards enforce stricter accountability for surgeons and hospital staff. No one should have to endure unnecessary pain due to negligence, and no one should be dismissed because their case isn't deemed urgent enough.

We must ensure timely and respectful treatment for all. By signing this petition, you stand with me in demanding systemic change to prevent future patients from facing similar neglect. Surgeons should be held accountable for their delayed actions, and patient care must become a top priority. Let's make our voices heard and push for a healthcare system that respects and values every individual’s health. Sign now to demand action and accountability