"Truth Cannot Live on a Diet of Secrets
Withering Within Entangled Lies"
H. Michael Sweeney

 Health is an issue that affects everyone, one that cuts across class, race, and sex lines. Our health care organizing will have at least two goals; (1) building those kinds or struggles which more people to challenge the particular abuses of local institutions and providers, and (2) giving people a sense of the kind of quality of care they have a right to, and should demand, from this, or any other system.

Introduction

This report represents more than 4000 man hours time expended in research and private investigation into what can only be described as one of the most hideous crimes of the century perpetrated by doctors and nurses in Northeastern Ontario in order to save face.  I have sketched the general nature of the evidence which I will present. It bespeaks of medical blunders and medical stupidity and the taking of an innocent life (the end result is a 41 year old mother of two children gone) due to medical stupidity and despicable hospital cost-containment policies. 

That we are living in a disposable society, without values,  there is not a shadow of a doubt. Such are crimes as in this case ranging from criminal negligence to outright fraud and fraudulent concealment to corporate (hospital) criminal cover-up, criminal conspiracy and government acquiescence, obstruction of justice and collusion utilizing half truths, bald falsehoods and all the cloak and dagger techniques known to spies to obfuscate the truth; paradoxically, we have a rise to prominence of a powerful minority of misguided zealots opposed to truth and justice. In terms of a conspiracy and coverup, silence doesn't only imply concealment, it also infers guilt.

There are many individuals whose otherwise happy and productive life has been destroyed or doomed by hidious crimes perpetrated by medical professionals resulting in iatrogenic injury or debilitating and/or fatal disease and unnecessary death due to homicidal criminal negligence or outright medical stupidity. Pressing action for criminal accountability is urgently needed in preventing such events from occuring in future. This present climate of impunity in Ontario courts has only encouraged bad doctors to flout the Criminal Code. The Federal Court of Canada may offer some relief, since federal authority for criminal law and procedure ensures fair and consistent treatment of criminal behaviour across the country.
 

Truth & Justice Demanded

A PHYSICIAN CANNOT ESCAPE the essential principle: Primum non nocere    "First Do No Harm". Whenever you grant immunity from fault you breed irresponsibility.  No policy change or audit will ever bring back this young mom. However, by making the doctors and nurses criminally accountable, this investigator hopes to ensure that the likelihood of a similar recurrence will not happen again.  This has nothing to do with a drug reaction per se, but rather it has everything to do with ignoring outcome to near fatal conclusions, and medical homicide.

My mission is to ultimately prove criminal homicide, and criminal negligence, including corporate criminal liability, together with the facts of this case, with scientific precision if need be, and to ultimately utilize the criminal justice system to the fullest to punish all those involved in Arlene Berry's death and subsequent cover-up. 

 Let it be known that I am NOT interested in  blood money.   What I want is   "JUSTICE"  for Arlene Berry,  nothing more, nothing less.

Evidence Based Medicine  

The information contained herein is based on evidence based  research,  computer assisted.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) ⁷ is a clinical discipline that has emerged in the 1990's.    It is a discipline that formalises the long-practised principle of basing clinical practice on scientific evidence. 

Evidence-based medicine is a process of systematically finding, appraising, and using research findings as the basis for clinical decisions  based on the formulation of relevant question concerning a patient's problem.

These are the facts:

In December of 1999,  Arlene Berry was sent to Timmins & District Hospital in Timmins, Ontario where she was diagnosed, according to her physician,  "with carcinoma of the left main bronchus with residual cancer of the aorta due to a complete collapse of the left lung". Her family MD,  Dr. Edward Henry  ¹¹ had misdiagnosed  her in that he had been treating her assumptively  for what he termed a "suspected bronchitis".  It took another doctor to read her X-ray chart and to order more appropriate testing before anything was done.

On or about January 12th of 2000 Arlene Berry was admitted to the Timmins & District Hospital under the care of Dr. Claudio De La Rocha  ¹²  where a left lung pneumonectomy  ¹³ was successfully performed on January 13th of 2000. Arlene Berry was a small woman with a low body weight and although she had a diminished lung capacity her right lung was seen to function quite well following surgery. She was released 5 days later. Following her return home to Kirkland Lake,  Arlene confided that the surgeon who operated on her felt that the cancerous lung "did not appear to be smoking related".

On or about March 16th of 2000 Arlene Berry returned to Timmins where she underwent follow-up study and testing at the same hospital consisting of a CT scan ¹⁴, including  a  mediastinoscopy ¹⁵  with   mediastinotomy ¹⁶  as  part  of  a  perioperative ¹⁷ evaluation.  Following that testing,  Arlene had confided  "I don't have AIDS or brain tumors or anything like that, but I might have a cyst".   Cystitis is a bacterial infection of the bladder or lower urinary tract. Compare Polycist Immage, for example, associated with Polycystic Kidney Disease in patients with Azotemia. She also confided that she  "might have an infection".  She mumbled something about how  "some people could be carriers and not even know it".  I assumed she might be talking about hepatitis, what I took to mean a carrier or suspected carrier of an infectious disease and really didn't really give it much thought because up until then I had complete faith in the healthcare providers to do the right thing, something I have since lost altogether.

Arlene  was then referred to the Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre situated at the Laurentian Site (41 Ramsey Lake Road), Sudbury for consideration of  radiation therapy under the care of Dr. Hugh Prichard,  ¹⁸ a  radiation oncologist¹⁹.

By the end of April of 2000 Arlene Berry had completed a  5 week postoperative course of radiation therapy.  In light of this treatment,  her condition was seen to be stable.  Postoperative testing results done on March 16th in Timmins were  seen to be very encouraging  and from that treatment and testing it seems clear that Arlene Berry had every reason to expect a partial remission, or stable condition.
 

On May 23rd of 2000,  and on the days before,  Arlene Berry  presented to the Kirkland and District Hospital with symptoms of nausea, vomiting, sedation, dizziness, headache, and  mild diffuse weakness.

CAVEAT:   DRUG INDUCED MYOPATHY  -  The onset of clinical manifestations of drug-induced myopathy  usually develops insidiously and can occur from days to months after exposure to the causative agent. Commonly, patients present with nonspecific complaints of progressive, generalized muscle weakness (diffuse weakness) muscle pain (myalgia), or fatigue.  Proximal or diffuse muscle weakness of the arms and legs is the hallmark symptom in Toxic Myopathies and infections in hypokalemic myopathies.     Compare Muscle wasting and diffuse weakness in combined  effects of sepsis and  multiple  organ  failure, and such as seen in encephalitis and meningitis.

The progressive course of this patient's headache, as well as nausea and vomiting had  suggested the presence of increased intracranial pressure.   NO toxicology screening was done.

In addition to the radiation therapy consisting of  nuclear medicine  Arlene Berry   had also been prescribed and given MS Contin ²² , including  STATEX  ²³   for  pain management,  both  of which are  morphine with constipating properties. ²⁴  Because morphine may increase  biliary-tract ²⁵  pressure,  some patients with  biliary colic ²⁶  for example, may experience worsening rather than relief of pain.  Morphine has many side effects ³⁰. The most dangerous is respiratory depression ³¹.  In frail patients,  as the respiratory rate decreases,  the patient becomes increasingly sedated ³². See: Morphine Risk Groups ³³. Compare: Opioid overdose ³⁴.  See: Drug overdose   Compare: Sedation  Compare: Nuclear Medicine cases by study type

Compare:  Intra-abdominal abscess,  27 ,Colonic obstruction and Opiod dependance ²⁹ .

A-5  of the record documents the patient's presenting complaint as "headaches accompanied by severe stomache pain"  that  is  consistent  with  the  "abdominal  pain  ongoing  for  2  weeks"   for  which   she   was   prescribed    "antibiotics" ³⁵.  Compare: Antibiotic Classes.The RN who saw her noted that she had been takingMS Contin ²²  (morphine) for her pain   and also that she had  "stopped  taking the morphine",   noting also her past medical history consisting of "taking radiation". There is nothing on the record to suggest that this patient had been examined for her stomach pain, either for constipation ³⁶ or possible bowel blockage ³⁷ associated with the morphine. People with bowel obstructions may repeatedly vomit yellow or green colored bile, and may have a distended (swollen, uncomfortable) abdomen. Stomach pain is also a prominent finding associated with dehydration ³⁸, including constipation.  

Most sickness and health problems start from a toxic colon.  Toxic megacolon is a life-threatening complication of other intestinal conditions, characterized by a very dilated colon, abdominal distention, and sometimes fever, abdominal pain, or shock.  Colon cleansing usually  eliminates the underlying causes of stomach pain.  Conditions listing complications: Constipation:

The same record at  A-5  documents a Blood Pressure (a normal blood pressure reading for healthy adults is below 120 systolic and 80 diastolic, or below 120/80) ³⁹ of 115/75 at 17:05 hours on May 23rd that by 18:45 hours had dropped to 100/50,  as evidenced at  A-21  of the record seen in the upper left hand corner, barely visible in the shaded box.

According to family,  Arlene Berry had stopped taking the morphine at home due to "increasing severity of constipation  requiring extra laxative and tap water douches to assist with stool evacuation" (straining to evacuate the bowel can increase intracranial pressure), and also due to dizziness, ⁴⁰ marked by a sense of uneasiness progressing to unsteadiness or "lack of motor coordination" ⁴¹. Ataxia  ⁴² symptoms are similar to alcohol intoxication ⁴³  and include staggering ataxia/gait ⁴⁴ . Compare C I P R O Information and Side Effects. There is also evidence of  "inappropriate behaviour" ⁴⁵  as witnessed by family and friends.

From the records it is also clear that Arlene Berry had a history of  "opiate" use, including Acetaminophen ⁴⁶ (Tylenol),  among other medications as evidenced by her Rx list ⁴⁷ . There is nothing on the record to suggest that the patient was ever tested or examined for possible side effects ⁴⁸  associated with the MORPHINE ⁴⁹ she had been prescribed, such as  opioid-induced nausea and vomiting ⁵⁰ , or for possible other side effects such as associated with the withdrawal from opiates. Respiratory depression is also a hallmark of opioid toxicity and is the result of CNS depression. ⁵¹.  Compare Morphine Side Effects. ⁵². Many drugs and medications produce withdrawal symptoms
when their use is discontinued. 

Following her postoperative course of radiation therapy, Arlene Berry had remained quite well until about one week prior to her admission to the Kirkland and District Hospital on the 23rd of May 2000. Over that week she had developed  headaches ⁵³ that at times had become increasingly severe. A severe headache is a common but not invariable accompaniment of intracranial causes of nausea ⁵⁴. and vomiting. When a Headache Isn't Just a Headache

According to Dr. Jordan  "she had presented to the ED (emergency department) several days before with vomiting and it was thought that she had a  "UTI",  ⁵⁵,  to rule out delay in seeking treatment.  Dr. Jordan goes on to state that "she was given antibiotics  and sent home" as evidenced at  A-8  of the hospital record.   It is also clear that she was rejected for moderate dehydration due to excessive vomiting  ⁵⁶ on the days before which had been grounds for admission at that time. Rare but serious side effect of antibiotics is encephalopathy if given at high dose or in renal failure. Encephalopathy is caused by toxic waste compounds such as ammonia, certain fatty acids or other by-products of protein digestion which are not cleared by the liver from the bloodstream. An elevated serum ammonia level is characteristic but not essential, and correlates poorly with the level of encephalopathy. This poisonous ammonia can circulate in the blood, and as it passes through the liver, the ammonia is converted to another breakdown product, urea. Assessment of Liver Dysfunction Is Essential.Compare: TABLE - Common precipitants of hepatic encephalopathy. See also Iatrogenic renal disease. 

 Compare Acute Hepatic Failure  (May not be associated with fever. May aggravate encephalopathy). See also Infective endocarditis Compare: Urethritis

According to the record at  A-6  she returned to the ED (Emergency Department) on May 23rd of 2000 with  "the very same complaints". On examination the physician who saw her documented positive "bowel sounds" ⁵⁷ consistent with physical findings of  hyperactive  bowel  sounds ⁵⁸ ,  (... bowel sounds often indicates constipation), a sign of abdominal  distention ⁵⁹   which can rapidly  progress  to  intestinal obstruction ⁶⁰  in  which  bowel  sounds  become  hypoactive ⁶¹   due  to  paralytic  Ileus ⁶².  Compare Abdominal symptoms (nausea, abdominal pain or distention) associated with  Heart Failure.  Cached

The same record,  what I take to be Dr. Spiller's  Physical examination  also documents a "soft, non-tender" ⁶³ abdomen, with  "no reboundtenderness" ⁶⁴, and  "no masses" ⁶⁵.  Rebound abdominal tenderness is common but  nonspecific in liver trauma ⁶⁶.  Submit that an enlarged liver ⁶⁷ usually feels soft due to hepatomegaly ⁶⁸ (liver enlargement)  a sign of liver disease.  It is also associated with fatty infiltration ⁶⁹, congestion  and early obstruction  of the bile ducts ⁷⁰. Distinct  masses  ⁷¹, on the other hand, suggest either a growth or lessions ⁷².   The record  clearly  documents  "no masses".  Hepatomegally ⁶⁸ is also associated with Clinical Diabetes. ⁷³.  See BILE FACT SHEET.  ⁷⁴  Compare Cholangitis

Compare  iatrogenic, toxic and metabolic neuropathies. Chronic Inflammatory Neuropathies

What also appears to be a referral at  A-6 of the medical record,  a chart copy  from the admitting physician directed to the attention of the attending physician documents what I take to be a provisional  diagnosis  ⁸¹ of "vomiting".  Submit that vomiting is NOT a diagnosis but rather a symptom  ⁸² of many causes. See:  Nausea and vomiting Further, a question appears to have been raised (but also ignored) with respect to possible metastatic ⁸³ cancer of the brain,  leaving the etiology ⁸⁴ of the vomiting and the stomach pain  left undetermined for the attention of the patient's family MD, namely,  Dr. Jordan.  Submit that stomach pain concurrent with nausea and vomiting points to the "abdomen"⁸⁵ as the source of the problem.  There are NO records to suggest that the ED physician  had  ever  bothered  to take the time to perform a Complete Physical ⁸⁶ or a Neurological Examination ⁸⁷ of this oncology ⁸⁸ patient. Compare:  Oncologic Emergencies  ⁸⁹.

From the record it is clear that NO diagnosis ⁹⁰ or differential diagnosis  ⁹¹ was made at that time, or at all, as evidenced by the record at  A-3.  From the same record it is also clear that nothing was entered because nothing was done.  A  reasonable  physician  would  have correctly diagnosed the patient's  condition  by doing what  Dr. Jordan and all those who attended to Arlene Berry failed to do in his absence.

In the last day or two she tended pulling to the right  when walking, a sign of toxic ataxia  ⁹², lack of motor coordination ⁴¹, or vascular limb ischemia ⁹³, or  weakness on one side of the body  ⁹⁴ (hemiparesis) ,  and for the two-week period prior to her hospital admission her headaches were accompanied by nausea, vomiting and drowsiness that were thought to be associated with a bout of the "flu" .

Submit that clinical features of brain abscesses are associated with a progressively severe headache  ⁹⁵ in 70%-90% of patients with brain abscesses. Epidural Abscesses are usually mixed infections that include anaerobes micro-aerophilic strep. and Staph aureus. An epidural abscess is caused by infection in the area between the bones of the skull or spine, and the outer meninges (the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord). An epidural abscess is a medical emergency. See also   MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: The flu

Patients with limb ischemia ⁹³ present with the classic signs of  pulselessness, pallor, and paralysis due to SHOCK = cardiovascular collapse ⁹⁶.  Indeed, these are also signs and symptoms of a stroke ⁹⁷, i.e. ischemic stroke ⁹⁸ or thrombotic stroke ⁹⁹, such as caused from interruption of  blood flow  to the brain by a blood clot ¹⁰⁰. An ischemic ¹⁰¹ (or clot) stroke occurs when a blood clot obstructs flow of blood to a portion of the brain due to inadequate blood flow. ¹⁰²  

^{In meningitis the disease can block blood vessels in the brain, causing stroke and permanent brain damage.
Compare hemorrhagic shock . Injuries to the liver or spleen are common causes of hemorrhagic shock. Hemorrhagic shock (HS) initiates an inflammatory cascade that includes the production of cytokines and recruitment of neutrophils (PMN) and may progress to organ failure, inducing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
The hallmark of shock syndromes is a drop in blood pressure.}

Ischemic stroke is a life- threatening event in which part of the brain does not receive oxygen, usually due to a blood clot. Compare also Transient ischemic attack ¹⁰³ (TIA) such as caused by an interruption of blood flow to brain cells.