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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Grace Schara's wrongful death trial against Ascension St. Elizabeth begins
APPLETON - The jury trial involving the death of Grace Schara, 19, at an Ascension hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic got underway June 3 in Outagamie County Circuit Court. The Freedom teen died Oct. 13, 2021, seven days after she was admitted to Ascension NE Wisconsin-St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton for symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Scott Schara, her dad, sued the hospital a year and a half later in a wrongful death case that includes claims of medical negligence, violation of informed consent and battery. Dr. Gavin Shokar, who was the primary doctor in charge of Grace's care, and Hollee McInnis, a registered nurse who provided medications to Grace while she was a patient in the intensive care unit, are also named as defendants in the case. In an approximately 30-minute opening statement, Warner Mendenhall, one of Schara's attorneys, said Grace's stay at St. Elizabeth was a precautionary measure to provide her with supplementary oxygen and steroids. But she quickly began facing issues. On two occasions shortly after she was admitted, on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, Grace was given Precedex, which "dangerously lowered her blood pressure and pulse," Mendenhall claimed. On both occasions, Grace's condition improved after medical staff stopped or turned down her dose of the medication, he said. Scott Schara stayed with his daughter at the hospital for several days, until staff asked him to leave, and he was escorted out of the hospital by security guards on Oct. 10. He was persistent with asking questions of medical staff, but was "doing exactly what he was supposed to do as a dad and power of attorney for health care,' Mendenhall said. The family had lawyers negotiate with the hospital to allow older sister Jessica Vander Heiden to be with Grace. On the morning of Oct. 13, Shokar spoke with Grace's family over the phone saying Grace was stable and they should focus on nutrition and movement so Grace could soon go home. 'Oddly though, despite Grace's improving condition, Shokar requested Scott authorize a ventilator, even though there was no need for a ventilator at that time,' Mendenhall said. Mendenhall said Scott Schara did not want his daughter to be placed on a ventilator. But as a result of this conversation, Shokar not only documented that Grace had a Do Not Intubate order, known as a DNI, but also a Do Not Resuscitate Order, known as DNR. The Schara family did not learn Grace has been labeled DNR until Grace was in respiratory distress shortly before she died later that night. 'Dr. Shokar watched this 19-year-old girl breathing fast, and instead of assessing why, without talking to the family before, and Nurse McInnis, injected Grace Schara with morphine, a powerful opioid drug that suppresses breathing,' Mendenhall said. Scott and Cindy Schara, Grace's mother, then had to watch their daughter die over FaceTime, with their cries for medical staff to save their daughter ignored, Mendenhall said. 'At this trial, we will show that Grace Schara, a beautiful, gifted 19-year-old girl with Down syndrome, was killed by a deadly injection while dozens of medical personnel stood aside and did nothing,' Mendenhall said. Attorneys for the defendants painted a very different picture of Grace's hospital stay and the events leading up to her death. Two attorneys delivered opening statements for the defense: Jason Franckowiak, who represents defendants Ascension Health and McInnis; and Randall Guse, who represents Ascension Medical Group – Fox Valley Wisconsin, Inc. and Shokar. Grace did not die of any injection she was given by hospital staff, the attorneys argued. She died of a COVID-19 infection, which worsened during her days at the hospital, despite medical staff's best attempts to save her. Additionally, attorneys said Grace's family had consented during a conversation with Shokar to both a "Do Not Intubate" and a "Do Not Resuscitate" order. Franckowiak said evidence presented at trial will dispute multiple claims made by the plaintiffs, including that the medications and dosages provided to Grace were standard in the intensive care unit. Specifically, Precedex and lorazepam, both sedatives, were used in an effort reduce her rapid breathing and allow her to take deeper breaths and take in more oxygen. After administration of those drugs did little for her vitals, Shokar ordered McInnis, one of Grace's nurses, to administer a small dose of morphine. That drug, Franckowiak said, helped temporarily improve Grace's oxygenation, from around 50% to 98%. "Dr. Shokar reached a reasonable conclusion that the morphine had done exactly what he had intended it to do: it had lowered Grace's rate of breathing sufficient to allow her take deeper breaths, therefore increasing her oxygenation level,' Franckowiak said. Grace was stable for about an hour, but then her lungs gave out, Franckowiak said. He said experts will testify that without the ability to intubate Grace, chest compressions would not have been effective. And a reversal agent like naloxone would not have been effective, as the plaintiffs asserted. "The only potential way for Grace's emergent pulmonary condition to have been adequately addressed at the point of her arrest would have been mechanical ventilation, but doctors and nurses had been explicitly forbidden by Mr. Schara (from) intubating Grace," Franckowiak said. Franckowiak also said Scott Schara will be asked to testify about some of his beliefs, which have 'shaped the allegations' he is making. Among them are a belief that the COVID-19 pandemic was planned to create fear and a general distrust of medical personnel. Cindy Schara, Grace's mom, was the first witness to testify for the plaintiffs. She detailed how Grace began to show symptoms of COVID-19, which she describes as similar to allergy symptoms, after the family attended a concert in Oshkosh on Sept. 25. Grace was not vaccinated, and on Oct. 1 she tested positive for the virus. Cindy said she had the same symptoms, which is why she was never able to go to the hospital to be with Grace. Cindy Schara also confirmed she and Scott Schara had been researching how to treat COVID-19 prior to seeking medical help for Grace on Oct. 6. Cindy Schara said they were researching protocols provided by Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance. The group, now known as the Independent Medical Alliance, was formed in April 2020 by physicians and former journalists who advocated for unapproved treatments, such as ivermectin, for COVID-19. Both its founders have since had their medical board certifications revoked. She said the organization advised taking supplements, which they did, and to seek medical help if blood-oxygen saturation levels dropped below 94%, which they also did. Cindy Schara said the family would never made a decision on a DNR order on its own. If they were, they would want other family members, their pastor, primary care physician and a lawyer to be involved in the conversation. "It would be a terrible thing to have to decide," she said, indicating she and her husband never made that decision during two separate phone calls with Shokar. She was questioned at length about her and her husband's views on the medical professional after Grace's death. She acknowledged she believes the COVID-19 vaccine is a bioweapon and young vaccinated men, once vaccinated, became sterile, among other things. None of these theories are supported by research or the scientific community. The trial is expected to last up to four weeks. Jessica Van Egeren is a health care reporter and assistant breaking news editor with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at jvanegeren@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trial begins against Ascension hospital in Appleton over Grace Schara's death
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctors sound alarm over frightening new zombie drug sweeping America that's killing hundreds
A dangerous animal tranquilizer that can kill humans has become the latest 'zombie' drug to run rampant in the US. Officials are warning that medetomidine, a powerful drug used for sedation and pain relief in dogs and cats, is being mixed with fentanyl and other opioids and sold in multiple states. The drug is not intended for human use and can cause changes to a person's mental state - making them extremely sedated or 'zombified.' It can also slow the heart rate to the point that the organ is unable to pump enough blood to the body, resulting in heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest or death. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office identified the first-ever case of medetomidine intake in the Pennsylvania drug supply in May 2024. By the end of the year, officials found 46 people who had died from fatal drug overdoses over the year had consumed medetomidine. And experts are warning it has now made its way into three-quarters of the illicit drug supply. Dr Michael Lynch, an emergency medicine doctor at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said: 'We know it's probably in about half to three-quarters of our drug supply. '[It can] depress your breathing a little bit, lowers your heart rate, and, to a lesser degree, can lower your blood pressure. And it can last for several hours where people are very, very sleepy. He told CBS: 'It is so different and so severe and progresses so rapidly and doesn't respond to the usual treatments that we use for withdrawal from different substances like alcohol or opioids or benzodiazepines.' Medetomidine was also detected in several seized drug samples across Maryland in July 2022, suggesting the drug is spreading. The recommended dose of medetomidine for dogs is 750 micrograms and less than 20 mg for cats given through an IV drip. Despite not being intended for use in humans, there is another form of medetomidine, sold under brand names Dexdor and Precedex, that is used for sedation and muscle relaxation in people. It remains unclear how much of medetomidine can be lethal to human life. Medetomidine is often cut with other drugs like fentanyl because when mixed with opioids and other substances, it greatly increases the sedative effects of each drug, which people may perceive as a better or stronger product. The sedative has most frequently been observed in samples containing fentanyl and xylazine, but the drug has also been identified together with heroin and cocaine, the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education said. In addition to dropping the heart rate dangerously low, it can cause serious effects such as hallucinations and last longer than other illicit substances it is mixed with. The drug, which is estimated to be 200 times more powerful than xylazine, also slows neurological functions in the body, resulting in confusion and lethargy, as well as symptoms of opioid overdose like shallow breathing and small pupils. Some medetomidine overdose symptoms include uncontrollable vomiting, excessive sweating, life-threatening levels of blood pressure, fluctuating mental state, tremors and a heart rate over 100 beats a minute. The Pennsylvania Department of Health has asked healthcare providers to use naloxone, usually used to treat opioids as treatment against medetomidine overdose - despite the latter drug not being an opioid. The medication works by attaching itself to medetomidine receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of it by neutralizing it. It can quickly restore normal breathing if it has slowed or stopped due to an overdose and help the body return to its a normal state. Dr Raagini Jawa, infectious disease and addiction medicine physician at UPMC told the Post Gazette: 'Naloxone is still the first-line agent for overdose reversal. 'We really need to educate people about rescue breathing and making sure we're protecting their airways and calling for help, so that if they need oxygen, emergency services can provide supplemental oxygen support for them.'
