LAKE COUNTY — Her bright, vibrant smile turned suddenly. Sarah Christensen, 17, of Clearlake Oaks was in excruciating pain.
After more than a month of doctor visits and a battery of blood tests, the pain was no longer manageable for the typically energetic girl.
Sarah, a junior at Lower Lake High School, was twice a Miss Lake County contestant. She”s involved in concert choir and concert band, playing the saxophone and she is teaching herself to play piano.
“On March 15 we took her to the ER at St. Helena Hospital, Clear Lake. They gave her some pain relief and sent her home,” her mother, Lacy Christensen said.
Later the same day, Sarah”s father, Ross, had a procedure done on his lower back. When it was over, he was supposed to spend time recovering. But by March 18, Sarah was in so much pain again that it was necessary to return her to the emergency room.
Ross took her, because Lacy was heading to work. A CT scan revealed a mass in her abdomen.
Worried, Lacy turned around to be with her family. The hospital staff sent Sarah home and set up an appointment with her family doctor for later that morning. The family doctor suspected an intrasusception, where the intestine folds back over on itself, “kind of like a collapsing telescope,” Lacy said. A referral was made to another doctor in St. Helena for two days later.
The doctor she was referred to, reviewed Sarah”s file prior to the appointment and conveyed Sarah needed immediate attention and referred the Christensens back to the emergency room.
“So we returned to the ER, where there seemed to be some confusion about what exactly was supposed to be done. They took a urine sample and did an X-ray, made a lot of phone calls between the ER doctor, the family doctor, the doctor in St. Helena who sent her to the ER, and even Children”s Hospital in Oakland,” Lacy said. “The result was they sent her back home. We spent five hours in the ER, basically for nothing.”
They were then referred to a doctor in Clearlake. That appointment was set for Thursday. Sarah got sick in the middle of the night and returned to the emergency room the next day for a procedure that clearly showed the intrasusception.
“Steps were taken to get her admitted, and surgery was being planned. The doctor was assembling a surgical team and that”s when we hit a big snag,” Lacy said. “Because Sarah is 17 and they said there is no pediatric intensive care unit at the hospital, they decided they would have to transfer her. This decision was made at 5 p.m. They had to find a hospital and doctor that would take her and find transportation. From the time they decided they wouldn”t allow the surgery at St. Helena, Clear Lake until we left the hospital was six hours,” Lacy said.
Sarah was transferred to U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and is expected to remain about a week.
At this time it is unknown how long she will need after care.
The family is insured, but co-payments and other expenses are piling high while Lacy sits by her daughter”s side and Ross recuperates from his own surgery.
Regional Marketing Manager for St. Helena Michelle Van Hoff, said Monday, “ICU is for adult patients, but we routinely treat surgical and non-surgical pediatrics there. If the pediatric patient requires a higher level of care we will facilitate the transfer.”
Van Hoff said she would provide information to Lake County Publishing regarding the frequency of transfers to other facilities after she completes some research.
Those interested in assisting, can contribute to the Sarah Christensen Hospital Fund at Mendo-Lake Credit Union in Clearlake or Lakeport.
