https://www.macon.com/news/coronavirus/article253322198.html
BY KARINA MAZHUKHINA
UPDATED AUGUST 06, 2021 05:52 PM
A teenage Georgia high school football player was turned away twice from Douglas Wellstar Medical Center days before dying after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to his mother Tosha Nettles.
After testing positive for COVID-19 on July 23, 17-year-old Douglasville, Georgia, native Tyler Fairley was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and sent home, his mom told CBS46. The second time he was taken to the hospital, his mom says, he was again “discharged and told to hydrate.”
Nettles argues that the medical center denied him proper medical care by twice sending him home, according to the TV station.
“One of the male nurses told the other male nurse, ‘We can’t hurt ourselves trying to help him get in this car. We’ve got to go,’” Nettles told CBS46 about the second time he was discharged. “And they let go of him and he fell flat on his face inside the back seat of my car. I was like, ‘Can you all observe him for a while? Because I said this is not him. He’s not talking, he’s not responding,’ and they were like, ‘He’s just in pain because of COVID.’”
Nettles then rushed her teenage son to Scottish Rite Hospital, which is part of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where doctors reported that “he had been having seizures the entire day” and was then intubated, according to WSB-TV. He died on August 1 — and his mom told the TV station she thinks her son was treated differently at Douglas Wellstar Medical Center because of his vaccination status.
“It was as if the doctor (at Douglas Wellstar Medical Center) didn’t care because this was COVID and he didn’t prevent himself from having COVID because he wasn’t vaccinated,” Nettles told WSB-TV.
BY KARINA MAZHUKHINA
UPDATED AUGUST 06, 2021 05:52 PM
A teenage Georgia high school football player was turned away twice from Douglas Wellstar Medical Center days before dying after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to his mother Tosha Nettles.
After testing positive for COVID-19 on July 23, 17-year-old Douglasville, Georgia, native Tyler Fairley was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and sent home, his mom told CBS46. The second time he was taken to the hospital, his mom says, he was again “discharged and told to hydrate.”
Nettles argues that the medical center denied him proper medical care by twice sending him home, according to the TV station.
“One of the male nurses told the other male nurse, ‘We can’t hurt ourselves trying to help him get in this car. We’ve got to go,’” Nettles told CBS46 about the second time he was discharged. “And they let go of him and he fell flat on his face inside the back seat of my car. I was like, ‘Can you all observe him for a while? Because I said this is not him. He’s not talking, he’s not responding,’ and they were like, ‘He’s just in pain because of COVID.’”
Nettles then rushed her teenage son to Scottish Rite Hospital, which is part of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where doctors reported that “he had been having seizures the entire day” and was then intubated, according to WSB-TV. He died on August 1 — and his mom told the TV station she thinks her son was treated differently at Douglas Wellstar Medical Center because of his vaccination status.
“It was as if the doctor (at Douglas Wellstar Medical Center) didn’t care because this was COVID and he didn’t prevent himself from having COVID because he wasn’t vaccinated,” Nettles told WSB-TV.
The Wellstar Health System told McClatchy News it is “saddened by the passing of Tyler Fairley” and provides equal treatment to all patients.
“Our thoughts are with his family including the Douglas County High School football team and the Douglas County community during this difficult time,” the statement read. “As COVID-19 and variants are continuing to spread throughout our communities, we remain committed to providing high-quality, personalized medical care to every person, regardless of vaccination status.
“Out of respect for patients and their families, and to comply with federal and state patient privacy laws,” the statement continued, “we are prohibited from sharing specific details about individual patients.”
Nettles told WSB-TV she wished she “had gotten her son vaccinated,” though she isn’t sure whether Fairley’s death was caused by COVID-19.
“Do I know that the vaccine would’ve helped what he was going through? I don’t know,” Nettles told the TV station. “Do I even know if that was COVID that caused that? I don’t know because at the time of death it was due to no brain activity which was caused by seizures.”
Fairley’s football coaches would often describe him as “the gentle giant,” according to the football team’s Twitter page.
Now the Douglas County community, including the high school Fairely attended, is grieving the loss of the teen, reports TV station 11Alive.
“The Douglas County High School family offers our deepest sympathies to the family of Tyler Fairley,” Principal Kenja Parks told the news station. “Tyler was a shining light in our Tiger community. He will always be remembered for his gentle spirit, his grace, his willingness to lend a helping hand, his academic excellence, and his athletic prowess. He was a model son, brother, scholar-athlete, and simply a joy to all who knew him.”
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