When he has time, he MAY take care of you
My family’s experience with Dr. Donald Gravenor was horrible. At every interaction he seemed to be an uncaring physician with a horrible bedside manner (if he shows up), who to us seemed to care about money more than his patients.
My Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A plastic stent was put in his pancreas because the tumor was blocking the passage.
Dad had 3 different scans during his treatment and they never once measured the tumor and would not redo the scan at their expense even though they screwed up. Dr. Gravenor said that since they did not have measurements to go by then they would just use blood markers (which are not as accurate obviously). While Dr. Gravenor did not do the scans he ordered the scans and Dad was under his care. He should have fought for better care but instead just accepted the incompetent scans and went with it.
The chemotherapy nearly killed Dad and we had to take him to the ER. When Dr. Gravenor came in to see Dad the only thing he said was “We’ve got to get you out of here and back on the chemo!”.
No words of concern or asking how Dad was or why he was there. All he wanted was more chemo treatments. It seemed that he just wanted to make more money and did not care for his patient.
Dad would never take any more regular chemo treatments because his body could not take it. My family considered finding a new doctor at this time but decided not to. Later we would discover that this was a mistake and we should have found a different doctor.
Due to Dad’s weakness and disorientation, Dad was sent to Grace Healthcare for Rehab.
Though Dad could not do more Chemo treatments, Dad did go through Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT). The last of these treatments was on March 9th. On March 12th, at the conclusion of these treatments Dr. Gravenor took blood tests. He said Dad's red blood cell count was just a little low, probably from the chemo. In mid-March Dr. Gravenor said that Dad would have another round of blood tests in 2 months. Based on the full results of the current blood test and the red blood cell count and markers from the current blood test, Dr. Gravenor said he would decide whether to have a scan done or if he felt comfortable not doing a scan and declaring Dad cancer free.
Thursday, March 14, 2019, Dr. Gravenor's office said that Dad's potassium was low. They would call in a prescription for him. Grace Healthcare said that Dad was jaundiced so they were going to try and do a liver panel on him. They noticed the jaundice when Dad returned from his doctor appointment at Dr. Gravenor's. Dr. Gravenor and his staff did not notice the jaundice and, therefore, did not mention him looking jaundice or try to determine the cause.
Dr. Gravenor's office called about 2 p.m. that afternoon. Some of Dad's blood work came back with some elevated levels. His tumor markers, for one, were too high. He was ordering a scan. I rushed to get Dad to the CAT scan because I knew the weekend was coming up and the scan was done at 4:00 PM Thursday. They said the scan would be read Thursday evening, but they would most likely call us tomorrow (Friday) unless there is something so urgent that they need to call today. Dad was sent home from Grace Healthcare.
Friday, March 15, 2019, I called Dr. Gravenor's office and told them we were still waiting on their call. They were supposed to call me back but never did.
Saturday, March 16, 2019, Still no word from Dr. Gravenor's office. Dad was not feeling well. Very weak and no appetite.
Sunday, March 17, 2019, Dad is extremely weak. Can't walk on his own, must be in wheelchair. Barely eats anything.
Monday, March 18, 2019, 9:34 a.m., I called Dr. Gravenor's office. The office said they put a note in his nurse's work queue to call me back.
Monday, March 18, 2019 10:47 a.m., Rachel, at Dr. Gravenor's office called to say that Dr. Gravenor is not in the office today so he will not look at the scan results until tomorrow. They called me and told me to get dad to the scan THAT day (Thursday) because his blood results did not look good. NOW they are postponing looking at the results because it is not convenient.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019 11:55 a.m., I called Dr. Gravenor's office and told them we were still waiting…
Tuesday, March 19, 2019 12:28 p.m., Dr. Gravenor's office called and said he has been in clinic all day and had not looked at the results yet. They said as soon as he gets in the office he will look at the results and call. Dad is still very weak with little appetite and experiencing bad stomach cramps. No word from Dr. Gravenor.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019 10:40 a.m. Dad is much worse. Stomach pains are severe. He cannot even get up from the bed with assistance. Decided to have Dad taken to the ER via ambulance. They had to use a hard body-board to get Dad off the bed because the pain was so bad he could not bend or move.
I called Dr. Gravenor's office as Dad was being loaded into the ambulance to give them an update on Dad’s situation. They said that they were planning to call me that morning because Dr. Gravenor had FINALLY looked at the results. The plastic stent had become dislodged and Dad’s pancreas was blocked again. Another stent would need to be put in. This time they would put in a metal stent. Dad was admitted to hospital and they planned to do an MRI and put in another stent tomorrow.
DAD SUFFERED 5 EXTRA DAYS while his bile backed up into his system and poisoned his body BECAUSE Dr. GRAVENOR FAILED to look at his results. Dr. Gravenor’s office told us it was important to get Dad up there Today (Thursday) for the scan. The results were ready Friday but were not read until the next Wednesday because Dr. Gravenor was “too busy” to care what happened to this patient, my Dad.
From that point Dad quickly went downhill. He was in the hospital for a week and Dr. Gravenor never showed his face one time! He was moved to hospice the next week and, again, Dr. Gravenor, never once showed his face or even called. Dad died April 8, 2019 while in Hospice.
Dad would not have suffered as much and probably would have had more time with us, even if only weeks or months, if Dr. Gravenor would have just cared enough to read the results of the scan that HE had ordered. I believe no one should be under his care. If you have a loved one needing care then find a doctor who cares and is willing to do what is best for his patients!
by Shimshai
xxx.xxx.192.242
September 13, 2019
