A woman who operated on her daughter to remove a steel orthopedic rod from her leg apparently was not aware that LDS Hospital would have provided free care.
Josefina Gonzales said she removed the rod from Maria Castro, 24, using a double-edged razor at their home in Wendover."Basically, the policy of the hospital and of Intermountain Health Care is to provide reasonable treatment to anyone in need of medical care, regardless of their ability to pay," said Jess Gomez, hospital spokesman.
"And that policy is not different for illegal immigrants."
The two women, residents of Mexico, were in Utah while Gonzales tried to earn enough money to buy leg braces for the younger woman, who was born with the birth defect spina bifida.
In 1991, after Castro broke her hip, a Mexican surgeon inserted the 12-inch rod to straighten her leg and anchor the hip. In Utah two years later, the tip of the rod broke the surface of her skin, causing a wound.
In September, Gonzales went to a women's clinic in Wendover that is supported by LDS Hospital. She told a nurse-midwife there that her daughter was in pain. The nurse-midwife visited their home in Wendover and then drove Castro to the emergency room at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.
At that time, Castro was admitted for treatment, said Gomez. She was examined and X-rays were taken.
"An orthopedic surgeon looked at her leg, as did an internal physician," he said. Castro stayed in the hospital for two or three nights, he added.
Because the steel rod anchored her hip in place, "the medical decision was made not to remove the rod," he said.
"At that point the wound was not infected. The mother was instructed in terms of keeping the wound clean and applying dressing and gauze, and they were given instructions to follow up with an orthopedic doctor."
The family was told to see the doctor later, she was told, and the woman was released from the hospital.
"It was a small wound and it had to close, heal by itself. The important thing was to keep it clean." The women were given instructions about changing the dressings.
Gomez adds that the language barrier "may have made it more difficult." Both women speak only Spanish.
"They were released, and follow-up was never made by the family," he said.
LDS Hospital was not informed of any further difficulty with the wound, he said. However, after they left the hospital the wound became infected and Castro begged her mother to cut the rod out.
Using Castro's bed as an operating table, with cotton swabs and hydrogen peroxide on the windowsill, Gonzales operated. She boiled water to sterilize a double-edged razor blade.
The operation was carried out without painkillers. Juan Antonio, 16, held his sister down as Gonzales cut the skin and pulled out the rod.
The family kept the operation secret and the wound healed. But without the rod, Castro remained bedridden.
On Sunday, after the family's situation was publicized, LDS Hospital officials attempted to contact the family so they could make sure Castro was all right.
"With that kind of homemade surgery, the real problem is with infection. We don't want this woman to lose her leg," Gomez said.
They were able to locate the family through a Catholic nun in Wendover who had been helping them and speaks Spanish. Taken by ambulance to the hospital, Castro was admitted about 9 p.m. on Sunday.
"She had a slight fever but was in good condition and is doing well," Gomez said.
Orthopedic and plastic surgeons are donating their services to help Castro. They believe she will need surgery to correct the underlying bone deformity.
Gomez emphasized that Castro had help when she sought it in September and would have been helped in November if the hospital had known about her plight then.