Opinion: A hospital staffer diverted drugs, which gave me hepatitis C. That happens more often than you think
I never foresaw becoming an advocate for stopping drug diversion. But after a hospital technician used syringes filled with painkillers for me for herself — and gave me a potentially…
In 2009, I checked into the surgical ward of Denver’s Rose Medical Center to have a kidney stone removed. It was a minor procedure, and I emerged from the hospital a bit groggy but otherwise seemingly unscathed. Little did I know that I was soon to be plunged into the shadowy world of drug diversion.
About six weeks after the operation, I was overcome by a crush of debilitating symptoms — it felt like I had the flu on steroids. As a single parent of a 1-year-old, I was terrified it would get worse. When I went to a local urgent care center, the doctor sent me straight to Rose’s emergency department.
Blood tests
