The patient was the victim of hydrogen sulfide poisoning in an on-the-job gassing incident in the oilfield. The true levels of his toxic exposure were concealed by his employer. In the aftermath of the event, he began experiencing extreme cardiac dysregulation and a large array of neurological symptoms. He underwent approximately 21 medical examinations by various providers, all of whom (except 1 neurologist) steadfastly maintained that the symptoms could not be the result of hydrogen sulfide toxicity. H2S poisoning, these providers contended, would only manifest as damage to the lung, and this man’s lungs were clear. On that basis, the patient’s insurance coverage was canceled and only his faithful neurologist continued to see him. He was, however, unable to successfully explain the patient’s condition, at that time.
Two years post-accident, the patient continued to experience a terrifying array of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. At the request of his family, he came to Dr. Parker for assistance and treatment. Symptomatically, the patient not only presented with severe brain damage and cardiac dysfunction, but also developed severe PTSD due to the chronic terror which those illness imposed on him. However, he continued to be the object of disbelief when he maintained that the presenting symptoms were the result of H2S toxicity. The patient’s neurologist referred the patient to Dr. Parker, to facilitate collaborative treatment and assist in unraveling the mystery which surrounded the development of the patient’s illness.
In her capacity as a forensic clinician, Dr. Parker launched 24 months of medical and clinical investigation, aimed at determining (l) whether an authentically terrifying traumatic exposure (known as an “index event”) had actually occurred, (2) what kind of symptoms it could actually precipitate, and (3) whether such an exposure could create such severe cardiac dysfunction, where neither cardio nor pulmonary myopathy were present. Over a quarter-million dollars of Dr. Parker’s time was donated to this effort, which potentially affects oil patch workers throughout the nation.
This patient’s case was a classic example of the two-pronged MediMental Care approach. By unifying clinical evaluation of subjective symptoms with the forensic clinical investigation of objective data, diagnostic issues can be probed and definitively answered. Following the first 18 months of unrelenting research in this case, Dr. Parker announced her clinical findings. The results set forth Dr. Parker’s discovery of a 5-fold (penta-phasic) mechanism of hydrogen sulfide injury which has heretofore never appeared in the medical anals, and which clearly explained how the patient’s physical and post-traumatic injuries resulted. She thereafter submitted these findings to 5 top physicians in the fields of neurology, cardiology, pathology, physiatry, and nuclear medicine, and received their full clinical confirmation.
The 200-page research bibliography prepared by Dr. Parker is now available to doctors everywhere. Dr. Parker, as lead author (assisted by Dr. Hallie Robbins, DO, contributing editor) turned the research materials into the only known course of its type for the instruction of physicians. It is certified for physician education by the University of Texas Medical School and approved as Tier 1 medical education by the American Medical Association. Now that the true origin and 5-fold mechanism of his illness has been brought to light through the discipline of medical and forensic traumatology, new treatment options have been developed for the patient, whose life was saved.