A Woodinville woman got a letter from Northwest Hospital warning her she could have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV.
Carina Sauerzopf, 53, said she recently tested positive for hepatitis B and was confused. She couldn't think of any reason she'd be at risk.
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"It didn't make any sense. It was like, how the hell do I have this? Where did this come from?" said Sauerzopf.
She said she hadn't participated in any risky behavior that would have exposed her to the disease.
When she got the letter in the mail on March 5, she was devastated and angry. Sauerzopf was treated at Northwest Hospital for kidney stones in January 2012.
The letter from Northwest Hospital said patients who were operated on between Dec. 30, 2011, and March 9, 2012, in the operating room where a certain surgical technician worked were told to be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. The surgical tech was under investigation for "tampering with patient medications."
"I want to scream. I wanted to say 'How can you do this? How many people did you do this too? How many lives are affected by this?'" Sauerzopf said.
Related: Concerned about HIV, hepatitis exposure at local hospitals? Here's what to do
Rocky Allen, 28, was arrested in Colorado for allegedly switching out needles containing fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller, with needles containing other substances.
He worked at Northwest Hospital from Dec. 30, 2011, to March 9, 2012; then he was fired, according to Public Health-Seattle and King County.
"It dropped me to my knees to say OK, here it is," Sauerzopf said about getting the letter. "This is how you got it. You got it from someone doing a very malicious act to you."
Sauerzopf didn't trust returning to Northwest Hospital and was retested at her doctor's office last week. She was relieved she didn't have hepatitis C or HIV, but she does have hepatitis B.
She is angry she will have to live with hepatitis B and knows it can create serious health complications.
“I have it for life and what this can do is damage my liver and cause cirrhosis of the liver. It can kill me. It can kill me,” said Sauerzopf.
Sauerzopf wants proof she contracted hepatitis B at the hospital. She is requesting her medical records and meeting with an attorney.
Cox Media Group
