[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4468]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT BLOOD THINNERS AND POTENTIAL RISKS TO PATIENTS

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                           HON. BEN CHANDLER

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 17, 2011

  Mr. CHANDLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of a constituent of 
mine, Shannon Elizabeth Mudd from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, who died due 
to complications from treatment she received by medical personnel who 
were not aware of an underlying medical condition and the use of blood 
thinners. Shannon was 17 years old and today would have been her 19th 
birthday. Mr. Speaker, this tragedy should prompt us to look more 
closely at protecting people who use anti-coagulant drugs to treat 
blood clots and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It is my hope that more 
awareness and better labeling might help prevent what happened to 
Shannon from happening to other patients on anti-coagulant drugs.
  Shannon was diagnosed on September 4, 2009 with neuroendocrine 
carcinoma, a rare form of cancer, and was beginning to respond well to 
new treatments when a visit to her doctor revealed she had deep vein 
thrombosis (DVT), or a blood clot, in her chest. Rather than put 
Shannon through an invasive procedure, her doctor instead prescribed an 
anti-coagulant drug used to treat DVT. Like any anti-coagulant drug, 
the medication included a warning that there was a risk of severe 
bleeding associated with it. However, the medication warning did not 
alert her to the risk associated with internal bleeding that could 
become life threatening if a minor injury were left untreated.
  When Shannon received some encouraging news about her cancer 
prognosis, she went to lunch with her father to celebrate. While at the 
restaurant, Shannon fell and hit her head. Because her father was not 
informed of the danger of internal bleeding associated with the drug 
Shannon had been taking, paramedics were not made aware of her history 
with the anti-clotting medication. Since it appeared it was a minor 
injury, Shannon was not taken to the hospital. Later that day, Shannon 
complained of dizziness and exhibited signs of a stroke. Her father 
called 911 and Shannon was flown to the University of Kentucky Medical 
Center where emergency physicians began treating her for massive brain 
hemorrhaging. By this time, little could be done for Shannon and she 
slipped into a coma. Shannon passed away almost a month later and just 
5 weeks shy of her 18th birthday.
  In memory of her daughter, Shannon's mother, Angela Visone Mudd, took 
up the cause of educating the public about the risk of traumatic brain 
injury associated with anti-coagulant drugs and minor head injury. Ms. 
Mudd developed bands for patients taking these medications to wear, 
communicating the risk of internal or external bleeding to medical 
personnel in the event of an accident.
  Shannon was taken from her family much too soon. I applaud Shannon's 
mother and her many supporters for their courage and efforts to help 
other families avoid the same tragic set of circumstances that 
ultimately led to Shannon's death a year ago. Mr. Speaker, it is my 
hope that through sharing Shannon's story, more tragedies like this can 
be prevented and more lives saved.

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