Family: Heart Attack Victim Moved for Michael Jackson
Maria Elena Ortiz, the ailing woman's daughter, said she was in the room when Jackson came in. She was also present when her mother was moved and objected. "Why does she have to be moved if he's coming in for a stomach flu?" Ortiz said. "I said, 'My mother just had a heart attack and I think it's more critical than a stomach flu.' They didn't say anything."No one knows if moving Ruiz added to her trauma, but family members said they were told her heart was functioning at 30 percent and other organs were failing. But they say the chaos caused by Jackson's arrival distracted staff, and robbed them of precious time with their mother and grandmother as she died.
When Ruiz was moved to a smaller room, the family says equipment had to be crammed into the room. They also were limited to two visitors at a time. Once those visitors were in the room they could not leave and let other family members in because the hospital restricted movement in the hallways after Jackson arrived, the family says. "This was the last time we might be able to talk with our grandma. They took that from us," said Marcos Meraz, one of Ruiz's grandsons.
The more I hear about stuff like this, the more I hope they nail old rubber nose...