ATLANTA — After a heartbreaking few years, a Decatur couple is opening up about a "negligent failure" they say changed their lives forever.
11Alive's Angelina Salcedo first uncovered the story on Friday when Fernando and Melinda Cluster's attorney spoke about the case. Days later she sat down exclusively with the couple.
"It's very heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking for me and my kids," Melinda said.
She's still trying to process everything she and her husband of over 30 years have been through. The couple filed a lawsuit against Emory Healthcare after doctors told them they lost a piece of Fernando's skull following an emergency surgery for a brain bleed. It would cost over $19,000 to replace it with a synthetic bone flap from overseas.
"This where they cut it. They cut right here twice," Fernando said pointing to his scar. "This is where the infection was right here."
11Alive reached out to Emory Healthcare for comment on the lawsuit. In a statement a spokesperson said the hospital and staff is committed to giving high quality compassionate care to their patients, but no comment would be given on pending litigation.
As he continues to try to heal he still can't believe how life changed. He doesn't touch his head too much because it hurts. The pain isn't just physical, but mental too. The Clusters say the whole family has been suffering since 2022.
"I was getting out the car, going in the building to use the restroom and just passed out in the middle of the street," Fernando said.
The fall in September 2022 would cause a massive brain bleed and send him to the emergency room at Emory Healthcare. When his wife saw his eyes roll back in his head she knew whatever was happening was serious. Doctors rushed him to surgery, removing a piece of his skull so the brain could heal. Months later on the day to put the bone back, the couple said doctors had unexpected news.
"The surgery was supposed to happen at 2 p.m. They kept telling me and my sister 'The doctor is coming, they're just in surgery.' We had to wait hours later until 8 p.m.. A doctor finally came and said, 'We have bad news.' I asked what happened and they said, 'We have lost his skull.' First they said misplaced it and then when I said, 'So how did y'all do that?' They said, 'We had several in the freezer and the tag fell off. We don't know which one is his,'" Melinda said.
The family couldn't believe it. Fernando says they offered to try and do the surgery with one of the bones in the freezer despite not knowing which was his. He declined.
"I was like, 'Oh lord this can't be happening!' The doctor kept apologizing saying he'll take the blame for it. I said, 'I know someone going to take the blame for it. It ain't going to be me.' It's unacceptable," Fernando said.
A synthetic bone flap would be sent from overseas and placed in Fernando's head, but it wasn't a guaranteed fix according to doctors. After a year, an infection hit. His head swelled up while he was getting ready to go to the doctor in the morning.
"The infection was draining. It was just pouring down his head," Melinda said.
Not only would he need the piece removed, but another put back in. That surgery would happen March 2024 and the couple would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I've been through a lot. Mostly headaches and pain on the left side cause all this side was dead when they did the surgery," Fernando said.
They call the pain and his scar a constant reminder of the chaos they've been through. Chaos they say negligent doctors caused.
"If this happened to other people we just want them to come forward before it happens again. The next time it could be worse and I hope to the lord it don't," Melinda said.