Timika Thomas picked up her prescription from a CVS pharmacy in Las Vegas, Nevada, after IVF treatment but soon after taking what she thought was the correct medication she realised something was wrong
Timika Thomas was left heartbroken after the two embryos implanted during IVF were killed in a medication mix-up (
Image: 8 NEWS)
A mum has been left grieving the loss of her unborn twin babies after a medication mix-up at a pharmacy.
The mum lost her twins after a tragic error at a CVS pharmacy when a pharmacist mistakenly gave her a drug used for abortion. Timika Thomas, a mum of four from Las Vegas, decided in 2019 to expand her family with her husband.
However, she faced difficulties getting pregnant as she entered her 30s due to two ectopic pregnancies, resulting in the removal of her fallopian tubes. Despite not having insurance coverage, the couple made the decision to pursue in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a costly treatment.
Doctors sedated Timika before implanting two eggs into her body and sending her away with prescription medication. One of those prescriptions was designed to stimulate hormone production and initiate her pregnancy.
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After taking two doses of the medication, Timika immediately knew something was wrong
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Image:
8 NEWS)
A doctor prescribed her a vaginal suppository in place of the previous medication she took by injections. Timika went to her local CVS in North Las Vegas where she picked up the medication. She took two of her required doses but quickly noticed something was wrong.
“I started cramping really bad”, recalled Timika. Having had IVF before, she expected some cramping, but not with the level of pain she experienced.
“My cramping went beyond [what she had experienced before],” she said. “It was extreme. It was painful.”
Timika checked the bottle of her medication and looked up the name on the label, discovering that the medication was used for abortions. Documents obtained by local outlet 8 News Now detailed how two technicians and two pharmacists had made a catalogue of errors, which resulted in Timika losing her twin babies.
“They just killed my baby,” she said to herself at the time. “Both my babies, because I transferred two embryos.”
Timika opened up about her heartbreaking story to a local news network
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Image:
8 NEWS)
It appeared one technician thought she knew the generic name for the brand prescribed by the doctor, but had put the wrong name in the prescription. Another did not catch the error, while a pharmacist failed to consult Timika when she came to pick up her medication.
“It would have been caught because then they would have had to have the medicine in their hand,” said Timika. “And they would have said, ‘Oh, this is Misoprostol or Cytotek, have you taken this before?’ And I would have said ‘no’.”
Timika lodged a complaint with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy after her heartbreaking ordeal. She gave testimony about her horrific experience, after which the two pharmacists were fined and had their licences provisionally suspended.
Timika lodged a complaint with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy
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Image:
8 NEWS)
If both pharmacists avoid disciplinary action over the next 12 months, pay their fines and take continuing education credits, their licences will reportedly be reinstated. The pharmacy board also fined CVS the maximum amount allowed by statute, $10,000, for its vicarious liability for the pharmacists’ errors.
In a statement, CVS said: “We’ve apologised to our patient for the prescription incident that occurred in 2019 and have cooperated with the Nevada Board of Pharmacy in this matter. The health and well-being of our patients is our number one priority and we have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support prescription safety. Prescription errors are very rare, but if one does occur, we take steps to learn from it in order to continuously improve quality and patient safety.”
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