Brisbane mothers horror colon irrigation almost killed her
IT WAS supposed to be a standard colonic irrigation. A procedure to rid her body of toxins and waste build up.
But for 65-year-old Pamela Kilah — the procedure almost killed her.
After deciding to embark on a health kick — which involved clean living and following a healthy diet, Ms Kilah and her daughter Brooke decided to try the procedure after reading about the benefits online.
“We felt it was another way of cleansing the body,” Ms Kilah, who lives in Queensland, told news.com.au.
“My daughter was trying to have a baby after a few years of IVF treatments and bad miscarriages. She wanted to detox and get rid of bad thoughts and feelings. She’d had the treatment [colonic irrigation] and it went fine.”
After discussing the treatment with Brooke, Ms Kilah decided to make a booking as well. Her other daughter, Angela, was supposed to join her, but because of medical complications — Brooke had to take Angela’s appointment instead.
Ms Kilah said as soon as she arrived to the Brisbane clinic — which cannot be named for legal reasons — something didn’t feel right.
“I was the first client for the morning, but it was all very rushed and confusing,” Ms Kilah recalled.
“The lady who was supposed to do the procedure wasn’t very well. She was holding her head and said she had a migraine.
“I questioned whether she should be working, but she said she had back to back clients and couldn’t do anything about it.”
Ms Kilah said she went in to a room with the therapist to discuss the colonic irrigation procedure when the first red flag was raised.
“The therapist picked up a medical history file and started reading it out loud — but it wasn’t mine,” she said.
“I told the therapist she was reading my daughter Angela’s medical history, but she replied and said she didn’t have time to look for my records so she just handed me a piece of paper to sign.”
A colonic irrigation involves introducing water into the 1.8 metres of the large intestine via the rectum to eliminate faecal plaque and toxins.
The procedure, which goes for around an hour and a half, usually includes a 30 minute consultation to give the patient a full explanation of the equipment used.
Just last month during an episode of Channel 7’s reality series Seven Year Switch, experimental couple Michael and Kaitlyn went on a colonic cleansing date together.
The lighthearted nature of the episode is what provoked Ms Kilah to open up about her “horror” experience, fearing that viewers might not understand the risks behind the procedure.
When Ms Kilah entered the colonic room, she was lead to believe there would be an assistant throughout the procedure.
But instead, she was left to her own devices with a pile of intimidating and confusing equipment and a 5 minute ‘how to’ explanation.
“She was hurrying me along,” Ms Kilah said.
“The therapist had a chat with me on the way to the room, showed me where the water would go, and that was it. She put no more than five minutes in to our chat.”
Ms Kilah propped herself on to the machine, and administered the tube herself for the procedure.
It was a matter of minutes before the first stages of pain kicked in.
“I knew what I felt couldn’t have been normal,” she explained.
“It was severe, lower abdominal cramps. So I stopped the machine and pressed the buzzer for help.
“The therapist put her head through the door and asked if I wanted to continue, but I was in too much pain.
“So she asked me to clean up the machine and get dressed.”
Ms Kilah said the pain was so severe she was unable to clean up the machine as requested by the therapist.
“All I managed to do was put my undies on,” she said.
“The pain was escalating — I needed an ambulance.”
Ms Kilah asked the therapist on three separate occasions for an ambulance to be called. Finally, after 30 minutes, the clinic decided to call Triple 0.
“She got my daughter Brooke, who came in very worried,” Ms Kilah explained.
“I was begging for pain relief.”
While in the ambulance, paramedics established the source of pain. All the colon matter and water which was supposed to be extinguished during the procedure had instead leaked all through her body.
“Everything in my colon was floating though my body,” she said.
“At the hospital and after the ultrasound, the surgeon said he had to do a hartmann’s procedure and a stoma, so a section of my colon was taken out.”
The botched colonic had resulted in both of Ms Kilah’s lungs collapsing, and congestive heart failure — because her organs were “swimming in fluid”.
“The impact on my heart has been the worst,” Ms Kilah said.
“My whole life has changed. I can’t drive. I had to sell my home which I was in for 17 years. “Going through medical and psychological appointments has been a nightmare. I wake up in the middle of the night and the bed is a mess.
“My stomach is all scars and bumps, and I will never wear a swimsuit again.”
One year of medical expenses later — which tallied over $120,000 and required Ms Kilah to sell her home — she is seeking compensation for the life of complications the botched procedure has left her with.
“It’s not acceptable to be left on your own,” Shine Medical Negligence lawyer Bill King, who is representing Pamela, told news.com.au.
“Anything like this should be done with careful monitoring and supervision.
“People are flushing their colon out with saline fluid, sometimes water, in situations where there’s no guarantee of sanitary conditions.
“They are flushing this for up to 1 hour, and what can happen as in Pamela’s case, is the colon
fills with fluid.”
When this happens, there are increased risks associated with the colon being perforated or torn. “This can lead to death,” Mr King said.
“A colonic perforation or tear is a medical emergency. Pamela was extremely lucky, but is now seeking compensation for losing her home, her work and her independence. She’s a shadow of her former self.”
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