A mum has claimed she was “massacred” and “left to die” following catastrophic complications after a botched abortion that led her to develop septic shock, which resulted in the quadruple amputation of her limbs. Priscilla Dray, who was in apparent “great shape” when she checked into hospital for the procedure in 2011, alleges that negligent doctors refused to administer antibiotics post-surgery despite obvious signs of infection.
Now 36, Dray’s harrowing medical nightmare peaked when she had to undergo a life-altering surgery; both her legs, along with her right forearm and left hand, were lost to necrosis just a month after her abortion. Two doctors appeared at a Bordeaux court yesterday over charges of causing involuntary injuries with incapacity.
Recounting her ordeal to French media, Ms Dray detailed how her temperature spiked to 39.6C post-abortion, with one intern wrongly suggesting she might have endometriosis. Despite her request for antibiotics, Dray alleges she was turned away only to be ravaged by an untreated infection.
In a shocking assertion, she declared she was “massacred” as her once-healthy body succumbed to severe sepsis necessitating the amputations. The day following her dismissal from the hospital, on July 24, 2022, she desperately sought help from her GP in Cap Ferret, suspecting septicaemia, reports The Mirror.
Her quick-thinking GP dashed her back to the hospital, arming her with a crucial note for medical staff – a note that disturbingly vanished, according to Dray, amidst the chaos of her deteriorating condition as she struggled to breathe and fought for her life.
She told M6’s Zone Interdite: “I trusted [them] and this is the state they put me in. They killed me, and normally I should have died.” Her odds of survival were a grim 5% on July 24 as she was readmitted to hospital as reported by France3.
The situation deteriorated into necrosis from septic shock, leading to her admission into intensive care for severe burns. By late August, a harrowing decision was made to perform amputations.
Struggling with the aftermath, she revealed to Pourquoi Docteur in 2017: “To this day, I still don’t understand why I was left to die in that maternity ward.” Ms Dray had chosen to undergo an abortion after welcoming her third child, which resulted in not seeing her baby for three months. Following this ordeal, the hospital faced a fine of 300,000 euros, and three individuals were indicted, according to Femme Actuelle in 2023; among them was a gynaecologist indicted for the initial omission of antibiotics.
In 2018, Ms Dray shared the ongoing nightmare of her situation with Sud Ouest:”For every daily task, you have to be able to adapt and organize yourself. The hardest part is to come to terms with it and tell yourself that there are things you can no longer do yourself. It’s hard.”
She continued: “It’s my three children who give me this energy she said, asked how she overcomes the challenges of daily life. Without them, I wouldn’t have had the same strength. And I still live with the hope of repairing myself. I’m dependent on progress in medicine and technology.”