Free Killer Nurse by John Foxjohn

older to know what is wrong with them. Ms. Few’s life was saved, but the damage was done. When Ms. Few went into the hospital, she had 40 percent kidney function. When she came out, she had 10 percent.
    Most people would have filed a lawsuit immediately, especially when the doctor admitted that he’d made a mistake, but Ms. Few said she knew it was an accident. They were trying to do what was best for her and the thought of a lawsuit never occurred to her. When it was brought up, she wouldn’t hear of it.
    The doctor’s mistake was one of the chief causes she had to start dialysis to begin with. Ms. Few had wanted to stop dialysis and stay at home—she had things to do and didn’t want to be tied to a chair for so long—but of course, her doctors and family told her she couldn’t.
    Right up until April 26, 2008, Ms. Few led a very independent life. She still did all her own cooking and cleaning, and took care of Linda’s ten– and twelve-year-old kids after they got out of school while Linda worked. The ten-year-old was autistic and had to be monitored closely because of his special needs. Every day when the children got home, Ms. Few had pizza and a cold Dr Pepper waiting on them. She even babysat her two-year-old great-grandchild whose mother was attending the Academy of Hair Design, a beauty school.
    On that “What if?” Saturday morning, Ms. Few answered the phone when DaVita called. She was glad to be able to get in for her treatment early and get it over with.
    Ms. Few walked into DaVita that morning on her own with the use of a walker. Dr. Imran Nazeer, the DaVita director and Ms. Few’s doctor, said that, as always, she was lively, full of energy and spirit. It wasn’t just her doctor who said this; everyone described Ms. Few this way, but especially on the morning of April 26. Donnya Heartsfield, now an RN but an LVN in April 2008, said Ms. Few was just a sweet little lady; happy and cheerful, excited to be able to get in early.
    After Ms. Few was called back to begin her treatment, Heartsfield hooked her to the machine. The older woman had no problems, her vitals were good, and she was progressing well with her treatment. The nurse made her rounds of the patients, and then checked on Ms. Few again and found her doing well. Before leaving to go on her break, Heartsfield asked her teammate to look after her patients until she returned.
    Approximately thirty minutes later, the length of breaks at DaVita, Donnya Heartsfield returned to her patients. She found Ms. Few unresponsive and with no pulse. She yelled for help, and the staff attempted to save Ms. Few, but to no avail. She became the fifth patient in twenty-six days to die on the dialysis machine.
    After Ms. Few was transported away from DaVita, Dr. Nazeer asked RN Sharon Smith what meds Ms. Few had been given. When Smith checked the computer, she didn’t see where the meds were documented. Smith asked Saenz if she’d given Ms. Few her meds, and when Saenz said yes, Smith told her to document it. Saenz then went to the computer and put in a time she’d given the meds.
    Just one week later, the syringe that Saenz had used to administer Ms. Few’s meds would become a key piece of evidence in leading investigators to the true cause of so many unanswered what-ifs.

CHAPTER 6

    IN PLAIN SIGHT
    When Kimberly Clark Saenz awoke around 4 A.M. on April 28, 2008, it was to a cool, windy Monday morning. Chances are that, like most of the other days she’d worked as a nurse for DaVita Lufkin, she didn’t want to go in, but felt she didn’t have a choice. They needed the money and she’d already missed a lot of days that month.
    She probably had no inkling that by the end of the day she would become the subject of an investigation, or that news stories carrying her name would soon bounce all across the United States.
    After dressing in regulation nursing scrubs and putting her hair in its