In 2020, when Dexter Barry knows he will be the recipient of a healthy heart, he is looking forward to the opportunity to watch his grandchildren grow up.
King Janelle
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King Janelle
In 2020, when Dexter Barry knows he will be the recipient of a healthy heart, he is looking forward to the opportunity to watch his grandchildren grow up.
King Janelle
On the day he was arrested for a misdemeanor, Dexter Barry warned Florida police that if he didn’t take his anti-rejection medication, his heart would stop working.
“I take rejection pills for a heart transplant. I can’t miss those doses,” he said, according to body camera footage obtained by NPR.
Barry, 54, pleaded with the police to arrest him seven times in November. He alerted the prison nurse and a court judge on his condition too. But during the two days Barry was held at the Duval County Jail in Jacksonville, Fla., no one allowed him access to the drug he desperately asked for.
Three days after his release from prison, Barry died of acute-rejected cardiac arrest, said Dr. Jose SuarezHoyos, a Florida pathologist who performed Barry’s private autopsy on behalf of Barry’s family. , told NPR.
Barry’s family insists that their loved one’s death was entirely preventable if prison staff took Barry’s pleas for medication more seriously. His death, first reported by branchesraised big questions about the quality of health care overseen by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The Florida ACLU told NPR in a statement: “The disturbing, preventable death of Dexter Barry from medical neglect highlights a major flaw in the way the United States treats its healthcare system. me. “We urge state officials to investigate Mr. Barry’s murder and pursue justice for his loved ones.”
The sheriff’s office declined to comment on Barry’s death due to pending litigation.
A joker ecstatic watching his grandchildren grow up
Barry, a car salesman with roots in the West Indies, loves traveling to the Caribbean, talking about cars and making his children laugh.
“He was strict but fun,” his daughter, Janelle King, told NPR. “He’s a joker, always making jokes and fun to be around.”
Janelle King (left) first met her biological father, Dexter Barry, (right) when she was 20 years old. The two have been friends ever since.
King Janelle
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King Janelle
Janelle King (left) first met her biological father, Dexter Barry, (right) when she was 20 years old. The two have been friends ever since.
King Janelle
King said after suffering a stroke in 2008, Barry waited for a new heart for 12 years and even moved to Florida to increase his chances of getting the procedure. Barry is determined to get treatment because he wants to see his son the kids grew up and watched King have a child of his own. In 2020, the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life has become a reality.
“He thought he was going to die before he could get one,” King said. “So to hear that they have a heart for him, it’s great news for everyone.”
Successful heart transplant recipients can live an average of 10 years
Some people wait months or year for donating hearts.
Dr Juan Vilaro, a cardiac transplant cardiologist at the University of Florida at Gainesville, told NPR: “Typically, for every organ that can be present, there’s a long list of potentially compatible recipients. enjoy it”.
The process is highly selective — blood type, body size, the patient’s medical condition, and the distance between the donor and candidate are all factors that determine who will receive a lifesaving transplant. living.
But once the procedure is done, it can be transformative for ailing patients. With proper treatment and rehabilitation, heart transplant recipients can extend their life expectancy by an average of 10 years, Vilaro said.
Anti-rejection drugs play an important role in making that happen. These drugs help prevent the recipient’s immune system from attacking their new heart. Therefore, they must be taken daily for the rest of their lives. A few days without medication can be fatal.
“What we explain to patients, there is no guarantee that these drugs are your lifeline,” he said.
Vilaro added that in his experience, when an organ transplant patient is incarcerated, hospital staff will coordinate with the prison or prison to ensure the patient continues to take the medication.
“They go through a lot of work and trouble phoning the prisons and making sure they get what they need,” he said.
Barry’s many pleas for medicine were ignored
On November 18, Barry got into a heated argument with his neighbor, who used his internet in exchange for some cash to help pay his internet bill. Barry accused his neighbor of missing some payments and at one point threatened to hit his disabled and blind neighbor. King said that before the match got heated, Barry left to cool off.
Later that day, Barry was charged with simple assault. While in the police car, Barry repeatedly alerted police about his transplant, as well as the medications he relied on to survive.
“The prison can take your medicine,” speak JJ McKeon, arresting officer.
During the period of receiving health, a prison The nurse noted that Barry had had a heart transplant and needed medication for it. “Urgent referral,” wrote the nurse, as did Barry’s pharmacy location, according to medical documents.
The next day, at a bond hearing, Barry sounded the alarm again.
“I just had a heart transplant and I haven’t been on medication all day since I was locked up, and I take heart-removal medication so my heart doesn’t reject it,” Barry said, according to court records.
Judge Gilbert Feltel replied “OK,” adding that Barry could be released if he paid a $503 bond.
“Hopefully you can do the bond here and get your medicine,” the judge said.
He suffered from acute rejection of the heart, only 2 years after the operation
Barry didn’t tell his family he was in jail until he was released on November 20. That night, Barry called his son, King said the man immediately noticed his father was unwell and urged him to see a doctor.
On November 23, Barry arrived at the hospital. There he asked if he should double his anti-rejection medication because he missed several doses. The nurse told him to continue taking his medication as usual to prevent the risk of an overdose, according to King.
Later that day, Barry, feeling weak, called his home health assistant to visit him. Upon arrival, the nurse called 911. When first responders arrived, the aide stepped out to escort them to the apartment. But when they returned to their apartment, Barry was unresponsive. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
King said she was most worried when more authorities learned of her father’s condition.
“The police, the judges, the prison, the nurses, the medical team, nobody does their job,” she said. “As a result, my father, who had been waiting 12 years for a transplant, was not here.”
