Meagan Hainlen Md's Online Review Report Card

My daughter was admitted to Children's Medical Center Dallas Texas on 9/24/20. She was admitted with severe weakness, inability to ambulate on her own, difficulties with speech and severe pain in the her extremities. My daughter had received a diagnosis of Rhabdomyolysis on 8/20/20 and then Covid 19 on 8/25/20, she had started to get better but on the week of 9/21/20 began to decline. When admitted on 9/24/20 she was examined by a resident whom almost immediately, without the benefit of a full and proper work up, diagnosed my daughter as psychosomatic. Dr. Hainlen, being the attending neurologist, consulted on 9/25/20. She never once did a physical exam on my daughter, she never once witnessed a physical exam of her and never even spoke directly to her. On Dr. Hainlens advice any further workup and testing on my daughter was denied. Dr. Hainlens exact words to me on 9/25/20, again without the benefit of her own physical exam, were "She's psychosomatic. I know the type. I've seen this hundreds of times in these overachieving, attention seeking types". The attending pediatrician denied any further work up on her orders, stating she was the specialist and he was inclined to agree with her because she was the specialist. When I asked Dr. Hainlen how many post covid patients she had treated that were psychosomatic, she answered "none". When I asked how many post covid patients period she had treated she again stated "none". When I tried to share with her an article our primary care physician sent urging further medical work up Dr. Hainlen scoffed. When I begged and advocated for further work up for my daughter Dr. Hainlen refused, when the speech therapist that consulted my daughter while at Children's tried to advise Dr. Hainlen that she had seen such presentations in post covid syndrome patients at other facilities Dr. Hainlen stopped her with the words "I've made my diagnosis". She was negligent not only in her lack of physical exam but also in her lack of ongoing care and refusal to do a proper and full work up. After returning home on 9/26/20 my daughter continued to decline and on 9/30/20 she was admitted to Medical City Children's hospital where she stayed until 10/7/20 and received excellent care along with a full work up that included MRI's of the brain, brain stem and full spine as well as a lumbar puncture which relieved cerebrospinal fluid pressure. Unfortunately due to the prolonged time without proper treatment and diagnosis the post covid immune disorder caused damage not only to her autonomic nervous system but also to her cardiovascular system as well. Dr. Hainlen refused my daughter proper care, refused her proper pain management and even gave me literature that stated I should ignore my daughters symptoms and cries of pain that to acknowledge would be feeding into her psychosomatic disorder. I am thankful that we have excellent primary care support, that our primary physician advised us to seek emergent care and a secondary opinion from another facility. I can only imaging the condition my child would be in now had we trusted Dr. Hainlens diagnosis and ignored her symptoms. As it is my daughter is now on four medications two for her POTS cardiac syndrome alone and the other for ongoing nerve pain. Dr. Hainlen was negligent and at the very least should have to answer for her lack of proper physical exam and work up to the medical board, she needs further education on these new and worsening conditions related to COVID 19. I would hate for any other child to have to go through what mine has. Thank you.