In the wake of a recent death at Guam Memorial Hospital courtyard, more families are sharing their troubling experiences at the hospital. 

One family left questioning how their loved one, who went to GMH for treatment, was later found unconscious outside the building. 

As the investigation into the death of a woman at the Guam Memorial Hospital continues to unfold, members of the public are speaking out, sharing similar experiences of their own and claiming negligence played a role.

The family of a 75-year-old man said they are still searching for answers after his unexpected death following a visit to Guam Memorial Hospital.

His relative, who asked to keep his identity private, said he was admitted to the ER on Feb. 4 for severe back pain and shortness of breath.

His sister brought him to the ER around 7 p.m.

Then, at 8:30 p.m., he called her, yelling that no one was helping him.

She returned about 15 minutes later, placing a lidocaine patch on his back to ease the pain.

She assumed he would stay overnight, as he had before when seeking similar treatment for the same complaints.

Just hours later at 1 a.m., the family received a devastating phone call.

“Telling my mother, ‘Your brother was found unconscious by the security shack,’” they said. 

By the time they arrived, he had passed away.

Desperate for answers, the family said GMH staff gave them conflicting accounts of what happened. 

They were first told that the patient was discharged at 10 p.m. and that a nurse had called family for pickup but there were no missed calls from the hospital or from their loved one.

“He’s 75 years old, oxygen dependent, blind, hard of hearing, dependent on a walker,” the relative said. “Whether it be on a wheelchair or walking, he cannot push that door open by himself.” 

The medical examiner later ruled that he died from a seizure but how he ended up outside the hospital remains a mystery.

“They said there were no signs of trauma and he died from a seizure. The hospital told us he rolled down the hill and, I’m assuming, flipped out of the wheelchair because they said they found him on the ground,” they added. 

The family turned to Guam police for help but got no answers there either.

“How did my uncle get out? How did he die? What happened? There are two hours unaccounted for,” they asked. “And we’re trying to get answers and everybody is like, ‘Oh, I don’t know. It wasn’t me.’ Nobody was accepting blame. Not once did anyone show empathy. They didn’t show any empathy.”

For this grieving family, the uncertainty is unbearable

“I don’t know if they parked him out on the curb, went to do something else, and assumed he got picked up. I don’t know. Nobody had answers,” they said. “But I don’t think he succumbed to any of his illnesses. I think something happened with GMH and they’re not telling us.”