‘God only knows what could have happened’ Lehigh Acres woman claims she was given wrong medication

Reporter: Maddie Herron Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:

The past year for Pamela Rose has been a hard pill to swallow.

When Rose was diagnosed with breast cancer in March, the hairdresser went through a list of treatments.

“Medicine has taken so much from me,” said Rose. “I have been at a point where I feel like it’s my last moment.”

Although the medicine made her cancer-free, she now battles severe blood clots.

“This is something that can creep up on you in the middle of the night and take your life,” said Rose.

Her blood thinners help keep the clots at bay. She said she can’t afford to miss a dosage, or it could cost her her life.

When Rose picked up her prescription at a Walgreens off Homestead Road North in Lehigh Acres Wednesday afternoon, everything seemed routine until she popped the cap.

“The label is correct, the paperwork is correct, but there is a different medication in the bottle completely,” said Rose.

It’s not a hard difference to spot.

According to her prescription receipt, the blood thinner medication should have been an off-white capsule.

“I open the bottle and I pour one in my hand, and I had like this triangular tablet. And I thought, ‘Well, that’s strange,'” said Rose.

So, she went to ask the pharmacist.

“I set it all down. And I’m like, ‘This pill is not what belongs in this bottle.’ And he’s like, “Oh yeah, that’s a sugar pill. That’s not the right one. Let me get that for you.” And he walks to the back like it’s no big deal,” said Rose.

WINK News reached out to Walgreens, and a spokesperson for the company sent the following statement:

“In the event of any prescription error, our first concern is always for a patient’s well-being. Our multi-step procedure includes several safety checks to minimize the chance of human error and we have reviewed this process with our pharmacy staff in order to prevent such occurrences.”

“Had I not paid attention, I would have taken this medication, and God only knows what could have happened the next day,” said Rose. “When you get into the situation where somebody else has the potential of taking your life just based on a medication… it’s terrifying!”

Rose told WINK News she has filed complaints with Florida Health and Walgreens, but nobody has contacted her yet.

The Walgreens spokesperson who gave WINK News that earlier statement says they are looking into this.

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