56 - What really happened to Christa Pike?

Taking blood from, or giving a medication into, a vein is a skill. It is something you need to be trained in and then practise hundreds of times to become really proficient.

Crucially, it is never something that you have a go at and simply hope for the best.

Unbelievably, the man attempting to administer phenobarbitone intravenously to Christa Pike was not in any sense a skilled phlebotomist. He was, in fact, having a go. And so, instead of the drug going cleanly into her vein and on to her brain, it went into the tissues of her arm, giving her great pain and distress. From there it leeched slowly into her bloodstream, putting her into a coma from which she will be lucky to recover completely.

A likely outcome is some degree of brain damage. Then they may have to decide about continued life support, ventilation, IV fluids and oxygen. God help her; nobody deserves this.