'The ceiling, the walls, the beds, they were everywhere': US veteran dies after being found covered in ants at VA hospital
Veteran's daughter says she visited her father at hospital to discover red bumps all over his body
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Vietnam War veteran has died days after he was bitten more than 100 times by ants while in an Atlanta Veterans Affairs hospital.
Joel Marrable was being treated for cancer at a nursing home at the Atlanta VA Medical Centre when he was bitten by the ants, according to his daughter, Laquna Ross.
Ms Ross told ABC Atlanta that she noticed her father’s hands were swollen and his body covered in red bumps during a visit to see her father.
She then alerted the staff, she said, and was “worried and confused because that wasn’t how he looked when I saw him last time”.
In response, a staff member told her that Mr Marrable had been swarmed by ants earlier.
They said ‘You know, the ants,’” Ms Ross said. “The staff member says to me, ‘When we walked in here, we thought Mr Marrable was dead. We thought he wasn’t even alive, because the ants were all over him'.”
“His room had ants, the ceiling, the walls, the beds. They were everywhere. He served his country in the Air Force, and I think that he deserved better.”
The Atlanta VA Hospital has released a statement in response to the incident, saying that the bedrooms have since been stripped and searched for ants. Open containers of food have been removed and a pest control company has been hired to do an inspection, they said.
“The Atlanta VA Health Care System leadership team has been notified that ants were found in our community living centre and impacting patients. CLC staff immediately cared for the veterans and took action to ensure no other CLC residents were impacted. We would like to express our heartfelt remorse and apology to the veterans' families and have reached out to them to offer appropriate assistance,” the statement read.
Ms Ross said that the health care workers bathed her father and moved him and cleaned his room after the incident, but that the ants came back. They then moved him to a new room, where he died.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments