From Misquote to Misdiagnosis: How Tori Took Control of Her Medical Story

🫀 Real Advocacy. Real Impact.

Tori Lungren’s Two-Story Reminder That Your Voice Might Be the Most Important Tool You Have

🩷 PATIENT SPOTLIGHT

Sometimes the hardest part of being a patient isn’t the diagnosis — it’s convincing someone to actually listen.Tori Lungren knows that struggle well. For years, she was brushed off, told it was “just stress,” and left to carry symptoms no one took seriously. But she didn’t stop pushing.

Her persistence led to two pivotal moments — moments that didn’t just shape her care.They may have saved her life.

📁 Advocacy #1: The Patient Chart Note That Could’ve Labeled Her for Life

At a first-time visit with a new primary care doctor, Tori carefully listed her allergies and side effects. One of them — prednisone — made her irritable and emotionally reactive. She described the experience by saying it made her “feel like I could kill someone.”

Later that day, her After Visit Summary documented something very different:

📝 “When taking prednisone, the patient wants to kill people.”

That’s not just a typo — that’s a misrepresentation of intent. A note like that could follow a patient for life, influencing how they’re treated, what medications they’re allowed to access, or even how their mental health is perceived.

What followed was a two-week battle of phone calls, in-person visits, forms, and ID checks — all just to correct a mistake she didn’t even make. She never received an apology — just a cold confirmation that the update was made.

But she didn’t let it slide. She showed up, spoke up, and stayed until it was corrected.

📊 STAT: Nearly 1 in 5 patients who review their records find an error — and over 40% of those are serious.🧾 Source: Bell et al., JAMA Network Open, 2020Read the Study ›

Tori Lungren Heart Valve Patient and Advocate

💻 Advocacy #2: The Device Report That Didn’t Match Reality

Months after a successful tricuspid valve procedure, Tori felt stronger. But at a follow-up visit, she did something simple — she asked her cardiologist to read her pacemaker report out loud.

What she heard didn’t match reality:

🧾 Two leads were listed — one in the upper chamber, one in the lower.

But Tori only had one lead.

This wasn’t just a technical glitch — it was a medical record error that could’ve led to incorrect care or procedure decisions in the future. But again, Tori caught it — and her doctor corrected it on the spot.

📊 STAT: Roughly 1 in 4 patients experience discrepancies between medical device data and their electronic records, especially in cardiology.🧾 Source: ONC, HealthIT.gov, 2023Read the Report ›

🧠 What These Stories Teach Us

✅ Documentation errors do happen — even with experienced providers.

✅ Patients have the right to read, question, and request corrections.

✅ Advocacy isn’t being difficult — it’s protection.

Tori's story reminds us that advocacy isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s asking the uncomfortable question, “Can you read that out loud?” and refusing to back down.

🗣️ Want to hear Tori tell her story in her own words?

🎧 Don’t miss Season 2, Episode 1 of Heart2Heart Talk — dropping July 30.Tori shares her journey from missteps to milestones — and what helped her reclaim her strength, her voice, and her future.

👉 Available on all major streaming platforms.

🫀 Every time a patient speaks up, they open the door to healing — not just for themselves, but for others.

✨ Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a story that could change the way you see your own.Thank you for being part of a community that listens, learns, and leads with heart.

#SelfAdvocacyMatters #HeartValveDisease #Heart2HeartTalk #ListenToPatients  #Heart2HeartTalk # #HospiceSurvivor #HeartBridgeCollective #PatientPower