CHAPEL HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — As the conviction of former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught was announced, Chapel Hill pastor Ridley Barron tuned in, like many others.
"Any time you lose somebody, there's all kinds of things that cause you to reflect or be drawn back to that emotion," he said.
Barron and his family were involved in a car accident 18 years ago. His wife died and his 17-month-old son Josh was hospitalized.
"He was accidentally overdosed four days later by a pharmacist, who just simply made a mistake and gave an adult dosage of a medication he required," said Barron. "She had been a pharmacist for 25 years, and that day had simply made a mistake."
The emotions he felt after the tragedy he said are hard to put into words.
"I mean you wake up some days going 'OK the dream needs to be over because this is too much,'" he said.
Barron struggled with what to do and how to feel. He knew sending the pharmacist to jail wouldn't bring his son back, and they had both already lost too much.
"The whole impetus for me was that I wanted me and my two children to go on with our lives, to move forward," said Barron. "I was anxious to do that and so forgiveness was the first course that had to happen, not just for the pharmacist, but for me."
It was a step towards healing. Another one came when he was invited back to the hospital to share his story, but it was just the beginning.
Today, Barron travels the country discussing the importance of transparency and forgiveness.
"I've had incredible opportunities just to hold health care workers who've made those kind of mistakes," said Barron. "I've had the opportunity to talk with three or four who were on the verge of suicide."
He calls health care workers — like the pharmacist in his story — the "second victim."
"Every single one of us will make mistakes over the course of our lives doing things — mistakes in how we handle relationships, mistakes in how we handle our jobs, all kinds of things," said Barron.
As a victim of a medical error, his message for others is clear.
"As long as you've got breath, you've got hope. It's just a choice you make to choose to see the good in the possibility in life," he said.
