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Local hospital admits to throwing out woman's belongings during surgery

A mother said a local hospital threw out her personal belongings while she was under anesthesia during treatment.

Norma Martinez said she doesn’t want compensation, instead, she wants a precious picture that links back to memories from decades ago.

Martinez said she used to carry a wallet-size photo of her and her grandmother everywhere she went.

“It’s not something that I’ll be able to replace because there is no copy,” said Martinez.

As she underwent a heart catheterization under anesthesia in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Riverside, she said the staff threw out her personal items.

“I went with heart problems that were physiological, but then I left out with a heartache because of my personal belongings,” explained Martinez.

Martinez said they tossed her phone charger, shoes and pants, which included a very sacred picture of her with her grandma.

“My grandmother was my mom. She died a long time ago and that’s the only picture that I have to recall of her. I’ve been through very, very difficult times and that was the strength that kept me going,” said Martinez.

She said after they realized their mistake, she asked for them to write a formal letter, but claims the hospital denied her request.

Martinez told us St. Vincent’s Hospital is willing to reimburse her for the items they threw away, but this mom said you can’t put a price on a sentimental picture.

We reached out to St. Vincent’s Hospital, which sent us this below response:

“While incidents regarding lost items do not frequently occur, we take each and every one of them seriously. We have protocols in place to ensure the security of our patients’ belongings.”

Even as she fights through health complications, she feels lost without her picture.

“That was like having the spirit of my grandmother next to me every day,” said Martinez.

Using her grandmother’s spirit, Martinez is lobbying to change hospital practices so this doesn’t happen again.