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Unconscious, exposed in every way. People are incredibly vulnerable when they go under in order to undergo surgery. They can’t argue, push back, or move out of the way once they’re on the operating table and under the knife.

Thinking of that helplessness breaks Beverly Bryan’s heart. Her tall, strong, and strapping husband was a force to be reckoned with when he was standing on his own two feet. 

Not that Bill Bryan normally needed to be tough. The retired boilermaker’s family says he was an easy-going, Alabama football fan who loved his family and classic cars. 

But when he had trouble with his spleen while on vacation in Florida, the Alabama man pushed back on the doctor’s recommendation to undergo surgery in the Sunshine State. 

He said “No,” not just once, but many times. 

Bill finally relented when the surgeon told him he could bleed out if he waited. Tragically, he bled out anyway. According to Bill’s medical records, he died when the surgeon mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen. 

Bill could face a lot of challenges his wife said, but not one he never saw coming. 

Join us for more in this episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Death on the Operating Table: Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky accused of removing wrong organ.”

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