A mother who posts on TikTok as Saffyy_saff (@saffyy_saff) said in a video that she filmed her son at Hershey Penn State Hospital after he had major brain and stomach surgeries. She stated that a doctor did not believe her son needed narcotics even though he had been screaming and crying through the night.
In the video she said, “So I am here in this hospital and this doctor does not believe that my son, after he had a major brain surgery and stomach surgery, she does not believe that he needs any narcotics right now.” She added that she and the boy’s father had to settle him down themselves. The clip showed the child in a hospital bed and later a close-up of stitches on his scalp.
The mother wrote in the caption that she was posting “for awareness and because racist doctors need to be held accountable.” She tagged Penn State Health and The Shade Room. The video had gained 3.6 million views, 418,900 likes, and 12,300 comments. She later wrote that patient relations reached out after the video was brought to their attention.
Mother named the doctor and described earlier events at the hospital
Saffyy_saff later posted two photos on TikTok and wrote that the provider who tried to remove pain-medication orders was Dr. Samantha Sefick. She stated that another doctor had already assessed her son and cleared him for pain medication.
She claimed Dr. Sefick came into the room and said she knew the boy was not in pain and that she signs off on other doctors’ checks, so if she said he would not receive pain medication, then he would not get it. Allegations of medical bias in pain management are not isolated, such as when a Texas woman with sickle cell anemia was denied treatment and accused of seeking drugs.
The mother said Dr. Sefick also moved her son out of the PICU to the general pediatrics floor less than 24 hours after two major surgeries. She wrote that his pain continued not to be properly managed on that floor. One photo showed a woman in a white face mask and white long-sleeved top. The second photo was a directory screenshot listing “Samantha Sefick, DO, MEd” as Assistant Professor, Pediatrics.
In a separate TikTok video, the mother said her son had caught COVID in the hospital under their care. She stated that doctors wanted to perform surgery even though the anesthesiologist did not agree it was medically necessary or urgent at the time, and that those providers did not take her son into surgery.
She said that the day before, her son’s original neurosurgeon had seen him as an outpatient, agreed to follow up a month later, and said the boy was stable and did not need further surgeries. She named Dr. Brent R. O’Neill and Dr. Robert Marquis and claimed they “held us hostage in the hospital and called ACS on me” to, in their words, “Take him into protective custody and perform the surgery anyway.”
The mother wrote that when she reported them to the house manager, the house manager called ACS herself and had the case closed. She added that the nurse caring for her son also called on their behalf because he agreed that what the doctors were doing was not right. She said that was why Dr. Sam approached her the way she did in the first video and refused to give her son medication, calling it backlash.
She later commented that the events took place in April. She wrote that she had spoken to numerous attorneys who told her they could not take her case because no long-term damage was caused to her son, and that in their words, “You just didn’t agree with their after care.” She said her boy is doing a lot better now, but those few days in the hospital were hell, and she felt like everyone was against them.
In the scan-discussion video, a doctor in blue scrubs sat at a laptop showing imaging. The parent asked him to measure the ventricles. He said the method being used was “Not the Best way to measure the ventricles.” Such concerns about hospital treatment are echoed in other accounts, like when a Black woman says staff threatened to call security after she tried to report a receptionist who allegedly dismissed her.
When asked how they knew things were getting worse, he replied that, by the best way to measure, they were bigger and that “Looking at it eyeballs, they’re just bigger.” The parent pointed out those were the scans being used to say Cairo needed the surgery.
Viewers left mixed comments under the first video. One commenter wrote, “Why we need more black doctors.” Another asked, “Why are they acting like they can’t hear you?” Some commenters rejected the racism claim. One wrote, “Girl that’s not racism they don’t give narcotics to anyone after brain surgery’s it can effect neurological response and checks.”
Another said, “This is not racism. They do the same exact thing to white people. Trust.” A third commented, “Doctors know and when not to give drugs. Not everything is racism.” One viewer wrote, “the son is sleeping he’s fine sis.”
There is truth to the final comment. As mentioned in this study, doctors generally try to limit or closely monitor opioid use after brain surgery, although they may still be prescribed when pain is severe.
Published: Sep 9, 2026 07:30 am