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CNN's Tapper Shares Harrowing Story of Daughter's Misdiagnosis; Tesla Stock Continues to Fall as Musk Shifts Focus to Twitter; Interview with Chef Jose Andres. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired December 16, 2022 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER TAPPER, DAUGHTER'S APPENDICITIS MISDIAGNOSED: I thought why is her skin so green and why are her hands and feet freezing?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, you really thought that Alice might die.

JENNIFER TAPPER: I absolutely don't like to think that she could have died but 100 percent I was starting to think.

GUPTA (voice-over): Jennifer and my colleague, Jake Tapper, are 15- year-old Alice's parents. They all wanted to share their story as a cautionary tale and to shed light on how something so common, so treatable, could go so terribly wrong.

ALICE TAPPER, APPENDICITIS MISDIAGNOSED: I started throwing up on a Saturday morning and I got really sick. I was just not getting better so my parents took me to go into the hospital.

GUPTA (voice-over): Most likely diagnosis at the time, stomach pains, possible food poisoning, gastroenteritis

Jennifer was particularly worried about appendicitis.

JENNIFER TAPPER: I said -- this is on Monday. And I said, why don't you just give her a sonogram. She has so much going on down there. She's in so much pain. Let's just see what it is because we don't know.

And they looked at me and -- and the doctor said to me, "That data is not needed."

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR WHOSE DAUGHTER'S APPENDICITIS WAS MISDIAGNOSED: That data's not needed.

JENNIFER TAPPER: We don't need that data.

GUPTA: Data, evidence, and one more critical ingredient, judgment. It's what doctors use to try and make decisions.

For example, pain in the right lower belly is considered one of the most common symptoms of appendicitis, and yet only half of the people with appendicitis have the classic pattern.

(on camera): Where were you experiencing the pain?

ALICE TAPPER: I had pain all over my abdomen instead of just my right quadrant.

The way that they ruled out appendicitis was a jump test. I was asked to jump and I was maybe able to maybe get one inch off the ground. And just that ruled out appendicitis for all of the doctors. And that's when they just declared it was a viral infection.

DR. PRASHANT MAHAJAN, DIVISION CHIEF, PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: But being verified, this is very important.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Prashant Mahajan heads the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Department at the University of Michigan.

His says misdiagnosis can occur, in part, because of "diagnostic momentum."

MAHAJAN: You anchor yourself on that particular diagnosis and it is possible, in some instances, that it is taking you away from the condition that the patient has.

GUPTA: It was, in part, that diagnostic momentum that led to the doctor's missing the early signs of appendicitis in Alice.

Every year, roughly 25,000 children develop appendicitis. And according to this study published in 2020 by Dr. Mahajan, roughly 5 percent of the time -- that's a thousand times a year -- the story mirrors the story of what happened to Alice Tapper next.

JAKE TAPPER: We went into the hospital and we just assumed the doctors knew what they were talking about. They kind of backed into a diagnosis of a viral infection.

And Jenn and I would say, are you sure it's not appendicitis because her pediatrician thinks it may be. Is there some reason we can't give her antibiotics? Is there some reason we can get an x-ray or a scan?

JENNIFER TAPPER: We see the child every day. So I knew her skin coloring was different. I knew her belly was distended, even though she's a smaller-framed child. Those are the things we kept saying.

GUPTA: In fact, more three excruciating days passed in the hospital without much more than pain relievers before the Tapper family was finally able to get some answers.

JAKE TAPPER: I'm a journalist. So I was able to get the number of the administrator, figure it out. And they took the call. And they took action.

But most people wouldn't have been able to do that. But we recognize we have this privilege.

ALICE TAPPER: We got an X-ray, and it showed that I had something going on in my appendix. So, after we got a sonogram, they were like, we need to rush you into surgery after this.

GUPTA: But by then, Alice had worsened dramatically. The reason she had suffered such widespread pain was because her appendix had already ruptured, leading to severe infection and sepsis.

An appendectomy is one of the most common pediatric operations performed. Typically, it lasts around an hour and the recovery takes a few weeks.

In Alice's case, however, the operation couldn't even be done, because her abdominal cavity was now filled with infected fluid.

ALICE TAPPER: I had to get two laparoscopic drains at first. And then after they discharged me and sent me home. I went back to the hospital because I still wasn't feeling better. And they had to put another laparoscopic draining.

I ended up getting my appendix out 12 weeks later in March.

GUPTA (on camera): What was your life like during those 12 weeks?

ALICE TAPPER: I had lost so much weight from being hospitalized, that I was just struggling to eat and able to function. I had trouble going to school. I would get so tired and make my mom pick me up early.

GUPTA (voice-over): Months of her life lost. So much of that entirely preventable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And joining us now is Jake Tapper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

[08:34:59]

Jake, I can't get over that line, "The data's not needed."

JAKE TAPPER: Yes, yes. Well, I mean, I think that there's -- and the reason -- look, we're very privileged. We were able to break through the hospital bureaucracy and change who was taking care of Alice and get her fixed.

The average family would not have been able to do that. And the average family may have very well lost that child.

And that's why we're coming forward, not to point fingers, but to say to the medical community, please, at least 5 percent if not up to 15 percent of the time, appendicitis is being misdiagnosed, especially among kids.

And, as Sanjay pointed, at least 50 percent of the time, the abdominal pain is not just focused on the right quadrant, as Alice puts it.

So the medical community needs to rethink how they rule out appendicitis. That's why we're coming forward.

Please do not just say, no, this is viral. Do not back into diagnoses -- I'm sorry, I'm a little emotional watching that piece again.

COLLINS: No, it's all right.

JAKE TAPPER: The reason we're coming forward is because we don't want this to happen to anyone else. And we recognize most people would not have been able to get the hospital administrator on the phone.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That's my question to you. That's my question to you. How are you guys doing?

JAKE TAPPER: We're good. Alice is stronger and healthier than anyone in the family. She's taken up crew and she's seized her life in the best possible way.

But, look, almost losing a child is a horrible thing, other than actually losing a child, and we almost lost her.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: I remember when we saw this tweet, Jake, last March and you were at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We can show it finally, the hospital that was able to save Alice.

And I had no idea about any of this background, right? And so, to think what you went through.

And, Sanjay, Alice writes at the end of her piece on CNN.com, "I still can't believe this happened to me. I don't want it to happen to anyone else."

What can families, as Jake said, that are not as privileged as them do to save their children?

GUPTA: I mean, it's interesting. I went through all the medical records. There's hundreds of pages.

Even aside from Jake finally making the call to the administrator, they did all the right things. They were very clear about what they thought was going on with Alice.

I think one of the things that jumped out at me is that parents are going to know their kids better than anyone. Kids may describe their symptoms differently to the doctors. Parents know what's going on with their children.

What Jake and Jennifer were doing were making it clear to the doctors that this is unusual. Because the kid may be more stoic in the hospital. The Tapper parents, in this case, need to make sure the doctors understand how serious this is. And they did that.

There's also this thing called "diagnostic momentum" and it something to be aware of. Think of this as the group think that happens in hospitals. Someone puts down the diagnosis, somebody else affirms it, it becomes affirmed, affirmed, affirmed. It becomes a snowball. That's the diagnosis.

Interrupting diagnostic momentum is an important thing. Understand that people are going down this hill and you have to interrupt that. Jennifer said something to me as well during the interview, which is

that, look, you can be a kind person and a nice person, but it's not the time to be polite in terms of actually talking about what's going on with their child.

You have to make it very clear that -- you don't want to outsource the thinking to other people and say, if you just take care of this. You need to be in there and got involved, which, again, the Tappers did.

And in this case, as happens at least 5 percent of the time, this diagnosis still occurred. But interrupting that diagnostic momentum I think is really important.

HARLOW: Everyone should read --

JAKE TAPPER: If I could go back in time --

HARLOW: Yes.

JAKE TAPPER: I'm sorry for interrupting.

HARLOW: Yes.

JAKE TAPPER: If I could go back in time, what I would say is, instead of being polite, instead of Jennifer and I saying, do you think we could get an x-ray or a CAT scan or a sonogram, do you think we could do that, and instead of being polite about it, deferential, I would demand it.

Alice needs an x-ray. You guys don't know what's going. I don't know if it's because you don't want to pay for the x-ray or what it is. We'll pay for it out of pocket. Our insurance will pay for it. Get her an x-ray.

If that x-ray happened Monday, all of the pain of Tuesday and Wednesday would have been avoided. So I think demanding something for your kid or for yourself is something that patients can do.

HARLOW: Because you're their voice in this. You're their voice in this.

LEMON: It horrible that you went through this.

But, Jake, you're using it for good. And I really appreciate it. I know it's emotional for you.

[08:40:01]

Jake is not usually this emotional. He's a bit stoic, as we know. Like me, a bit of a curmudgeon sometimes.

But, Jake, I'm sorry you guys went through this. But I'm really happy that you're bringing life to it. That's fantastic.

JAKE TAPPER: Well, thank you so much.

And just to clarify from Poppy's tweet, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is not where all the bad stuff happened.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: No, I said the good stuff.

JAKE TAPPER: -- Alice had her appendix removed.

HARLOW: Yes. Yes.

JAKE TAPPER: Yes, yes, yes. I just don't want to make sure nothing is misunderstood. Because CHOP removed her appendix months later, different hospital, greatest people in the world. We love CHOP.

HARLOW: I was trying to get them some well-deserved props --

JAKE TAPPER: Yes.

HARLOW: -- with that.

JAKE TAPPER: I just don't want any misunderstandings.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: Thank you, guys.

I hope everyone reads Alice's op-ed. It has other good recommendations, like other pediatric appendix calculators that people can look at that can really be helpful.

And just definitely watch "THE LEAD" with Jake today at 4 p.m. Eastern.

Sanjay, Jake, thanks.

LEMON: And our regards to Alice and Jennifer.

JAKE TAPPER: Thanks, guys.

GUPTA: Thanks.

LEMON: See you. Thanks.

JAKE TAPPER: Thank you.

HARLOW: OK, next, this morning's number is 62. And we're going to tell you why, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:07]

HARLOW: Welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING.

So Elon Musk sold another $3.6 billion worth of Tesla shares this week. That is 22 million shares. The last time he got rid of that much was in early November shortly after he bought Twitter. This week's sale has only added to a steady decline in Tesla share value, which has been unraveling for over a year.

Let's turn to CNN senior data reporter, Harry Enten, for this morning's number.

Good morning.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Good morning.

HARLOW: What is it?

ENTEN: This morning's number is Tesla stock price change since November 4, 2021. It is down 62 percent. This morning's number is 62. That's how much Tesla stock price has changed, from $410 per share at the peak now to just $158 per share.

Why has Tesla's stock price fallen so much? There are a bunch of different reasons.

First off, there are overall market problems. The market is down altogether. There's more competition in the election care space. Production problems and the zero-COVID policy in China.

And we can't ignore this. Musk buying Twitter. Tesla is down 30 percent since then.

Let's look at Musk individually. He is obviously the man who runs Tesla.

And we can see here, take a look at the worth of the two richest men in the world right now. Bernard Arnault, Louis Vuitton, now at $172 billion. Elon Musk down to $161 billion.

Look at where they were 13 months ago. Bernard Arnault basically at the same level, $170 billion. Look at Elon Musk's worth, though. It was at $340 billion. It is now down to $161 billion.

Obviously, I'd like $161 billion. But we're talking about a nearly $200-billion loss in his net worth because Tesla has been down considerably.

Of course, we talk about electric cars, they are only 2 percent of the market at this point. That's something we have to keep in mind when talking about this. Most people still have a gas car.

HARLOW: For now.

ENTEN: For now.

HARLOW: Thank you for the number, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

HARLOW; Good to see you. World renowned chef, Jose Andres, is debuting a new show on Discovery- Plus highlighting his Spanish roots with his family. He is here live in the studio.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:25]

COLLINS: The renowned chef and humanitarian, Jose Andres, is returning to his roots as he embarks on his new journey.

He and his three daughters are dining they're way from their native Spain, sampling the food that first inspired him and jumpstarted his passion for cooking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE ANDRES, CHEF, HUMANITARIAN & FOUNDER, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Hello, people. I am Jose Andres. Spain is the land where I was born and where my passion for cooking began.

Oh, yes.

Spain lives deep in my soul. And its food has made me who I am, a chef who loves to feed the world.

When you hear the happiness of all the ingredients.

It's true, I have more than 30 restaurants across the U.S.

Ola.

But I am also a humanitarian feeding millions of people around the world.

We did 600 hot meals. A good day.

(CHEERING)

ANDRES: I'm off to America three decades ago. And I raised my family here. And now, I'm taking my daughters, Carlotta, Ines and Sophia, all around my beloved home country. I want them to see it all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So joining us now is the chef, restaurateur, humanitarian and founder of World Central Kitchen, Jose Andres.

We want to talk about your Ukraine stuff because that's so special.

But this is cool to see you and your daughters going on this culinary tour. What was it like?

ANDRES: Quite frankly, for a dad to do this with his daughters is amazing. This is during the pandemic. We were very much cooking at home, posting videos. The seemed more comfortable using this myriad of videos.

I told them, hey, what if we do a show? They began thinking about it, they said yes, and here we did it.

LEMON: I got to hang out with you guys and your daughters last night. Pretty amazing. You have a great family. I don't know who they take after, but they are a great family.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDRES: Their mother, who you don't see there. The mother, but she was behind, making sure that everything run perfectly.

We went to many places that they were familiar with, south of Spain, where I am from.

But we went to all the places they have never been before and probably those were the best moments. Because for them was discovering even more the country where their mother and their father came from.

LEMON: Everything is a family affair with you. Let's just be honest. When I saw you in Ukraine, you were feeding people there. But you were also shooting this series. You were going back and forth.

At one point, one of your kids -- was it your son? Someone came with you to Ukraine.

ANDRES: My daughter.

LEMON: Your daughter?

ANDRES: My daughter, Sophia. She came for a week.

LEMON: You were doing this as well.

Why is it important for you to do all of this at once? This is crazy, Jose.

ANDRES: Actually, it was my daughter, Ines. Now when I go back home, I'm going to be -- oh, my.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDRES: I mean, you know, the show celebrates hopefully the pandemic is behind. This is more than a show about Spain. It's a show about family. It's about coming together, friends, going through difficult times together.

And it's a show about telling the world, come on, let's start traveling, let's start going to faraway places. This show is about all of that and more.

HARLOW: Why do you think food is such a uniter? Because that's actually what you've done, in your restaurants, united people, and through World Central Kitchen, you unite people in the most-dire circumstances. [08:54:57]

ANDRES: Listen, not to get too deep, but food is so important to all of us that we welcome people we don't even know to our table as a sign of, I'm going to care for you. You are welcome to my tribe.

Remember, the first gift we receive as a sign of love is when we come into the world and our moms bring us to the body and somebody is feeding us. That moment the connection of humans with food is in the DNA forever.

A French philosopher said tell me what you eat, I will tell you who you are. This is very much ingrained in who we are.

We need to start having food more at the heart of the table, especially as we talk about food as politics and food as policy.

LEMON: You give away a lot of money. You got $100 million from Jeff Bezos. What are you doing with it? How are you using it?

ANDRES: We put some of that money into the beginning of Ukraine but we've spent hundreds of millions in that operation. And 100 percent of the donations are private.

But the money of the investors I'm using it in things that I believe.

Food is going to be the answer. We need to make sure that countries around the world recognize food as a national security issue.

We need to start having global food institute that we can start talking about real policy in America and around the world that makes sure that food is not a problem, but we're actually -- food is the solution.

We're seeing it right now in Ukraine. We have a lot of countries in Africa that cannot find themselves. That's a conundrum. That's a problem.

It's not only the war. It's why those countries cannot feed themselves.

You see, food is not given the importance it deserves. We need to start really thinking about food at a higher level. Food is national security.

If we don't do that, many more problems are going to be happening in the years to come.

COLLINS: You were on the ground how soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

ANDRES: World Central Kitchen was on the border of Poland day one. Myself, I was in Miami. I think I arrived to the border in Poland day three.

LEMON: Yes, I interviewed you. ANDRES: Very quickly, we began going in. I went in. I've been there, I

don't know, 80, 90-plus days, I'm going back in January.

I just came back from Kherson. Kherson was liberated and we went in there 24 hours later with water and with food and we kept going back every day. That's what we've been doing.

Ukraine has food. Ukraine is exporting food. You're going to say why you feed them? Because they have a problem of logistics.

LEMON: We have to go because we have to get to a commercial break)

Thank you for what you do.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Also, congratulations on your portrait at the National Portrait Gallery. It's really great.

COLLINS: I don't get a vote, but if I did, I would vote Nobel Peace Prize for you.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: There you go.

COLLINS: Make that clear.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: And thank you for coming on.

LEMON: "Jose Andres, Family in Spain" debuts December 27th on Discovery-Plus.

We're back in a moment.

Thank you, Chef.

COLLINS: That was great.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: All right. In this season of giving, we want you to -- to show you how you can help our 2022 top-10 "CNN Heroes" continue the really important work that they're doing, but also have your donations matched dollar for dollar.

Here is Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): No matter the amount, you can make a big difference in helping our heroes continue their life- changing work.

Right now, through January 3rd, your donations will be matched dollar for dollar up to a total of $50,000 for each of this year's honorees.

[08:59:59]

CNN is proud to offer you this simple way to support each cause and celebrate all of these everyday people who are changing the world.