 |
| Baby Joel |
You know when you have one of those days where something amazing happens
and then, out of no where, the tables turn quickly. Tuesday, January 31
was one of those days for me.
It was my second day working on the Female Ward with Amanda. During our first day we had a patient who was about 6 months pregnant in premature labour, and the future was not looking up for this baby. The doctor had told us that there wasn't much we could do for a premature baby because of lack of resources. Always a hard answer to hear. During Monday night the mother delivered a baby boy, alive and transferred to the incubators on maternity. Arriving on Tuesday morning to this news was unsuspected and amazing! We were able to take the mother to maternity to visit the little baby, and seeing the smile on the mom's face was one of the best things ever!
Of course, the turning point. One of the other patients on the ward coded. Stopped breathing, unable to detect a heart beat. Amanda was with this patient at the time and noticed her drastic decline. I was instructed to stay with the patient while she went to grab an ambu bag. My heart was racing at this point, trying to rack my brain of what I needed to do next. "back board" I thought. I couldn't find one, and Amanda had just come back, an ambu bag turned up. We had to start compressions and rescue breathing. My adrenaline was pumping and we were trying to resuscitate our patient for fifteen minutes. One of the doctors came and the patient did not survive. I had a hard time with the lack of resources. It was the first time I really felt like I wanted to be home for the crash carts and the code team. Of course, we did everything we could, and it was reassuring to hear the from our instructors.
Sometimes things don't work out, but sometimes they do. And those are the moments we have to hold to.
Sylvia
It was my second day working on the Female Ward with Amanda. During our first day we had a patient who was about 6 months pregnant in premature labour, and the future was not looking up for this baby. The doctor had told us that there wasn't much we could do for a premature baby because of lack of resources. Always a hard answer to hear. During Monday night the mother delivered a baby boy, alive and transferred to the incubators on maternity. Arriving on Tuesday morning to this news was unsuspected and amazing! We were able to take the mother to maternity to visit the little baby, and seeing the smile on the mom's face was one of the best things ever!
Of course, the turning point. One of the other patients on the ward coded. Stopped breathing, unable to detect a heart beat. Amanda was with this patient at the time and noticed her drastic decline. I was instructed to stay with the patient while she went to grab an ambu bag. My heart was racing at this point, trying to rack my brain of what I needed to do next. "back board" I thought. I couldn't find one, and Amanda had just come back, an ambu bag turned up. We had to start compressions and rescue breathing. My adrenaline was pumping and we were trying to resuscitate our patient for fifteen minutes. One of the doctors came and the patient did not survive. I had a hard time with the lack of resources. It was the first time I really felt like I wanted to be home for the crash carts and the code team. Of course, we did everything we could, and it was reassuring to hear the from our instructors.
Sometimes things don't work out, but sometimes they do. And those are the moments we have to hold to.
Sylvia
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the good and not-so-good experiences are many in number and extreme when they happen. It is hard to understand why there is such a lack of resources when medical treatment seems so accessible. Makes the wait time gripes of us "Entitled Westerners" seem pretty trite.
After these experiences, (and I am sure that you are all having similar experiences)just imagine how well you will be prepared for nearly anything that comes your way.
Already you have had new experiences, with many more to come in the next few weeks I am sure!
Best wishes to all of you!
Dan Eddy
(So..."Baby Joel" ....coincidence???)