Week One at the Hospital (Eric)

As it turns out, a lot of the volunteer docs recently left to go back to the U.S. It was obvious that this is a very good time for me to have come because help is very short and the docs that are here are tired. I was happy to have been here before, because there was no one to train me if I did need it.

The first day I was put on the OB service. After starting rounds with my two Kenyan interns, I couldn’t help but think that these were some seriously complicated patients. I then remembered that every normal patient was delivered by the midwives. We only saw the patients that I usually refer to someone else. I also realized that there is no one to ask for advice. I am, for the time being, the most experienced OB here. Ouch.

I was a little nervous about doing my first C-section since coming back. I have only done about 3 in the last 4 years. So I was hoping for a nice easy one to start with as I started my night of call.

Not so. 5:07 pm I got the call for an emergency C-section for a cord prolapse. Oh, so not the way to start out. When that was finished we went straight to a lady that had delivered the first twin 9 hours prior, but had a leg of baby 2 sticking out since then. The fluid around the baby was infected by then. After a quick supper break, I went back up for another C-section.

As I was writing a note on the chart for her, I heard panic yelling for me in the OR next door. Some man had a 6 inch gash on his neck cutting several arteries and completely severing his jugular vein. I naturally assumed as I ran in the room that the OR staff was screaming for me to stop the blood that was flowing and shooting all over the room. But, alas, that wasn’t his biggest problem. The bleeding also was under his skin to the point that it blocked off his airway and he could no longer breathe. So went my first emergency tracheostomy. This means cutting into the neck until I found his trachea, cutting a hole in it, and putting a tube in it. Thankfully there were surgeons soon at hand to take care of the bleeding neck vessels.

Did another C-section immediately after that before going to bed exhausted. I had another C-section before the night was through and they kept coming on day 2.

If you are wondering, all of the above mentioned patients are thankfully doing great.

After day 2, I am tired but having a ball.

The next couple of days I worked in the ER, with lots of interesting cases. People only end up in the ER here if they deserve it.

Day 4 at the hospital is call night again. I assured Jodi that med/peds call will be a piece of cake compared to OB. It turned out to be the night of death.

Half-way through supper I got called up to resuscitate a 25 year old man with TB, who then died. At 11:30 I went up to the ER to help the intern resuscitate a 35 year old lady with an asthma attack, who then died. At 3 am I got called to the nursery to resuscitate a one month old baby with heart disease, who then died. As I was writing the death note for that baby, a 2 day old premi twin tanked. I coded him for a half and hour before looking across the room only to see an intern bagging yet another baby. All I could do was yell, “You have got to be kidding me.” The twin then died, but the last baby survived for now. My good record from call night number one was really starting to look tarnished.

The next day I talked to the chaplain that had to keep waking up every time one of my patients died. He said that 9 patients died in the last 15 hours. That is pretty impressive for a 300 bed hospital. People here are sick.