So, it has been really long since I last penned down my feelings.... here we go.
so, about a week ago, a friend of ours underwent a c-section at one of the best hospitals in this country. She checked herself in, and seeing as it was an elective procedure spirits were up and everyone was happy. She went into theater, delivered a healthy and I swear that baby was actually bouncing!!! Handsome little man...the ooooohs, and aaaaahs, and so sweet...flowed and flowed some more.
One hour post op, all hell broke loose. No doctor is perfect, neither is any procedure routine and as it so happened, the new mummy's condition suddenly took a turn for the worse. She got restless and listless, started throwing up, her level of consciousness started waning and within no time, her BP was so low it was un recordable. For a surgeon, this could only mean one thing.....we have to go back in. Our patient was wheeled back to theatre and so started the long and dreadful wait.
First person to run into theater was two anesthesiologists, then a cardiologist, then the Obstetrician and finally the Cardiothoracic Surgeon. We waited and waited and waited some more. Now generally, you don't want the doctors coming out too soon cause that would mean it was too late and she didn't make it. Again if they take too long, it could mean that they are probably in there too exhausted and scared to tell us the sad news. That was the longest four hours of my life...the wait! My only consolation was that we were in the best hospital in this country and surely, with the best doctors on board, our patient had to live.
And so, they started trooping out...The superstar Cardiologist, he told us about how he managed the shock with epinephrine and inotropes and some fancy big drug names and reassured us she was out of danger. Next was the superstar Cardiothoracic surgeon who told us how he made a midline extended incision on the abdomen and followed the aorta from the xiphisternum all the way down to the aortic bifurcation and checked the iliac vessels and he had arrested the internal bleeding. Next was the superstar OBGYN, who told us the uterus was intact, well contracted and our patient was out of danger. Last but not least, was the two anesthesiologists who I can swear I even saw their hairs being blown like in the movies...the real superstars who wheeled our patient to ICU, connected all those fancy gadgets, told us long tales of FFPs, Platelets transfusion, monitoring the two drains in-situ, the fancy drugs to stabilize the BP at a low level cause they did not want her to start bleeding all over.... Our patient spent three days in ICU, and now recuperating albeit slowly in the ward now.
My point? How many of us doctors have these facilities wherever we work? How many have lost a patient due to bleeding because there was no blood? Because there was no FFPs and she went into DIC? Because the hospital does not have enough staff to do the run around? Because we did not have the Cardothoracic surgeon to help identify and ligate a bleeder? Because we did not have a cardiologist neither the inotropes to correct the shock? Because we did not have an ICU? Because we did not work in the best hospital in the country? Because we were too tired from working all day and with not even a penny to show for it?
Doctors are superstars! We save lives! We do our thing and people live. Bwana Minister, all we are asking for, very simply......listen to us, meet our demands and please please allow us to be SUPERSTARS! Cause that's just what we are! #peremendemovement continues.
so, about a week ago, a friend of ours underwent a c-section at one of the best hospitals in this country. She checked herself in, and seeing as it was an elective procedure spirits were up and everyone was happy. She went into theater, delivered a healthy and I swear that baby was actually bouncing!!! Handsome little man...the ooooohs, and aaaaahs, and so sweet...flowed and flowed some more.
One hour post op, all hell broke loose. No doctor is perfect, neither is any procedure routine and as it so happened, the new mummy's condition suddenly took a turn for the worse. She got restless and listless, started throwing up, her level of consciousness started waning and within no time, her BP was so low it was un recordable. For a surgeon, this could only mean one thing.....we have to go back in. Our patient was wheeled back to theatre and so started the long and dreadful wait.
First person to run into theater was two anesthesiologists, then a cardiologist, then the Obstetrician and finally the Cardiothoracic Surgeon. We waited and waited and waited some more. Now generally, you don't want the doctors coming out too soon cause that would mean it was too late and she didn't make it. Again if they take too long, it could mean that they are probably in there too exhausted and scared to tell us the sad news. That was the longest four hours of my life...the wait! My only consolation was that we were in the best hospital in this country and surely, with the best doctors on board, our patient had to live.
And so, they started trooping out...The superstar Cardiologist, he told us about how he managed the shock with epinephrine and inotropes and some fancy big drug names and reassured us she was out of danger. Next was the superstar Cardiothoracic surgeon who told us how he made a midline extended incision on the abdomen and followed the aorta from the xiphisternum all the way down to the aortic bifurcation and checked the iliac vessels and he had arrested the internal bleeding. Next was the superstar OBGYN, who told us the uterus was intact, well contracted and our patient was out of danger. Last but not least, was the two anesthesiologists who I can swear I even saw their hairs being blown like in the movies...the real superstars who wheeled our patient to ICU, connected all those fancy gadgets, told us long tales of FFPs, Platelets transfusion, monitoring the two drains in-situ, the fancy drugs to stabilize the BP at a low level cause they did not want her to start bleeding all over.... Our patient spent three days in ICU, and now recuperating albeit slowly in the ward now.
My point? How many of us doctors have these facilities wherever we work? How many have lost a patient due to bleeding because there was no blood? Because there was no FFPs and she went into DIC? Because the hospital does not have enough staff to do the run around? Because we did not have the Cardothoracic surgeon to help identify and ligate a bleeder? Because we did not have a cardiologist neither the inotropes to correct the shock? Because we did not have an ICU? Because we did not work in the best hospital in the country? Because we were too tired from working all day and with not even a penny to show for it?
Doctors are superstars! We save lives! We do our thing and people live. Bwana Minister, all we are asking for, very simply......listen to us, meet our demands and please please allow us to be SUPERSTARS! Cause that's just what we are! #peremendemovement continues.
Kuche kuche.
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