Oh my I was SOOOOO Tired most of today - I think the red eye Sat night where I got some sleep but not "good sound sleep" & getting about 5 hours a night the last 4 nights caught up with me today - so I am writing this post then going to bed. There may or may not be an incriminating photo that was taken of me this morning with my lab coat rolled up & my head on it on a bed rail...early this morning of course before any patient had arrived & I was only "out" for about 15 minutes!!!
It was a very odd day - often there is one like this on missions & maybe it was because i was so tired...We again went to Pre & Post Op to see the kids from yesterday & the ones we would have today. Then it seemed the rest of the day went in slow motion - it felt like a much longer day than it was - we finished at 8:30 pm. Many of the patients seemed to be VERY FUSSY in recovery - LOTS of CRYING & LOTS of pain meds given - probably more than the prior 2 days combined!
For some today was a really good day & for others a day of disappointment
Early in the morning we went to the area where the parents & kids wait before going in to surgery & saw all the 1st "little ones" ....fairly quickly after that little Bruno was brought to us because after they started anesthesia & before the actual surgery began he had too many secretions in his airway (probably from an undetected cold) & they thought the risk was too high. He was 1 year old & his mom was COMPLETELY Devastated...she traveled quite a ways & had been her the last mission 6 months ago but he was too small & needed to gain some weight - which he did & now this. The thought of him living with this bilateral cleft lip for another 6 months was too much for her to bear. I think we truly don't realize how blessed we are to have access to healthcare pretty much whenever we want or need it. They are in the midst of finalizing an Op smile Supported clinic here in Asuncion that may be open by August & they will do some surgeries - hopefully he can be one of their first cases - still that is a 5 month wait - it was so heartbreaking :(
Another 3 year old palate repair was also canceled as she had gotten sick also in the past 3 days.
A bigger heart breaker was a 16 year old girl who had a repair when she was little by another organization but it never healed quite right & was still really impacting her life - she felt ugly & wasn't attending school etc. She was seen in screening & placed "on hold" then called to come for a "recheck today". after further review they decided she really needs her lip revised & also her nose - they thought about just doing the lip as the "combo surgery" wasn't something we could add to the schedule but the risks of 2 surgeries & 2 anesthesias is too great - it needs to be done as one big case but again not on this mission. She was in tears....like floodgate tears in the recovery room because that is where the exams & discussion took place. She is actually a beautiful girl & what she sees as horrifically ugly really is fairly minor but being a teenager is hard enough in any country & this added "scar & past surgery" is something she just cant get past. I was so sad for her & her mom who brought her & was also in tears...again I thought I have 3 daughters...that could be me & I would want to do all I could for my child but sometimes all you can do still wont "fix things". they actually have a wonderful psychologist here so they sent here there & I never herd anything further - hoping they can help her next mission.
Later in the afternoon there was a patient another nurse was caring for & she came up to me & in spanish mentioned that the little 1 year old David had a single dad & no mom & did I have clothes for him? I did & found the right size & the dad was very sweet & hugged me :) I found out later that the mom had rejected the baby when he was born with a cleft lip & left him on the dads doorstep (they were not married) so the dad kept him, lives outside the city but has brought him to the clinic in Asuncion, gotten the special cleft lip feeder for him & gotten him to the weight he needed to be for surgery & now today David had surgery!!!! a HAPPY story after the sad ones. The dad is young probably under 20 & he has done all he can for his baby son...all by himself - SUCH GREAT LOVE!
One of my last patients was a 16 year old boy with a revision of his lip...he did great & as I talked to the mom I found out she had 12 CHILDREN!!! and he was her youngest - her oldest was 40 & she had him when she was 15!!!!Just thinking of that made me tired - she was so sweet!
One other very funny thing - 3 of the girls who are student translators came up to me & asked if I would take a photo with them because I looked like one of the nurses on Grays Anatomy? I have never watched that show so I have no idea what they were thinking & no one else has ever mentioned it so I am thinking they just have a case of mistaken look alike identity - but I did take the picture with them!!!
We did 25 or 27 cases today I am not certain - and tomorrow is our last LONG DAy - it always goes by fast after "HUMP DAY"
It was a very odd day - often there is one like this on missions & maybe it was because i was so tired...We again went to Pre & Post Op to see the kids from yesterday & the ones we would have today. Then it seemed the rest of the day went in slow motion - it felt like a much longer day than it was - we finished at 8:30 pm. Many of the patients seemed to be VERY FUSSY in recovery - LOTS of CRYING & LOTS of pain meds given - probably more than the prior 2 days combined!
For some today was a really good day & for others a day of disappointment
Early in the morning we went to the area where the parents & kids wait before going in to surgery & saw all the 1st "little ones" ....fairly quickly after that little Bruno was brought to us because after they started anesthesia & before the actual surgery began he had too many secretions in his airway (probably from an undetected cold) & they thought the risk was too high. He was 1 year old & his mom was COMPLETELY Devastated...she traveled quite a ways & had been her the last mission 6 months ago but he was too small & needed to gain some weight - which he did & now this. The thought of him living with this bilateral cleft lip for another 6 months was too much for her to bear. I think we truly don't realize how blessed we are to have access to healthcare pretty much whenever we want or need it. They are in the midst of finalizing an Op smile Supported clinic here in Asuncion that may be open by August & they will do some surgeries - hopefully he can be one of their first cases - still that is a 5 month wait - it was so heartbreaking :(
Another 3 year old palate repair was also canceled as she had gotten sick also in the past 3 days.
A bigger heart breaker was a 16 year old girl who had a repair when she was little by another organization but it never healed quite right & was still really impacting her life - she felt ugly & wasn't attending school etc. She was seen in screening & placed "on hold" then called to come for a "recheck today". after further review they decided she really needs her lip revised & also her nose - they thought about just doing the lip as the "combo surgery" wasn't something we could add to the schedule but the risks of 2 surgeries & 2 anesthesias is too great - it needs to be done as one big case but again not on this mission. She was in tears....like floodgate tears in the recovery room because that is where the exams & discussion took place. She is actually a beautiful girl & what she sees as horrifically ugly really is fairly minor but being a teenager is hard enough in any country & this added "scar & past surgery" is something she just cant get past. I was so sad for her & her mom who brought her & was also in tears...again I thought I have 3 daughters...that could be me & I would want to do all I could for my child but sometimes all you can do still wont "fix things". they actually have a wonderful psychologist here so they sent here there & I never herd anything further - hoping they can help her next mission.
Later in the afternoon there was a patient another nurse was caring for & she came up to me & in spanish mentioned that the little 1 year old David had a single dad & no mom & did I have clothes for him? I did & found the right size & the dad was very sweet & hugged me :) I found out later that the mom had rejected the baby when he was born with a cleft lip & left him on the dads doorstep (they were not married) so the dad kept him, lives outside the city but has brought him to the clinic in Asuncion, gotten the special cleft lip feeder for him & gotten him to the weight he needed to be for surgery & now today David had surgery!!!! a HAPPY story after the sad ones. The dad is young probably under 20 & he has done all he can for his baby son...all by himself - SUCH GREAT LOVE!
One of my last patients was a 16 year old boy with a revision of his lip...he did great & as I talked to the mom I found out she had 12 CHILDREN!!! and he was her youngest - her oldest was 40 & she had him when she was 15!!!!Just thinking of that made me tired - she was so sweet!
One other very funny thing - 3 of the girls who are student translators came up to me & asked if I would take a photo with them because I looked like one of the nurses on Grays Anatomy? I have never watched that show so I have no idea what they were thinking & no one else has ever mentioned it so I am thinking they just have a case of mistaken look alike identity - but I did take the picture with them!!!
We did 25 or 27 cases today I am not certain - and tomorrow is our last LONG DAy - it always goes by fast after "HUMP DAY"
No comments:
Post a Comment