A co-worker and I admitted a lady this past week who was so very sick she would only rouse to her name. We could get zero information from her about how long she had been sick, whether she had been in contact with someone who is sick, or attended a funeral recently. All we knew is she was febrile, had a distended abdomen, looked dehydrated, and was breathing rapidly and shallowly.
We took her straight to probable, where her mental status quickly declined further and she was no longer rousing to her name. We got an IV line in her which was no small feat with how dehydrated she was! But our success was short-lived. We hooked her up to lactated ringers and she pulled out her line. "Noooooooo!!" We looked at her arms again--she desperately needed iv fluid. We saw one tiny vein in her forearm and hoped we would be able to get an iv in it. We did, and I sat by her for the entire liter holding her hand to prevent her from removing her second line. She needed another liter, but my buddy and I had been inside for 90 minutes in the late afternoon. The doctors rounded and agreed she needed more fluid and also agreed to stay with her while it ran in so we could doff.
We drew her blood. She died that night; a short 5 hours after we admitted her. Her lab work came back "indeterminate." We will never know what killed her. Ebola? Malaria? Lassa Fever? Small Bowel obstruction? Only God knows.
I have been off two days. While I was off, we discharged three patients from confirmed!! One was the 8-yr-old whose brother we lost and her aunt was negative. I would have loved to join her on her journey home, to watch her be reunited with her aunt!
We lost the one-month-old. Her father got discharged-I imagine he knows his wife isn't coming home by now. We now have six patients total. Hopefully our census will continue to decrease.
Praises: -We have had several discharges from confirmed!
-I spent a good thirty minutes talking to a Muslim about Isa (Jesus).
-My time here is waning which is bittersweet. I am looking forward to being home (although I am not looking forward to my solitary confinement!) But I will also miss the friends I have made here.
Please continue to pray for the people of a West Africa, momoh.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I reread your prayer letter after reading your blog tonite. This was to pray back through your prayer requests, my friend. As in the Numbers scripture, His face is shining upon you. I pray for the 8 yr old who returned to the auntie, that the divine holy spirit would come to them both as they reminisce together.... That they would see HIM, recognize HIM as LORD, turn from their lives of grief and sorrow , grasp hold of the one who sees ,knows and loves them completely. Amen Amen Amen my friend, maranantha..... Wanda
ReplyDelete