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Published: September 9th 2011
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This Is Africa. We learned that today. A full week of work at KSH is completed...it was a great week, but just a strange feeling at the end of today. Several of my patients may not be alive when I get back on Monday, and its just the way it is here. I don't know how I feel about that. The baby I posted about a few days ago, with the lymphoedema and hemangiomas is worse. He is adorable and his mother is the sweetest thing. But today I went in to examine him and his belly is discolored and dark. My 1st thought was something aweful like NEC (thank you NICU rotations). But it is most likely from a consumptive coagulopathy (sort of like his hemangiomas are eating all his platelets). Still not good because there is nothing to do for him here other than monitoring counts and blood/platelet transfusions if needed. He is otherwise a happy healthy 2 week old and has no idea anything is wrong with him. One of the things I love about peds, the kids often have no idea they are so sick! Another little girl was in gastro unit and doing better, then overnight
had bloody stools and vomiting and developed kaussmal breathing this a.m. She will probably not make it through the night. I felt helpless when I went to see her. Not a good feeling. One of my sweetest patients who is really malnourished with TB and RVD and Pertussis I found out today has no family. Her mother passed at the hospital they were at before she was transferred to Katatura, and they don't know where the rest of the family is. She is not going anywhere soon anyway, but I would adopt her if I could!
On a happier note, CARDIOLOGY CLINIC WAS TODAY!!! hurrah for all the babies and kids waiting in the hospital for that clinic today. They were all taken on a bus early this morning to Central hospital where the Echo machine and clinic is. Most still hadn't returned by the end of our day, so its a full day affair for most of them.
Super-star Raissa started an IV in a little guy who came in really dehydrated and ill. I don't know how she even found a vein, but she was successful and made our day because we had both not been able to
get one on the baby before. Usually we are not on the wards in the afternoon but we were starting to each lunch before POPD clinic and one of the sisters came and asked us to do drips, so we did! I have no idea where the interns covering the wards were.
It was a happy day in POPD, with some "normal" childhood illnesses like ear infections and sore throats. No rapid strep tests here though :-) I saw a gorgeous little baby boy who had awful eczema and mom was so worried he was really sick. It felt good to explain what it was and the treatment and that he would be fine! We also had some down time for about an hour with no patients and sat and talked with two of the sisters. Learned a lot and somehow they ended up talking to us about Oprah and Ellen and Obama. It was a fun but interesting conversation :-)
After work we went into downtown Windhoek and had dinner at The Gourmet. It was delicious. I tried Savannah Light Cider which was good, and had something called Masamba which was delicious! Raissa experience Schnitzel for the 1st time. Then we all strolled around the malls and everything was closed at 730pm, it was strange. We went to Zoo Park (not a zoo, sort of a park) to the Cultural Festival which was supposed to have traditional tribal dancing. We arrived to a dance party! There was no tribal dancing to be found, but rap galore! And apparently they were having a dance competition and it was the finals. It was definately not something we expected to see in Africa! Goodnight all!
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