June 16, 2011

What a day, what a day, what a day!  It started at about 12:30am when my dad had to go in and do a C-section.  Everything turned out fine and the baby was a big healthy girl.  This morning during rounds I followed Dr. Miller.  He is the pediatrician here who stays for about 3 months at a time.  He discharged 3 kids today which was so great!  One little girl who is only a few months old has been there for months.  She finally got to go home today because her fever went down.  We also saw a preemie baby who has been there for about 6 weeks and is still only a little over 3 lbs.  She is slow to gain weight.  Dad did a hysterctomy with only one assistant and one anesthetist.  The woman had fibroids so big it was if she was 20 weeks pregnant.  I watched him do a myomectomy too.  The woman had big golf ball sized fibroids that had to be removed, but she didn't want a full hysterectomy because she wanted more kids. (That seems to be a common theme here.)  I also helped my dad in the prenatal clinic.  We saw around 20 people with a myriad of problems.  (Mostly people with fibroids or infertility)  This afternoon I helped with another vaginal delivery.  Dad delivered another big healthy baby girl.  Once again the woman had no IV or pain meds.  The baby count is 6.  Dad has only delivered 4.  Unfortunately, Dad admitted 2 women with fetal demises.  One woman had a 22 week fetal demise, so she is in the maternity ward waiting to deliver the dead baby.  It was very sad because she was in the same room with the woman who gave birth to a healthy baby.  She had to leave the room because it made her sad.  The other woman with the fetal demise was 30 weeks along.  She had extremely severe preeclampsia (high blood pressure) and it is very slow to come down.  Dad said that he sees about one woman a year who is that sick.  She was also in the room with the woman who gave birth.  So, the day isn't over yet.  However, the fact that 3 children were discharged and many new moms were discharged with healthy babies makes the day bittersweet.  Please keep praying for us and for the very sick mom.  Also, there is an extremely malnourished 18 month old who looks to be about 2 months old.  She also needs lots of prayers.