I didn't realize that was my specialty... But the past several weeks it has been. This month so far there have been nine babies born at the clinic. And the month isn't quite over... The last baby to be born there couldn't quite wait until we got there. It was in the evening so Keith had driven us to the clinic. As we were driving in there was some frantic activity under and around a blanket by the clinic door. The baby had just been born so they carried mom, baby, and mattress in and put the whole kit and caboodle on the exam table. Thankfully this baby wanted to breathe so there were no problems there.
But, the baby that was born before that... Is a different story. This mom came after hours also so I was the only one there (besidesApril) at first. I asked if this was her first child and she said " No, this was her fourth baby" and she was at nine months so I checked her. Instead of a head I felt a finger then a hand then an arm. Uh oh... But the baby didn't seem to be all the way against the mother's pelvis so I was hoping if I could get that hand and arm back in maybe the baby could still reposition. So I decided to try that. It took several tries but finally I thought I was successful. Meanwhile Mirlene came and was trying to find the lady's file and was not having any luck. The lady said she had been to the clinic twice before. Come to find out after more questioning, this lady had never been to the clinic before and she already had five children. I'm not sure what the point of the previous lies was. I had also asked our Haitian nurse, Githane, to come as this was not a normal presentation. By the time she got there the baby was head down and in good position. I had checked the baby's heart rate also and it was good. But now the mom would not work with us! We gave medication and repositioned and encouraged her to no avail. She did not want to push - so she didn't. Finally there is only so much you can do in a situation like that. We had her on the exam table then finally let her get on the floor because " she couldn't have a baby lying down." Finally, after several hours, she did have the baby. He did get stuck for a few minutes with only his head out but not for very long. Initially he had a heart rate but he refused to breathe. I suctioned some nasty stuff out of his nose and mouth but he still wouldn't breathe. We were giving him some oxygen too. The next time we checked his heart rate... It was no longer there. He also needed an intensive care unit. It was frustrating for me, we had been able to help reposition him so he could be born without too much difficulty and then ???
It seems like these ladies have a sixth sense about when there is something wrong with their unborn babies and they will come to the clinic but we still weren't able to save this one.
There is a " frequent flyer" patient who has bad asthma that comes in frequently. She is non-compliant with her medication. I don't know how she takes them but they are always gone too soon. We asked her to bring someone with her to the clinic who could help her with her meds but she won't.
We have also asked her to bring any medication she has left with her when she comes to the clinic so we can see it but that doesn't happen very often. Finally, several of the meds we have been giving no longer seem to help her symptoms. It's like her body has become used to them but we really don't have a lot of options for asthma here. Today we heard she has died, not from her asthma though. She was apparently gathering sticks so she could cook when she fell over the edge of a ravine. She was found several days later so we don't know what really happened. I thought one of these days she wouldn't be able to breathe but...
Yesterday April and I went to clinic to stitch someone's hand. Turns out these guys are drunk and keep telling us they love us and want to marry us etc... The one guy who was the worst off thought he needed to help us so when I get out the lidocaine to numb the guys hand he takes the other mans head and practically shoves it under his arm telling him " don't look, don't look!" Then I guess he thought it would help with the pain if he squeezed the guys wrist so he squeezes and squeezes. I don't think he ever even realized that my fingers were getting in on the squeeze half the time too. It made for an interesting time but we were glad when we could tell them we were finished, they could go. I wonder if they will remember what day I asked them to follow up on.
As soon as we finished stitching the hand it was time for church so we headed there. When we get there church had just started so we sat toward the back. A lady who is "tet fou" ( has mental issues) was there also. She had a lot of attention until she was "chased" out of the building. She ran and one of the brethren walked quite rapidly after her. She was making obscene gestures and talking and moving from one bench to another as often as she pleased. During the morning service she marched in after church was started and sat on the front bench. Then she had to put her drink can ( evaporated milk) down on the floor. One of the little boys had great joy kicking that can all the way out of the back of the church when the children left for Sunday school. It puts a new twist on church at times...
Yes... I think that's what you're becoming! :D
ReplyDelete