Survival

Yesterday was a success with only a few bumps in the road. I woke up around 530 and rounded again with the pediatrician physician on the patients and learned the appropriate dressing changes for each child, wrote orders for the day and began my day. Overall, the patients were very stable and doing great. The child with nephrotic syndrome (renal/kidney disease) was transferred to a location that staffed a nephrologist (Kidney specialist)- which was FANTASTIC!! I was left with a few less acute patients- very managable. I brought toys and cloths out the kids and played during the afternoon with the children in the unit. I have a particular patient named Gabrile who is a very strong 5 year old boy who was burned by scolding hot water in a tent. He suffers from 2-3rd degree burns on his right hand/arm. He is doing great and loves to smile. I've been giving him lots of treats, he really enjoys the flavored water-I've put strawberry flavor in his water and he is loving it! We play with "machines" toy cars and he loves to color pictures.

During the early afternoon- around 245 I was called to another c-section of a baby who was 35 weeks gestation. This baby came out not breathing either but had a heart beat. We stimulated the baby and gave her oxygen and she came around nicely. Around 530 I was called again to another delivery- normal vaginal delivery of a full-term baby, this delivery went well only needed some oxygen afterward and minor stimulation to breath- however the mother spiked a fever during labor so we are now treating the baby with antibotics for a few days.... I ended up going back over to the adult side around 1130 to help out the other nurses and waiting for a young 8 year old boy to recover from surgery of a gun-shot wound to the chest and gut. The boy was doing ok..not great but breathing on his own. I went to bed around 1245-1am and found out this morning that the boy decompensated and ended up not breathing around 245. When I woke up this morning at 615 I found out the he was very sick and needed to be transferred to a hospital who could care for an intubated patient. He was transferred early this morning and hopefully is doing well! During the morning I rounded on my patients, performed the wound dressing changes, gave medications. New nurses and doctors came in today so I will have a good resource to help with cases I am not comfortable with.

I am working with a set of great pediatric nurses and an ER doctor. So far today, we participated in 1 delivery of a baby who was stuck inside the mother for a very long time. The baby was not able to clear the mom's pubic bone and wouldn't be delivered. We finally got the baby loose and began working on the baby. The baby was not breathing nor did he have a heart beat. We gave him medicine and O2 and finally he cried really loud!! We were all so happy to hear his tiny voice!! He is doing great- he is laying with his mother trying to eat..

I plan to work much into the night as we leave tomorrow to go to Paition ville to see Chachi and Yveline tomorrow. Eric Troyer also plans to come and visit with us!! Tomorrow will be a very exciting day.. Please continue to pray for all of us as we are working in very difficult conditions and don't have many of the same resources that we are used to working with.. We hope to deliver the best care we have available..

God Bless you all, Thank you for your prayers!!!

Tiffany