Well, so much for a slow day! We started rounds at 8am…and I did not finish until 5:30 pm…they say that they are never this busy on Saturdays! I was thrown for a loop when I arrived on rounds and was handed a patient’s chart and a nurse followed me to translate. I was DEFINITELY out of my element…new place, culture, medical problems, perspective of healthcare…but I jumped right in…so fast that I almost fainted. What can I say, it was really hot in the wards and I did not drink enough water this morning and I had my knees locked…all rookie mistakes lol. After taking a few minutes to let the dizziness resolve and drinking some water, I was ready to roll again.
It is impossible to tell you everything, but a sampling of things I personally took care of (under the guidance of a licensed MD) included a person with a perforated intestine likely from typhoid (he is going to surgery in the morning), pneumonia, congestive heart failure, meningitis, psychosis, a child with a leg wound, a young pregnant female who was having a miscarriage, a pregnant woman with pus in her lungs that needed a chest tube, a man with newly diagnosed liver cancer (diagnosed with a bedside ultrasound machine), and others.
Let me tell you about the wonderful ultrasound. You can do so much with an ultrasound…just today, we used it to ultrasound a pregnant belly to make sure the baby was alive after a fall, a person with the liver cancer, a person with fluid on his lungs from TB, a person with the lung infection, the woman with a miscarriage, and the man with the perforated intestines. That machine is AMAZING! We took it around with us on rounds and got lots of useful information for no cost! INCREDIBLE!
After rounds, everyone dissipated and it was time for some procedures…I was super thirsty, so I went back with some others for a lunch break. After I returned to the hospital, I heard that a teenage girl had fallen from a tree and had a broken femur (upper leg), mandible (jaw), and a problem with her eye; I helped to cast her leg. She needed surgery…way beyond our capabilities here with the need for ortho and ENT and ophthalmology…so after numerous phone calls, got her transferred to Kumasi, which is hours away on bumpy roads; that was definitely a horrible trip for her.
The most memorable event of the day happened in the midst of all the crazy procedures. A teenage male was transferred to our hospital from a surrounding town for high fever, stiff neck, and hallucinations; we suspected meningitis, so we wanted to do a lumbar puncture to get a sample of spinal fluid to confirm our suspicions and to help us pick the most appropriate antibiotic. Two physician assistants and Dr. Cahill all tried to get it numerous times, everyone was getting frustrated, knowing that this was a really important test. I was racking my brain trying to think of something to help the situation, when I thought that we haven’t tried praying. So I closed my eyes, and prayed, “God, I know that this sounds silly, but we really need this spinal fluid so that we can figure out the best medicines for this man. Please help us to get the spinal fluid we need…” And as I was praying, I heard one of them exclaim that it was dripping! WOW! I know that God answers prayers, but that was incredible to watch it happen right before my eyes! The spinal fluid confirmed our suspicions of meningitis, and we started strong antibiotics; hopefully we see some improvement soon.
As I talked with my mom later that night, I told her the story of the coolest thing that happened…and she said that she prayed for me this morning for me to see God at work; well, it turns out that God answered both of our prayers! It is crazy that sometimes God has to take you all the way across the world for you to notice him again. I am so thankful for the opportunities to work and serve here and to learn from the fantastic missionaries.