That last post is one that I had been working on for a few weeks and wanted to get it out before I came to this most important post.
Last Thursday, I received a call from my mom that my little brother, 22 yrs, was taken quite ill. Had been sedated and intubated the Tuesday before and now was being transferred from our community hospital down to Toronto to mount Sinai for treatment.
So many of you joined in prayers and support and I am thankful for that! So thankful!
They are slowly waking my brother up, but he is not without damage to other body systems. His kidneys being one of them. He was started on dialysis Monday night.
His illness started with pneumonia with developed into acute respiratory distress syndrome. ARDS has a mortality rate of fifty percent so the doctors tell us.
As I mentioned, they are slowly waking my brother Ryan up and it is encouraging to see him respond to us again, and especially to my mom who is his primary caregiver. Hopefully over the next few days he will become conscious again. And hopefully his lungs will be able to function properly when the team extubates him.
My aunt, rosemary sheldon, and her son are also flying In from Dublin to be with us at is time.
Currently, I am at home with my family in Toronto waiting to see how things progress here.
Your continued prayers are of such value.
The lines:
Tho sundered far, by faith we meet,
Around one common mercy seat
Have never meant more to me than at this time. And I am amazed yet again, at how amazing our God is. And how amazing His family is.
He is Lord over many waters. He sits enthroned above the floods
Underneath are his everlasting arms
He has hedged us in behind and before and laid His hand upon our head
When we walk thru the waters He is with us
Oh! How abundant is Your goodness which you have stored up for those who fear you
Wednesday 4 February 2015
The call comes at midnight and my stomach drops immediately upon seeing the name. It's the nurse in the maternity dpt. I'm am so not ready for this. I was given a run down of what to do if I was called. But this is it now. Our pre eclamptic lady who is only 32 weeks is actively pushing. I have to be ready for mom to develop full blown eclampsia and I have to be ready for a floppy baby requiring lots of resus and quite likely not able to make it. Well, delaying won't help the situation.
I use Emma's quad to go up to Hosp, but as I as I am getting it ready, Emma's friend and visiting doctor, Gayle Wallace, hears me and offers to come up with me. Thrilled, I immediately say yes! Good to have company in situations like this.
When we arrive up at hospital, and much to my relief. The nurse is holding a living whimpering baby and taking her over to the resus trolley for just a bit of suctioning.
"Sorry! She delivered so fast! I called you and then the baby was here!"
"Not a problem! We have a healthy mom. And the baby is mostly ok." Dr. Gayle and the nurse work on the baby, while I help mom with the last few steps in delivery.
What excitement to tell a living, mom in stable condition that she has a healthy, beautiful baby girl!
This day is a surgery day. Tuesday. My day to do ward rounds by myself. I love these days as it affords an opportunity to go slowly thru the wards and study each patient carefully. I finished rounds in maternity, and then was informed by the nurse
"Sister, can you come? We are delivering twins and the first is breech"
I examine mom and find she is right ready to push. Won't be long now. I'm glad to be here. The challenge of breech and twin deliveries is invigorating. But looking at mom, I have to swallow back a lump of fear.
Our ladies tend to be tiny! 4.10 to 5.6 and about 35-40kg. This lady is easily 5.10 and probably close to 80kg. Big moms= big babies. And if the first one is breech. We might be dealing with an impacted head at some point. Well, get her up in stirrups and get ready to go. I was right, baby 1 is huge (Zambian size) but with only a slight struggle with one arm and a good tug of the head, baby one is born. Squalling, healthy baby boy weighing in at 3.150 kg. baby 2 literally slips out after him a few pushes later, healthy baby girl weighing in at 2.8. So thrilled! This was by far my most difficult breech delivery yet.
After, I I finish there, I head down to theatres to tell our doctor and our midwife of our success. What is success if it's not gloated over ;) and find they are doing cataract surgery. Great! I've been wanting to learn to scrub in for cataract surgery. So JR walks me thru the steps, explaining what is happening and why it is happening. You only have one chance with the eye so the scrub nurse really needs to know what is happening and why and be able to give the doctor what he needs, not what he asks for.
The afternoon finds me scrubbed in for two cataract surgeries myself. One of which was successfully the other was started then cancelled due to other medical conditions.
Where else, could you work with such diversity :)
This was my weekend on call. I leave pool volley ball on saturday to go up to Hosp to see a pt in maternity for a blood test. While I'm there, the ambulance arrives bringing a patient with suspected ruptured spleen. I bring the patient down to clinic to ur the ultra sound over him, but the picture isn't clear. Whatever it is, there's an awful lot of fluid sin that belly! Call the team up for surgery. What else would you do with a saturday evening if not for surgery? Turns out it's a liver laceration. We finished up there around 2330. Patient in stable condition. Three or four lacerations sutured up. Main risk over night- bleeding.
At 0230, I receive a call. "Sister, there's a patient in icu that is bleeding. The one in the corner bed."
Rats! our liver! race up to Hosp on the bike. Well, pleased to discover it's not our liver laceration patient. Instead it's our cholecystectomy lady from Thursday who has a huge blood clot between her stomach and her bandage. Try but unable to find where the bleeding is coming from. So call the whole team up again. Thankfully, after a couple hours of playing with the drain, dr. Mcadam was certain opening her up again wasn't necessary. Still, it's 0530 am.i have to b back up at hospital by 0730 for ward rounds.
Manage to get home and collapse in bed, only to receive a phone call from maternity that there is a lady in with bleeding. That's fine, check for fetal heart rate, do a complete assessment on her, I'll b up in a bit to check her over myself. Note to self, check her first when I get up there.
As I suspected, she was a miscarriage. But she's stable, and I'm not worried. She's admitted and we'll scan her tomorrow. What I am worried about, is when the ambulance will b coming from kakon'a with the 14year old with a breech presentation. Seriously? 14 years old? Sad, but unfortunately, too true.
She arrives, along with a transverse presentation (thankfully not a 14 year old) from Zambezi. Midwife, JR, offers to take the care of these two patients. Sounds good to me. I was supposed to teach at Sunday school that afternoon anyway. On my way out from the hospital however, an ambulance arrives from Kabompo (about two hrs away) bringing a lady with acute abdomen. If I had done a thorough assessment meself instead of blindly believing what the Kabompo nurse told me I could have saved myself a whole lot of embarrassment. Still, the patient sure looked dreadfully sick.
Fever
Very tender abdomen
Distended
Lots of pain
No vomiting but not passing stool
I called the doctor and he agreed to come, despite having just sat down to lunch, since we could have her in the clinic room for a scan in seconds. He put the us probe on her belly, looked at it for a second, dropped it and walked away, throwing over his shoulder: "put a catheter in her"
As, I was setting up, I took a more detailed assessment and discovered she was five days post c section and hadn't passed urine. The change in her behaviour was almost instant as the catheter drained nearly a litre. Note to self. But a good story to laugh over and a great learning g experience!
Hoping for a quiet sunday night, but still, was called up again for bleeding, for our liver laceration. Dreadfully sorry, to disturb the doctor again! But not an emergency. Will resolve spontaneously. At least he didn't have to come up. And very glad. He's so sanguine.
So thrilled Monday afternoon to be able to catch up on sleep.
But really... Who needs sleep when there's a camp planning meeting! And I'm chairing it... Yikes! But very excited to be part of this opportunity to spend time with so e amazing Christians in the are planning, hopefully, for a great time a camp with the girls.
Sunday in church, it's been a little while since we've done the bus run due to lack of petrol. ,aye this is the third week.one of the ladies greets me and we start chatting... As much as we can since she speaks Lunda and I speak English. But one phrase I catch and suddenly it changes everything about this sunday morning.
"Naken'a kutiya mazu waNzambi" I wanted to hear the words of God. If she is willing, if she needs to walk, with her bent back and aching knees for 20mins (about 5 or6 for me) to hear the words of the Lord, here must be something in them that is powerful. Something in them that is convicting and binding. Some thing in them that is drawing. So yes, let me view them the same way. God' swords are drawing and binding. Life giving and life changing. More necessary to my living than food and water. How would it change my life if I viewed God's words the way this little old lady does.
There are so many of these little stories that make up my day to day here. I'm sorry I do t take the time to right them all down for you! These are a few that have happened over the last few weeks. I still count myself so privileged to be able to sit here with these people to learn from them and to share with them and hopefully for both of us to walk away changed, and with a deeper appreciation of the God who allowed us to walk together.
I use Emma's quad to go up to Hosp, but as I as I am getting it ready, Emma's friend and visiting doctor, Gayle Wallace, hears me and offers to come up with me. Thrilled, I immediately say yes! Good to have company in situations like this.
When we arrive up at hospital, and much to my relief. The nurse is holding a living whimpering baby and taking her over to the resus trolley for just a bit of suctioning.
"Sorry! She delivered so fast! I called you and then the baby was here!"
"Not a problem! We have a healthy mom. And the baby is mostly ok." Dr. Gayle and the nurse work on the baby, while I help mom with the last few steps in delivery.
What excitement to tell a living, mom in stable condition that she has a healthy, beautiful baby girl!
This day is a surgery day. Tuesday. My day to do ward rounds by myself. I love these days as it affords an opportunity to go slowly thru the wards and study each patient carefully. I finished rounds in maternity, and then was informed by the nurse
"Sister, can you come? We are delivering twins and the first is breech"
I examine mom and find she is right ready to push. Won't be long now. I'm glad to be here. The challenge of breech and twin deliveries is invigorating. But looking at mom, I have to swallow back a lump of fear.
Our ladies tend to be tiny! 4.10 to 5.6 and about 35-40kg. This lady is easily 5.10 and probably close to 80kg. Big moms= big babies. And if the first one is breech. We might be dealing with an impacted head at some point. Well, get her up in stirrups and get ready to go. I was right, baby 1 is huge (Zambian size) but with only a slight struggle with one arm and a good tug of the head, baby one is born. Squalling, healthy baby boy weighing in at 3.150 kg. baby 2 literally slips out after him a few pushes later, healthy baby girl weighing in at 2.8. So thrilled! This was by far my most difficult breech delivery yet.
After, I I finish there, I head down to theatres to tell our doctor and our midwife of our success. What is success if it's not gloated over ;) and find they are doing cataract surgery. Great! I've been wanting to learn to scrub in for cataract surgery. So JR walks me thru the steps, explaining what is happening and why it is happening. You only have one chance with the eye so the scrub nurse really needs to know what is happening and why and be able to give the doctor what he needs, not what he asks for.
The afternoon finds me scrubbed in for two cataract surgeries myself. One of which was successfully the other was started then cancelled due to other medical conditions.
Where else, could you work with such diversity :)
This was my weekend on call. I leave pool volley ball on saturday to go up to Hosp to see a pt in maternity for a blood test. While I'm there, the ambulance arrives bringing a patient with suspected ruptured spleen. I bring the patient down to clinic to ur the ultra sound over him, but the picture isn't clear. Whatever it is, there's an awful lot of fluid sin that belly! Call the team up for surgery. What else would you do with a saturday evening if not for surgery? Turns out it's a liver laceration. We finished up there around 2330. Patient in stable condition. Three or four lacerations sutured up. Main risk over night- bleeding.
At 0230, I receive a call. "Sister, there's a patient in icu that is bleeding. The one in the corner bed."
Rats! our liver! race up to Hosp on the bike. Well, pleased to discover it's not our liver laceration patient. Instead it's our cholecystectomy lady from Thursday who has a huge blood clot between her stomach and her bandage. Try but unable to find where the bleeding is coming from. So call the whole team up again. Thankfully, after a couple hours of playing with the drain, dr. Mcadam was certain opening her up again wasn't necessary. Still, it's 0530 am.i have to b back up at hospital by 0730 for ward rounds.
Manage to get home and collapse in bed, only to receive a phone call from maternity that there is a lady in with bleeding. That's fine, check for fetal heart rate, do a complete assessment on her, I'll b up in a bit to check her over myself. Note to self, check her first when I get up there.
As I suspected, she was a miscarriage. But she's stable, and I'm not worried. She's admitted and we'll scan her tomorrow. What I am worried about, is when the ambulance will b coming from kakon'a with the 14year old with a breech presentation. Seriously? 14 years old? Sad, but unfortunately, too true.
She arrives, along with a transverse presentation (thankfully not a 14 year old) from Zambezi. Midwife, JR, offers to take the care of these two patients. Sounds good to me. I was supposed to teach at Sunday school that afternoon anyway. On my way out from the hospital however, an ambulance arrives from Kabompo (about two hrs away) bringing a lady with acute abdomen. If I had done a thorough assessment meself instead of blindly believing what the Kabompo nurse told me I could have saved myself a whole lot of embarrassment. Still, the patient sure looked dreadfully sick.
Fever
Very tender abdomen
Distended
Lots of pain
No vomiting but not passing stool
I called the doctor and he agreed to come, despite having just sat down to lunch, since we could have her in the clinic room for a scan in seconds. He put the us probe on her belly, looked at it for a second, dropped it and walked away, throwing over his shoulder: "put a catheter in her"
As, I was setting up, I took a more detailed assessment and discovered she was five days post c section and hadn't passed urine. The change in her behaviour was almost instant as the catheter drained nearly a litre. Note to self. But a good story to laugh over and a great learning g experience!
Hoping for a quiet sunday night, but still, was called up again for bleeding, for our liver laceration. Dreadfully sorry, to disturb the doctor again! But not an emergency. Will resolve spontaneously. At least he didn't have to come up. And very glad. He's so sanguine.
So thrilled Monday afternoon to be able to catch up on sleep.
But really... Who needs sleep when there's a camp planning meeting! And I'm chairing it... Yikes! But very excited to be part of this opportunity to spend time with so e amazing Christians in the are planning, hopefully, for a great time a camp with the girls.
Sunday in church, it's been a little while since we've done the bus run due to lack of petrol. ,aye this is the third week.one of the ladies greets me and we start chatting... As much as we can since she speaks Lunda and I speak English. But one phrase I catch and suddenly it changes everything about this sunday morning.
"Naken'a kutiya mazu waNzambi" I wanted to hear the words of God. If she is willing, if she needs to walk, with her bent back and aching knees for 20mins (about 5 or6 for me) to hear the words of the Lord, here must be something in them that is powerful. Something in them that is convicting and binding. Some thing in them that is drawing. So yes, let me view them the same way. God' swords are drawing and binding. Life giving and life changing. More necessary to my living than food and water. How would it change my life if I viewed God's words the way this little old lady does.
There are so many of these little stories that make up my day to day here. I'm sorry I do t take the time to right them all down for you! These are a few that have happened over the last few weeks. I still count myself so privileged to be able to sit here with these people to learn from them and to share with them and hopefully for both of us to walk away changed, and with a deeper appreciation of the God who allowed us to walk together.
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