Friday 2 December 2011

2nd December 2011

Yesterday evening, yet another woman was brought into the labour ward, having been fitting in some hospital in Asosa (this is the same hospital that the previous women have come from and is very near to the Sudan border). So this is the 3rd woman with eclamptic fits in as many days. Luckily for her, we were able to control her fits and get her to theatre for a caesarean section, where she was delivered of a very floppy 1.7kg baby girl. After a bit of respiratory assistance, she was brought into the ward to be warmed and resuscitated further. The mother, whilst very knocked off from all the ant-fitting medicines, recovered reasonably well, although she probably had a cracking headache.
Having got the baby warm, using one of baby Jaba’s blankets, which I was taking home to wash, I passed a naso-gastric tube and gave her some 10% dextrose and asked the nurses to continue with her fluids 2 hourly overnight.

When I arrived back in the ward this morning, I asked if the baby was OK and was told that she was ‘fine’. So I was a little surprised to see her weakly crying as she lay in a totally soaking wet blanket. Needless to say, she was really cold, with a temperature un-measurable on the thermometer. What I don’t understand is; why didn’t they put the nappy that I left on her? Why didn’t they dress her in the clothes that I left her? Why were there 2 nurses cutting and folding gauze squares whilst they had their backs to the crying baby? Oh and why hadn’t they given her the 10% dextrose that she was due 1 ½ hours ago?

Why oh why oh why…..I shall never understand it.

Anyway, moving on (a necessary approach), I have just been to see the little baby girl and she is still warm with her knitted clothes on (courtesy of you all in the UK) and she looks very content. Hopefully, her mother will be able to take car of her very soon and then she can return to Asosa, which is a 3 ½ hour drive away. The grandfather has already told me that he doesn’t have the money to get home and so he doesn’t know what to do. Everywhere you turn, someone needs money for something.


The new admission to the neonatal unit – at least she is now warm.

3 comments:

  1. Having just discovered your blog I have spent the last couple of hours reading them all. I now have to wait patiently for the next post.

    What an amazing time you are having so many ups and downs!

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  2. Dear Karen and Jeremy.
    1. day an work, mist the sun and all the nice people wee meet in Gimbie.
    Weekend with children and grandchildren, lovely!
    What about you and the car? Are you stay or what!
    Send love too Clare and Camilla anf wasjun and the other we known.
    Love from Heidi and Andrè.

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  3. Lovely to hear from you Marie and glad you have found the blog - I try to update it every few days so keep reading. It's nice to know that people read and enoy it xx

    Great to hear that you are back safely Heidi and Andrea. We are very sad that you have left and wonder when we will have more fun dinner parties again....
    We will certainly stay for a few months but after that we're not sure where we will go. Camilla leaves on Thursday so it'll be just the 3 of us. Keep in touch xx

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