Today I asked Dr. Toussaint if I could take over the care of children in one of the five major rooms on the paediatric ward. He was OK with that. During the first two days I accepted care for about half and tomorrow I will start early at 7 AM so that I can review and take over care for the other half. The children in this room are infants and toddlers, most with infectious disease problems. I believe I can handle the ten children in this room. The severity ranges from getting ready to go home to one who almost died last night.
The child who almost died is 4 months old, was admitted with pneumonia and anemia 10 days ago and deteriorated after a blood transfusion the night before. The child is working very hard to breath, doesn't move much, and is still in a precarious situation. I checked up on this child multiple times over the day and revised the IV orders and thankfully the child was a bit better by the end of the day, which is encouraging.
The photo above shows my desk in the paediatric outpatient clinic. This clinic is outside and much cooler than the inpatient sweatshop. There are flowering hibiscus and bougainvillea surrounding the clinic, which makes this a very pleasant place to work. The better chairs are chained to the table to avoid theft. The metal chairs can be moved around and make a terrible screeching sound when dragged over the concrete floor.
The Mellon family founded Hopital Albert Schweitzer and the family still plays an active role in the hospital. Today was the annual Christmas luncheon for the hospital staff. I dropped by for about 10 minutes and met Mrs. Mellon who hosted the event. I enjoyed a coke and then returned to check on the sick child.
The child who almost died is 4 months old, was admitted with pneumonia and anemia 10 days ago and deteriorated after a blood transfusion the night before. The child is working very hard to breath, doesn't move much, and is still in a precarious situation. I checked up on this child multiple times over the day and revised the IV orders and thankfully the child was a bit better by the end of the day, which is encouraging.
The Mellon family founded Hopital Albert Schweitzer and the family still plays an active role in the hospital. Today was the annual Christmas luncheon for the hospital staff. I dropped by for about 10 minutes and met Mrs. Mellon who hosted the event. I enjoyed a coke and then returned to check on the sick child.
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