We have now left Kijabe and I have headed down to the coast to wrap things up with my UTI project. E is in Nairobi with Jamie helping with the kids since Chris gave me a ride to the coast. We will be home in the US one week from today.
One last hospital blog written last week but not posted since Blogger was down:
After over a week in Kijabe, it’s been very interesting comparing between here and the hospital on the coast.
A few days ago, I was operating with Dr. Thomas on an umbilical hernia, and someone came into the room and calmly said that the power was going to go out in about 30 minutes, and it would be off the rest of the day. Not a problem, as we were just starting to wrap up the case and just had to close the skin.
We finished up and headed into the OR where Dr. Davis was operating. He was in the middle of a laproscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal with the long instruments through the little ports, all while watching on a monitor). The case was on the complicated side, and it was looking like they wouldn’t finish within the allotted time. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later, the lights and many of the machines in the room turned off. The room had windows, so at least there was some light. The laproscopic equipment had about three minutes of battery backup, but soon it turned off as well. So, now there was a gall bladder loose in the abdomen. Dr. Davis expanded one of the port sites a little bit and fished around blindly with his finger and fortunately found the gall bladder without incident. It was improvisation at its finest, as there are no textbooks for doing laproscopic surgeries without power.
In another OR (one without windows), a surgeon was performing neurosurgery by flashlight. Amazing.
Apparently, KPLC (Kenyan Power and Lighting Company) will just cut power to certain locations for a day or so from time to time, and that day unfortunately came at the same time that the hospital generator wasn’t working.
In Msambweni, we lost power from time to time, but the procedures the we did and the equipment that we used could just as well have been used under an acacia tree in the middle of the Serengeti, so Msambweni was in some ways actually better equipped to deal with the unpredictability of Kenya, as the technology better matched the infrastructure (or lack thereof). In a way, Kijabe is a victim of its own success since the doctors there are performing to Western standards with Kenyan equipment.
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Goodness! You must be both marveling at the Western medicine in a developing country, while also seeing improvisation on a level with battlefield injuries? Most interestingly, it appears that the doctors reacted very calmly and just went about their tasks. Amazing at what one can become accustomed to!
ReplyDeleteAs you wind your days up, please be mindful of the driving, the goats, the distractions, and the marvels -- we are eagerly awaiting your arrival. What is it about hugs and grins? There is not much that's finer, in my opinion!
So much love!
L/Mom