He was about 2 years old and breathing hard, but appeared to be the size of a 9 month old baby. His palms and the soles of his feet were white as was his conjunctiva. His hair was reddish brown and rather straight. His skin hung in folds around his bones. After much badgering the father finally went to give blood. At first he refused saying that he was to weak. He was “sick”, didn’t feel well. The child’s mother was obviously pregnant near term again. Having already dealt with some difficult
patients that morning I wasn’t about to have another man not give blood for his child. I informed him that he was truly “weaker” than all the women in the room. They could loose blood every month and work hard in the fields, have malaria and deliver babies. But he couldn’t even loose 200cc’s of blood once in his life. Well this time it paid off, he chose to give. (I still haven’t decided wether that’s the best way to deal with these ignorant fathers, but it is sometimes more effective than begging
and pleading, ?Christian tactic- I doubt it). So he went off to give blood. I put him on oxygen while he waits for blood. The one next to him is also breathing badly, unconscious and has a bulging fontanelle. The nurse gives the antibiotics I order and I prepare to do a lumbar puncture. When I come back with the things I see that he has already stopped breathing. I bag him for a while, his heart is still going. He starts to breath on his own. He is keeping up his oxygen on his own at the moment.
Another one unconscious comes in to the ER and I look that child over before doing the lumbar puncture on the first. By the time I come back his pupils are not moving any longer and he has just stopped breathing again. I decide to not do more for him but take the lumbar puncture anyway to see what bacteria can be found (at the reference lab in Garoua), so that if an outbreak of meningitis happens, I might be better prepared. I am very discouraged by the sick kids that have come in the last few
days. Six have died in the hospital in the last 3 days. Two with meningitis, one child with severe burns, neonatal infection, a teenager with a throat infection after his uvula being cut, and a 19 year old with hepatitis.
It is very discouraging to have so many deaths in the hospital. we are praying that someday we will have enough faith that we could have a hospital of prayer and miraculous healing. Pray that we have faith and that we have wisdom for each patient that we see that we know what’s best to do in our circumstances. Greg