It is Sunday Morning, and the camp is still quiet. This is the start of my last week. I will start the journey back sometime later this week. Time for some updates.
The man who was stabbed with the spear (A Piercing) survived and was sent home. He was actually quite grateful for our efforts. He offered to share his tobacco with me. The man with the AK47 wound to his arm continued to worsen. His family wanted him sent somewhere else, so we tried. We sent him to Turalei, but there was no surgeon there. And he returned to us. They went to a traditional healer, but again he returned to us. The gangrene in his arm continued to worsen. His family finally decided that he did need surgery when they could see the maggots crawling amidst the wounds. Because they had waited too long, the infection had climbed up past his elbow, requiring us to amputate higher than we originally planned. We proceeded with an upper arm guillotine type amputation because of the nature of his infection. He now looks much better, and his sepsis, which I was very worried about, seems to be resolving.
There was an attack two days ago by Sudan. Three villages near Aweil were bombed. There were several injuries. A pregnant women sustained injuries to her back. She is still in Aweil, but will be transferred to us tomorrow for more definitive surgical care. (There is not a surgeon in Aweil.)
There are two women in our Antenatal area that we are watching closely. One was thought to have a transverse lie, and would likely need a c-section. After a number of evaluations, we felt that the baby was vertex, but the size of the uterus was concerning. She might have twins! The other woman has what we think is polyhydramnios. We do not have an ultrasound or other way of evaluating patients other than clinically. She may need a section as well.
So, the adventures continue. There is not really a break. I am the only clinical doctor here. There is a fill-in administrator, that we call the medical focal point (MFP) who is a general practitioner, but he doesn't do much clinically. He has been here for three days. His responsibilities are primarily administrative.
The camp is stirring, and it is time to make the rounds and see the patients in the hospital.
The man who was stabbed with the spear (A Piercing) survived and was sent home. He was actually quite grateful for our efforts. He offered to share his tobacco with me. The man with the AK47 wound to his arm continued to worsen. His family wanted him sent somewhere else, so we tried. We sent him to Turalei, but there was no surgeon there. And he returned to us. They went to a traditional healer, but again he returned to us. The gangrene in his arm continued to worsen. His family finally decided that he did need surgery when they could see the maggots crawling amidst the wounds. Because they had waited too long, the infection had climbed up past his elbow, requiring us to amputate higher than we originally planned. We proceeded with an upper arm guillotine type amputation because of the nature of his infection. He now looks much better, and his sepsis, which I was very worried about, seems to be resolving.
There was an attack two days ago by Sudan. Three villages near Aweil were bombed. There were several injuries. A pregnant women sustained injuries to her back. She is still in Aweil, but will be transferred to us tomorrow for more definitive surgical care. (There is not a surgeon in Aweil.)There are two women in our Antenatal area that we are watching closely. One was thought to have a transverse lie, and would likely need a c-section. After a number of evaluations, we felt that the baby was vertex, but the size of the uterus was concerning. She might have twins! The other woman has what we think is polyhydramnios. We do not have an ultrasound or other way of evaluating patients other than clinically. She may need a section as well.
So, the adventures continue. There is not really a break. I am the only clinical doctor here. There is a fill-in administrator, that we call the medical focal point (MFP) who is a general practitioner, but he doesn't do much clinically. He has been here for three days. His responsibilities are primarily administrative.
The camp is stirring, and it is time to make the rounds and see the patients in the hospital.
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