A week ago, we had to race against time to save a 12 year old who was rushed to the facility by both parents in the middle of the night when their only son lost consciousness and convulsed 3 times then became still.
The mother, more agitated than the father who appeared distraught betraying, observantly, intense fear beneath the surface of unruffled feathers, was shaking.
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Gastroenteritis with mild dehydration secondary to malaria.
This young 3 year old male child was brought in yesterday with excessive crying, loose stool, vomiting and fever. We quickly commence treatment and today he is up and about! Amazing how little children recover with the right diagnosis and treatment. I love treating children even though they can be very difficult to handle. Just look at those eyes that were formerly sunken looking full, purposeful and happy again. The emphasis of having trained and experienced doctors in the rural areas must continually be encouraged and this discussion must be sustained on the front burner until it becomes a norm. The weather was debilitating on this very bright windless, hot, sunny afternoon. The sky was clear with very occasional scudding of lightly gathered clouds. I was in the office rummaging through my drawers for a piece of paper, when I suddenly heard the wailing of a woman, the voice must have been that of one, no doubt. She had brought herself to the facility and as is custom, the nurses swung into action. I didn't budge. It's a normal thing if you are a doctor especially.
Five minutes later she was somewhat calm, I was called upon and vitals shown to me. She had had a severe abdominal pain 4 days prior to presentation and treated herself for "typhoid and malaria" at some chemist but the pain persisted, she vomited and after the second day she noticed her stomach swelling and pain became unbearable. How she managed the third and fourth day she couldn't explain.
24hours later, baby is Ruth is recuperating just well and parents are bit relaxed now....
In pediatrics care, it is one thing to get the right diagnosis and another to give the right medications. Their fluid management is as important as their dosage of drugs. You miss this you risk killing them. A New Strain of Drug-Resistant Malaria Has Sprung Up in Africa.
"Finally, we need to acknowledge that the sun may be setting on today's drugs. It may be a long sunset, but we need to be ready for tomorrow" |
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