A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTMAS EVE- DECEMBER 24, 2022
We had an arrangement, and I had time off. The last several months had been grueling for a variety of reasons, and I had high hopes of writing some stirring Christmas message and sending it out to all our friends. But my colleague had something come up, and so I was working on Christmas Eve when the emergencies hit.
Rounding on the kids in the pediatric ward was not a problem. The little three-year-old who had come in two nights previously unable to breathe due to a severe case of tonsillitis was now comfortable and taking porridge. Several malaria/anemia cases were all doing great. The baby in the NICU who had come covered with a septic rash went home with his grateful mother. All was calm and all was bright. Then came the first call.
That morning a seven-year-old Fulani boy had gotten too close to a cow who was feeling frisky due to the cold. Cows can kick you from any angle; something those of us who grew up caring for cattle have learned repeatedly. Unfortunately, the tip of the cow’s hoof penetrated the little boy’s abdomen, tearing a small hole and allowing some of his small intestine to erupt out onto his skin. The parents were very wise; they tied a cloth around the waist to protect the intestines and then tied a calabash over the intestines as a guard, following that with another cloth. The family had to bring the boy in from Garinkuka, a 3 – 4-hour journey by motorcycle because of the roads. We sent the boy straight to surgery, where we realized that God had protected him! There was no damage to the liver or spleen and the intestine had a bruised area with a tiny perforation that was easily repaired. The biggest challenge was trying to clean all the dirt, grass, and manure from the intestines prior to returning them to the abdomen.
As I was completing this operation, the physician assistant on duty called with another emergency. This time it was a small boy from the Bimbilla area 90 miles away. The boy had a typhoid perforation and the staff at Bimbilla Government Hospital wanted to refer the boy to Tamale Teaching Hospital. The family wisely chose to come to us in Saboba instead. (During holidays, the staff at Tamale Teaching Hospital get slammed. TTH also has staff who want time off; however, since TTH is the referral hospital for a wide area, all the major accident cases plus complicated OB cases plus a host of other problems find their way to TTH. It’s possible that had the family gone to TTH, there might not have been a bed available for this boy.) Although we are a smaller facility, we can handle cases more rapidly. We also like to believe that we handle our patients more compassionately as well.
Meanwhile, a pregnant lady with an overdue fifth pregnancy had been admitted on the 23rd. Although a midwife ruptured the membranes at 10:30 in the morning, the lady’s labor had now stalled, and her cervix was not opening. Women with more than one pregnancy are called multiparous. Women with five or more pregnancies are known as “grand multiparous,” a term that gets shortened to “grand multip.” Statistically, grand multips are at increased risk for problems delivering. It became obvious that this lady would need a Caesarian section. Calling our tired theater crew in once more, we delivered a 3.8 kg baby boy who began screaming as soon as his head was out of the womb. It also became clear that the cause of the problem was the huge uterine fibroids in the top of the uterus. These fibroids had literally trapped the child’s legs, making it impossible for the child to come out vaginally.
So for those of you who were anticipating a Christmas message from us, here it is. We wish all of you and yours the most holy and blessed of Christmases and the most hopeful of New Years. As the old saying in Twi says, “Afe pa nko meto y3n. Afe seseei, na y3 tease.” “A good year should come to meet us. A year from now, may we all be alive and well.”
And also from the Twi, “Onyame nhyira mo nyinaa!” God bless you all!
Love, Bob and Jean Young
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