Last week in the clinic we were lucky to be joined by Annie’s mom, Rosie, who came to the hospital as a “volunteer volunteer” while on vacation. Rosie was absolutely fantastic! She made the babies stop crying, gave out stickers, took heights and weights, drew pictures with the kids, rearranged the furniture in the intake room and even spoke some Spanish! I was spoiled to have so much help, and I got to spend extra time shadowing the doctors on rounds and in clinic.
Monday and Tuesday were quiet days in the hospital because of the worker’s strike. The people usually doing intake were on strike as well, so I stood at the hospital entrance and tried to point all the babies and children who came through the door towards Clinica 10. We even saw a few young adults because the other clinics were closed.
One young mother brought herself and her child in for a check up. The mom had been experiencing shortness of breath, dizziness, heart racing and palpitations in periodic episodes ever since her daughter was born 3 years ago. One of the doctors ordered a urine test for the child and a blood test for the mom. Mom and daughter returned, but the mom had not gotten her blood test done; when I asked why she had no results, mom told me she was scared of needles. The doctor told her she could get an EKG in the emergency room instead. I decided to walk her down to the emergency room to make sure the EKG got done. I had a feeling that things might not go smoothly, and did not want the scenario of the premature failure to thrive baby from last week to be repeated in another lost patient. I’m glad I escorted her, because the doctor that she spoke to in the ED curtly turned her request down saying that the EKG tech was not in the hospital that day. I sat mom down and reassured her that an EKG was completely painless and quick. I asked her to please come back tomorrow to have the test done and tried to emphasize the importance of her compliance. She promised she would return, but given her noncompliance with the blood draw orders, I could only hope to see her again. I asked her to stick her head in Clinica 10 to say hello to us tomorrow so that we would know she had come back. As she walked out the door, I was doubtful that I would see her again.
The following day, in the height of clinic, mom and daughter peaked through the door with a printed EKG! I was incredibly surprised and thrilled. The patient may have followed through with the doctor’s orders regardless of my efforts, but I had been so disappointed about the sad little baby from last week, that I considered this an uplifting success, however small. The possibility that the 10 minutes I spent walking her to the ED and convincing her to return may actually have made a difference makes me want to be able to spend just as much personal time with every patient that I see as a Global Healing intern, future medical student and doctor. Hah! Naive and blissful, but I’ll wish it anyways.
By Thursday, the hospital was back to hot, crowded and smelly normalcy. As usual, we saw a lot of cough, cold and fever. We admitted a few very sick babies to the hospital, administered nebulizer treatment to asthmatics, prescribed tons of medicines for parasites and creams for rashes. My immune system is finally failing and I have come down with the beginnings of a cold. I have been bracing myself for this to happen since I am playing with, picking up and talking to sick kids and their parents all day long. Lucky for me that Vitamin C grows wild on trees in front of my apartment!
