That sums it. As usual..my 4 hour allocated plan ended up being 8 hours...catastrophe after catastrophe at work today much to the delight of 50 patients waiting..patiently...outside the emergency room doors . What is frustrating as usual with our people is the perception that Im going put my finger on someones pulse...and figure out exactly what is wrong with them. no..doesnt work like that any more...back in the Day of zulu china medicine thats what they did...in lack of any other knowledge of disease and medicine- they figured out a fast pulse was = sick and slow pulse also = sick and the 4 things that could cause that . If I put my hand on your pulse..all I can tell is whether your heart is beating normally or abnormally. If it is abnormal...there are a million reasons we now know for that andmy finger alone can not solve the mystery of your illness if you cant give me a bit more information....
A difficult case we received one day was an elderly man brought in practically pa-dead. (no disrespect meant at all ..just me own venting slang..) but literally wheeled in blue in the face..struggling to breath. His relative..sat there comfortably in a chair and while we were rushing madly to try to revive the guy..I was trying to get a history of what happened prior to his pa-deadness to try to pick up the pieces of the puzzle. She insists he is sick because he fell
This is an age old saying in samunda. If a kid has meningitis...its because he fell. hard. a month ago. forget the fact that there was a 3 week interval of wellness....now that he is sick...it all comes together in the parents eyes- that fall must have been the cause. Which is why everyone must be taken first to the fofo...to massage his head which struck the leg of the chair when he fell and he got a small bruise and cried..and caused the meningitis. Same with pneumonia...or joint sepsis...or tummy bugs..they are apparently all the product of a fall..somewhere sometime ago. eggs me. I dont want to hear about the fall unless he broke a bone....or hit his head and became unconscious. And I can not continue to try to convince people that falls dont often lead to many illnesses unless they got a cut and it got infected..or they broke a bone
so Im trying to get more info out off the relative while resuscicating a patient and she perisistently insists that there is no need to tell me anything else except about his fall..where he landed on his behind...and then needed a massage. the man cant breath..looks toxic septic..his heart trace is abnormal..and all she wants to say is he fell.arrrghhh...I am a medical practitioner but not a magician
In the end I have to politely tell her that I dont need to know about the fall..but can she tell me about his fever..and whether he had chest pain etc. she looks shocked...as if I have asked her a stupid question...Im trying not to lose my cool.
Later on another relative comes in...and disclose that patient has actually been unconcsious for 2 days.... and where the wife informed me that "he ate this morning" was actually them trying to force vaisalo down his throat while he was comatose....ok nuff said.
Man I love/hate my job..I wish people could just answer the question and give us the info we need....would make our job alot easier....I knew it was not going to be easy...but some days- its just ridiculous. ..
ae kau alu la i le toilet and "eh" mai kagaka...hmm...and one wonders why ones hairs are turning white!!lol...
good day folks- going to try some Vailima Pure!!
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