Tuesday, September 21, 2010

This never gets easier

We had our first loss on the Pediatric Ward since I have arrived. This never gets easier.
She was a beautiful 13 year old girl. She had an ulcer on her leg from a minor scrape from playing outside with friends. It was still there 3 weeks later when she arrived at the hospital with fever and malaise. We debrided her wound and started tetanus prophylaxis, but that night she began having lockjaw and spasms. We sedated her and continued therapy, and she did well for a few days.  But then she developed massive hemorrhage. I spent 7 straight hours at the bedside trying to stablize her with blood and frequent suctioning, but after a while we couldn't keep up with the hemorrhage and we lost her. We lost her in a heartbreaking and gruesome way. Her family was at her side the entire time, praying to save her, holding her hand, weeping. A free vaccine could have prevented all her pain, all of her suffering. A vaccine could have prevented a beautiful girl from dying too young.
This never gets easier.

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