The good and bad

Lately, we’ve had many paradoxically both good and bad days. We’ve had exciting wins, and really tragic losses. Yesterday was one of those days.

I was covering pediatrics, and one of our patients was a mystery case of a teenage boy who was literally doing cartwheels a month ago, but now was unresponsive in the hospital, deteriorating no matter what we tried. I was really proud of our team of medical interns, though: they were so dedicated and worked together so well trying to make sure he got the best care. We brainstormed, polled everyone for new ideas, coordinated between doctors and nurses trying to keep his complicated regimen running smoothly and his family informed.

But despite it all, he died last night. And we don’t know why.

Later that night/early morning, a baby was sent to our emergency room for suspected meningitis. He was in shock, comatose, and ended up coding and died.

Again, in the middle of something tragic, I was so proud of our team. I was watching a medical officer we had trained over the last year run these codes, break the news to these families, pray over them, and handle stressful medical situations now as an independent doctor.

It’s intense work we do. But slowly, slowly, we are seeing good things grow.

Haley

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One thought on “The good and bad

  1. How hard. And yet what a blessing for the family to have a medical provider pray with them in such a heartbreaking time. A real reminder that what we experience here isn’t the whole picture. I’m proud of the work you do. Labor on, my daughter.

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