Today all of the autoclaves are broken, and there are no sterile instruments/gowns/gauze/etc./etc., so we can’t do elective surgeries. I did do a hernia repair with a few drapes, sterile gloves and no gown. I’m a little upset because I had a great breast case to do but hopefully it will happen tomorrow. Instead, I’m trying to use the time to study and to read up on all of the hand-sewn bowel techniques that I can since I seem to have to do that here. We don’t staple anything and I’m finding out how incompetant I am. It’s kind of like how my generation doesn’t know how to use a card catalogue because we look up all of our information online.
In a way it’s a good thing that the day is a little less busy because yesterday was crazy. A 15-year-old boy had a shotgun wound overnight and when we rounded in the morning, the first thing I had to do was put in a chest tube (in a skirt… at least this time I wasn’t wearing heels like my last chest tube in the US.) We then proceeded to do exploratory surgery on his abdomen. I was way over my head, and the senior resident with me, while very confident, wasn’t much ahead of me as far as his experience level. We managed to get through a full exploration and a couple resections of injured bowel before Dr. Ardill was able to pop in an affirm that it looked fine to him. Praise God that the liver injuries had stopped bleeding already. I spent the remainder of the early afternoon in the ICU (see last post) trying to keep him alive while the nurse bag-ventilated him. He died at 4:30 pm.
My friend Laurie just sent out a copy of a prayer that has been on her heart that I think is applicable to things I am struggling with right now as well as to a few other people in my life:
Today, O Lord, I yield myself to you. May your will be my delight today.May your way have perfect sway in me.May your love be the pattern of my living. I surrender to youMy hopes,My dreams,My ambitions.Do with them what you will, when you will, as you will. I place into your loving careMy family,My friends,My future.Care for them with a care that I can never give. I release into your handsMy need to control,My craving for status,My fear of obscurity.Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish your kingdom on earth. For Jesus' sake, Amen. -Richard Foster
7 more days in Nigeria! I will continue to keep you updated.
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