Neurosurgery rotation: The dying girl.

Hi, everyone this is going to be a pretty long post.So if you are tired please turn around and visit later but if not, you could please hang in there and help me send forth your prayers.

My post today is going to be one of the most unusual I have written and as the title shows the story is from my Neurosurgery rotation.

****

The rotation started last week and I was having a pretty good time, nothing out of place ,nothing seeming too difficult until today.

According to the syllabus of the rotation, we are bound to observe surgeries and visit the Neuro ICU(intensive care unit).

So,on the day of our introduction to the Neuro ICU ,I was quite excited (people may wonder what is exciting about seeing sick people..I can't explain it myself but that's how Medicos are wired). We got there my wiring changed!(when I say we I mean myself and my 8 colleagues)

I don't know what I was expecting to see in the NeuroICU other than unconscious people attached to uncountable machines with wires, tubes and syringes hanging from virtually every body surface but there and then I did not want to be in the ICU but had no choice.

We were told to carry out some examinations on the unconscious patients and I kept moving to the back urging my other colleagues to step forward.

Let me sneak in an explanation, an unconscious body in this setting is virtually like a rag doll,you can slap,hit,pinch in short play football on it and nothing will most likely happen!

So, I kept moving behind but there was this particular patient that I moved forward to actually get a proper look at hoping to examine her.
Why you ask..,I was drawn to her bedside because she was really young early 20s in an ICU that is usually filled with older people with strokes.!
As a matter of fact I still did not touch her but I just kept looking at her face hoping she would miraculously open her eyes.
How did she get here?
A few days before she did a voluntary blood donation and she collapsed a few hours after..,she hit her head and she started bleeding into her brain..,blah blah blah and the story goes downhill from there..,usually when that happens,its not a joking matter.
She gave her blood and now here she lays motionless..I said a prayer for her in my heart and moved on

****
Today, we had to do follow up..,so we were back in the ICU. Let me state here that I left the Neurosurgery department around 4pm yesterday and I was back in 8.30am today and follow up began around 10am. Lo and behold 1 patient was missing..where is he?....Dead!!
I swallowed spit and moved on and there she was looking pale,her heart beat was racing, her arms and leg swollen and she is still in a coma.., all these signs are bad bad bad!In truth and medically speaking she is going to die no two ways about it..

I asked "Is there nothing more we can do for her?"..,and the surgeon/teacher in charge of us said with a tone of finality "we have done everything we can"

I was sad.
I am hoping for a miracle for her..,all she did was try to save another life by donating her blood and now she is laying there dying soon and someone else would get her blood and most probably live.

I say a prayer for her again.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow but today I thank God for the gift of Life.


Hope you are having a fair day?