This morning was easy. Everyone knew the routine. I started 2 cases before 8 am. Once everything was established, I went to visit yesterday’s patients with Carolina, the nurse who runs the PACU(post anesthesia care unit) and who is fluent in Spanish.
The patient areas are wards that are many beds in a room. The areas are separated by sex. Each patient has a bed and chair. The patient is often in bed and at night the parent who stays with them during their hospital stay sleeps in the chair after attending to their child’s needs.
We were greeted eagerly. The patients recognized us. We asked if they had pain or nausea. The answer was a surprise “no” in most cases. We then decided to photograph each patient with us and their parent. They were eager to do so.
Carolina was asking each patient if they had pain. Amazingly the answer was always either no or a little. It seems that these kids are so happy to have had their surgery that they are very pain tolerant. They get a small amount of Tylenol with codeine, and all seems fine. The biggest source of pain in all cases is the rib harvest to use for the nose or the ear. You will notice one photo where the young woman is holding her side where she has had the rib resection.
The day went well. We had to cancel one case because the child was sick. I saw him and examined him. Clear lungs and no fever, but the surgeon looked in his mouth to find inflamed tonsils and in his nose there was pus. Elective surgery never is done in a sick patient.
The day ended a bit earlier. Dinner was at a nearby restaurant that I found on line. Antigua is filled with places to eat but many of those places serve burgers to cater to the American crowd. I prefer local food. We ordered a plate of tacos filled with different ingredients; some had shrimp,or chicken or beef. It wa
The Adventures of Anne 