Emotionally Draining

We are into our last few days here in Ecuador and I have faced some of the most difficult medical situations of this project. I helped with a thoracotomy for an 18 month old that needed his chest cleaned out following a significant pneumonia. He is recovering slowly but doing well.

A 47 year old man arrived very ill from an abscess in his neck that had spread to his chest. We drained as much as we could then placed him on a ventilator post operatively. He died 4 hours post op.

A 17 year old boy was transferred in Sunday from the jungle with severe hepatitis. He died the Monday afternoon.

A 16 year old presented with severe dyspnea on Saturday (difficulty breathing) and was intubated and ventilated. She dramatically improved clinically but her lab and x-ray values were awful. She deteriorated through Monday and arrangements were made to medevac her to Quito to an ICU. She arrested and died this morning despite our best resuscitative efforts.

Families grieve very openly here in Latin America. Not only do they face the death of a family member, they are responsible for significant hospital costs before the body can be released to the family for the funeral.

It is really hard to lose the young ones.

Gary