Bittersweet

This past weekend was kind of bittersweet.  The sweet part was our group outing to Bamenda, the larger town nearby, where we had lunch, did some souvenir shopping, went to the open-air market, and visited a couple grocery stores.  The Bardins and the entire Ritchey family went, as well as the three of us American residents and Tony, a first-year surgical resident.  We had a very nice time, and I enjoyed the fellowship with the others.  Just as we were leaving the market, Karen decided to buy a bag of the grasshoppers for us to try as a snack.  We’d been talking about trying them, and Margaret, the hostel cook, said she would prepare them for us.  When we got back to the hospital, we gave the bag of grasshoppers to her and she sautéed them up nicely.  We were a little nervous, but after the first bite, we could tell they really were quite delicious.  Almost like a good French fry—a little salty and kinda crisp.  We ate most of them and then went to the Ritcheys to share the remainder.  Never thought I would find myself saying I enjoyed eating a grasshopper!

The more bitter part of the weekend was caring for a mom with preterm labor and her baby, which she delivered at 25 weeks gestation (about 15 weeks early) on Friday evening.  The cusp of viability is around 24 weeks, and that’s with modern medicine (surfactant, ventilators, CPAP, etc.).  We talked with mom about how there can be many complications with extreme prematurity, and she seemed to understand and asked us to do whatever we could to give her baby a chance.  On first exam, the little one was actually oxygenating quite well with supplemental O2.  The real adventure was placing a umbilical venous catheter in this boy...without a normal UVC line.  I was really glad Emiley was there, as she’s certainly had more NICU experience than I have, and she had the bright idea to use a peripheral IV catheter.  While it is more rigid, it is shorter and thus should not end up in the liver after placement.  So, she prepped the kid, and I assisted her as she got the line in place.  We tucked the kiddo in for the night on oxygen, IV antibiotics, and glucose.  He was actually surprisingly vigorous for his age, and we both figured this kiddo was gonna be a fighter.  The next morning, we found that the IV had migrated almost all the way out, so we had to replace it.  Emiley let me take a stab at it since she did the one the previous night.  After a little finagling, we got it back in place and sutured it more securely…we were going to make sure it would stay in place until we wanted it to come out.  Still, the baby’s oxygen levels were good on nasal cannula O2, and it was that morning we left for Bamenda with the group.  When we arrived back at the hospital that night, there was no news of complications from the nurses on maternity.   

Sunday morning, I awoke and had breakfast, then made my way to maternity to check on the patients before church.  I walked directly to the room that has become known as our NICU, the room with the incubators, to check on our preemie.  All the incubators were empty.  I turned to the nurse, and she informed me that our patient had died during the night.  This case was another emotional roller coaster for me.  Obviously, it pains me to lose a patient and, especially, to see his mother grieve the loss of her tiny son.  But at the same time, I’m thankful that he is no longer suffering and that he has avoided the horrible complications that can arise from extreme prematurity (e.g. serious gut infections sometimes requiring surgery).  His short life on this earth reminds me of Psalm 39—“each man’s life is but a breath…”  Even though his life was only a very short glimpse into this world, from God’s eternal perspective, all of our lives are a vanishing vapor.  It is so easy at times to become consumed with the things of this world and the busyness of life.  Lord, help us to realize the brevity of this life.  Help us to live for those things that truly matter—coming to know You more, falling more in love with You, making Your name and Your love known to those around us. 

With the new day today came some exciting news.  We were able to discharge Praise home with his mother.  He has been eating well and gaining weight like a champ.  He will definitely be one of the successes I remember most about my time here.  Thanks to everyone for their prayers.  Continue to pray that the Lord’s hand will move both in our lives and through our lives here at Mbingo.  Talk to you all soon.