An Answered Prayer

Date: 9-21-07

I stood giving the 4th dose of Quinine to another fever soaked infant lying wrapped in a bright piece of African fabric. As I was checking to make sure the drip was slow enough I heard the gurgling gasps from the last bed in the room. The same gurgling gasps that had caused James to insert a tracheal tube the night before. The same gasps that lead us to suction her trachea out with a tube and our mouths and bag her to get her 02 sat up. This was the first patient that I'd been able to prayer with her family for her, she was a little 8 year old girl that had been through it all, the day before a truck had fell on her and brok her Tibia in one leg and her Femur in the other. And now this struggle for life. I ran to the bedside and began to suction, sucking so hard my chest hurt. Bust still I got nothing. I turned to call for help and that's when I realized I was in this alone. Sarah had gone for a bit to eat and Augustine (the other nurse) had disappeared quite some time ago. I turned on the 02 sat monitor and watched as she started to drop 83, 82, 81. Please God send somebody I prayed and went to try and suction again. No luck. I glanced over my shoulder and there stood a nurse from the other side who never ventures over to this side. Praise God. I handed the suction to him to try because he might have more suction power than me. I was going to get James.

James arrived and we suctioned, bagged, and gave albuterol liquid straight down her tracheal tube to loosen up the secretions. He 02 sat reached 98% being bagged. We taught the family how to bag her so that they could through the night. Last I checked on her before going to bed she was waking up blinking her eyes and moving some fingers. Praise God!