Earlier this week I worked an ER shift back in Hopewell, VA where I first worked after we returned from Kenya. I worked there for well over a year and left only because the one hour drive one way was a bit much. And even though I have been very, very happy this past year working at my new job, I missed seeing the great crew of nurses, techs, and docs at JRMC. And so when I was asked to cover a shift there last week, I jumped at the chance.
It was great to see everyone. Things really hadn't changed much there the past year except for new paint and new floors. People were very welcoming. And I even saw a few patients I remembered from the past. And for the first 5 hours of the shift, it was pretty slow and gave me even more time to catch up with folks. Then around 7pm and shift change, things got very interesting.
One of the nurses asked me to come check a pregnant patient who was having a lot of back and abdominal pain. The patient was about 6-7months pregnant. Since the hospital in Hopewell does not have an OB department, we usually see the pregnant patients as top priority to evaluate them and then transfer them if they have an OB issue. And so I went in to see the patient.
As soon as I walked in the room, I knew something wasn't right. They lady was in obvious distress with contractions every 1-2 minutes. I then did an exam to determine how far along she was in labor. To my surprise (and hers) she was complete and was going to deliver the baby in the very near future. The staff and I went into overdrive getting the room set up to do an emergency delivery. As the patient was going to deliver prematurely we also prepared for the worst.
About 15 minutes after initially assessing the patient, she began pushing. Delivery was imminent. As she began pushing, I realized that the baby was a footling breech. This is the absolute most difficult way to deliver a baby. In almost every situation an emergency C-Section is called. However, there was no OB available and it would take a surgeon 30-45 minutes to arrive. In any case, we didn't have that much time. And so, we moved forward. And by God's grace, we delivered her baby without hardly any difficulty. And he almost immediately began crying after delivery, another miracle. Anyway, I spent the next hour making sure that both mom and baby were doing fine while also making arrangements for them to be transferred to a NICU at another hospital.
It was an amazing experience. I have probably delivered over 200 babies. I have done a bunch of C-Sections. I have had some difficult deliveries. But this was potentially one of the most dangerous types and everything went better than expected. I praise God for that. More importantly, I praise God that I didn't even think about the malpractice settlement I went through last year (that was related to a difficult delivery). I basically did what I had been trained to do and did it because I needed to for the sake of the patient and her baby. And that was incredibly satisfying. And that is why I love my job. Even in the midst of uncertainty about "healthcare reform" it is still all about taking care of people.
I sure enjoyed seeing all the good folks in Hopewell. I hope I can do another shift or two soon. I just hope they aren't as memorable as this one!
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