I like co-workers!!

Last week I mentioned on FB that I had a preeclamptic patient with pressures 170's/120's.   I had a few hours of panic trying to get her the medical help she needed. She was at Safe Motherhood which is a free service for pregnant mothers but they were not taking her case very seriously and they suggested she go somewhere else in the city and get an ultrasound. (By the way, if you are ever a pregnant mother in your third trimester with pressures that high, please don't get on the back of a  motorcycle or bicycle and look around for a place with an ultrasound machine.  Just find yourself a dark, quiet place to lay down.) 

 Anyway, got her over to Bethesda Hospital where the nurses took us seriously right away. Got her into the doctor and got her admitted. These nurses are from the states and have been here a few weeks. I LOVE having them around. It felt so nice to actually leave the hospital and know they were still there fighting to get Mag started, check pressures often, make sure they were going to get her scanned.  All the things that I normally have to stay and fight for. They know best practice and will do their best to get as close as possible here.
Unfortunately, her pressures didn't respond to IV meds and she earned herself a c-section but both mother and baby did well. Heather (one of the nurses) is a NICU nurse so baby kept her hopping for a day or two as he is tiny.

He had a bit of breathing trouble initially and couldn't maintain his sugars. This was tricky as there is only one IV pump in the whole city. But we borrowed it from Amecet and it helped him a lot. 

 Anyway, the point of this post is that it is really nice to give report to fellow nurses. One of my clinic days last week I had to bring 4 patients into town for further studies. Some needed lab work, two needed scans, two needed consults. I got them registered, sat them in the waiting room, explained to Heather what they all needed and went back out to catch up on home visits. It was really nice not needed to hang out all day at the hospital waiting for results and hounding the doctors to get some diagnoses. Thanks Heather and Courtney!!