Today was very busy. Once again I was thrust out of my comfort zone by taking care of newborns and small children. My anesthesia practice in the US is essentially limited to the big people and not the every so tiny ones. Well today we had a 2 month old with hydrocephalus for a VP shunt and then a 3 year old for a tonsillectomy. All went well as I recalled my days of rotating at Riley Hospital for Children during my anesthesia residency. I do believe God had His hand in it though.
On a sad note, we finished the day with the other end of the spectrum. It was an 80 year old woman with a hip fracture for repair. She fractured it about a week ago and due to varied delays both medically and socially, her case was delayed to this week. We did a spinal anesthetic and all was going well with the procedure. Then all of the sudden she arrested. We "coded" her for about 30 minutes but could not save her. It was tough. For those who may not know, these are very high risk procedures on sick patients. In the US, while rare, older patients do arrest during this procedure. My assumption was she had a clot move to her lungs and she arrested immediately. The surgeon talked with the family and he believes they are all Christians, including the patient. Pray for her family as they grieve the loss of their loved one.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support.
