April 19, 2010

Gone Too Soon


My bleeper vibrated inside my lab coat pocket, I pressed the button and heard the nurse-in-charge's voice: Please come to pediatric ICU urgent...I didn't wait for it to finish, I came rushing, if they said urgent, then it is really super-dooper to the highest level urgent LOL!

I scanned the area which bed are they busy with, I saw a closed curtain, nurses are coming in and out in a quick manner. I went inside the curtain and saw the patient, the resident doctor are doing the chest compression (CPR) to the 6 year old local kid while the attending doctor is watching him and directing nurses to give this and that.

I approached the resident doctor and told him I'll do the CPR for him since he look tired already, he must've been doing it for a long time I guess, so i start the compression, 1-1000-2-1000-3-1000.... I counted in my mind. The boy's chest are already collapsed maybe due to chest trauma post CPR I was told this is his third time arresting.

As I was doing the CPR, I looked at the patient's face, he looks pale and gone...in other situations I must have appreciate his cuteness, I felt a great sense of regret for what is happening to him, he could've been playing, he could've been carefree and full of life...

"See, thats how you do great CPR, look at the cardiac monitor, you could tell if someone is doing it right..." I heard the attending doctor complimented me...but of course, how many CPR did I do way back home, some are lucky and some are don't, the thing is, you have to do it right, I don't know why others wasn't, I mean we all did have training.

I just smiled at him to show him that I appreciated his comment. I was getting tired and I said "change..." and the doctor took over while I rested and talked to the Filipina nanny...

"...he's been suffering for a long time, he is a kind kid...but we are all expected this to happen, his mom and dad are first cousins. Their two other children are like him too" she said. I saw the parents crying at the back. I imagined their fear of losing someone they love, and this time, their baby boy...

"Oh, that explains why..." I replied. tsk tsk...

Blood related marriage is still present in this country. We all have many patients suffering from illnesses and abnormalities due to this practice. I felt bad about it, the children are the one suffering to this tradition. I hope there will come a time for this to change. I just prayed that this child will be in our creator and have his own time to play and feel how to be a kid up there..free of any sickness...

We continued reviving him for 30 minutes until the doctors pronounced it: patient expired 4:35pm. He thanked all of us and talked to the family. Until we heard the mother's hysterical cry....

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!

16 comments:

Mugen said...

Whenever I see tragic passings, all I ever wish is that souls are being reborn.

Mac Callister said...

@galen--oo nga noh,maybe souls are really reborned and have them forget all about their past lives...

Darc Diarist said...

:(

Charltoninho said...

codes are definitely sure to give you adrenaline rush. of the times i had a patient code, i think i did cpr twice. i was always busy carrying out orders of the code blue team.

after countless emergency situations, i am not so sure about my feelings towards death...

Anonymous said...

:) wow! it's like reading a novel about nurses and such... anyhoo, hope you're well... have a great week!

Anonymous said...

everything happens for a reason.. but for a 6 year old to die at a young age... haaaayz... good thing im not a nurse like you... i hate to see people die in front of me...

Phunk Factor said...

I hate hate HATE seeing kids suffer! I remember doing wards in Pediatrics and these kids used to cry their hearts out before some a surgery or even something like an injection! God, it was just so bad!

Jules said...

Sana nga maipanganak ulit ang mga nawawalan ng buhay dito sa mundong ibabaw. At sana maging masaya sya sa susunod na buhay nya.

Jules
Soloden.Com
The Brown Mestizo

Mac Callister said...

@charl--me too,when u face death all the time it kinda makes u numb anymore and not affected at all...

@starfish--haha yeah and you;re the one of the nurses on the scene LOL!

Mac Callister said...

@virex--true,kids should be free from sufferings...by the way,am not a nurse hehe

@phunk--i know,its just so bad...

@jule--sana nga noh...kasi para may second chance naman sila

Bruno Laliberté said...

i don't deal with patients anymore, but i always knew i couldn't deal with children suffering, so i work in an hospital for adults, but that didn't keep me from working at the delivery room for years, and yes, i saw death there. rather traumatic to see a new life extinguish itself so rapidly.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the visit, and yes, I'm enjoying your posts -- a lot!

Losing someone really is a tragic experience. I believe the boy is now in a much better place.

Mac Callister said...

@ticklebear--hey thanks for visiting my blog,death is an everyday scene to us already we felt kinda immune to the lost...

@isladenebz--really?im happy to hear that! i found your blog at the PEBA awards.

@arkin--yeah, i hope they could stop this practice...

Unknown said...

Kung di ako nagkakamali. Reincarnation ba yun? Ung ang mga namamatay eh nagkakaroon ng panibagong buhay sa mundo. At sana nga y ganon ang mangyari sa batang iyon. Dahil napakabata pa nya para mawala.

Solo
Travel and Living
Job Hunter

April said...

Oh my! Maybe that's why i don't want to be related on medicine. I don't want to see suffering people or loosing their life in front of me. It hurts me, hope he is now at peace. And find his new life in the future.

April
Stories from a Teenage Mom
Mom on the Run

afifs said...

love it....
there is no other jobs that can appreciate life better than who work in medical field....