Riziki's Story

by Co-Founder, Susan Gustafson

Nurses taking Riziki to the OR, photo by Moon Lai

Full term, Riziki began feeling labor pains and prepared to give birth at home. She labored for two full days, and was given local herbs believed to help her with contractions. Riziki’s contractions continued but her baby was not descending. Alarmed and worried, her family took her to a dispensary near her remote village where her labor was monitored for another four hours. With no progress of labor, the healthcare provider knew there was something terribly wrong and referred her to FAME Medical for help. When she arrived, she was having very strong contractions. Dr. Gabriel examined her and performed an ultrasound. What at first glance looked like an enormous cyst, was upon closer examination, the infant’s head showing massive hydrocephalus. Riziki had been pushing for so long her uterus was showing signs of a possible rupture. The team knew they needed to get her into the OR fast and called for blood product from the lab to prepare for the worst. Upon opening the stomach, Dr. Gabriel could see that the uterus was buldging and there were signs of a lower segment hemmorhage. They worked quickly, delivering a baby boy. Despite the hydrocephalus, his Apgar score was strong and he was active. While a nurse cared for the baby, Riziki started bleeding badly. Treating her with the first line of treatment for post-partum hemmorhage, she was slow to respond. As they moved to the second line of treatment, she went into shock. Sehewa, our anesthetist, immediately intubated her and inserted an NG tube. The team began rescusitation and giving her IV fluids while transfusing intra-operatively what would be two units of blood. Her pressure began coming up and when she was able to breathe on her own again, she was extubated and returned to the ward where she stabilized and soon recovered. She still faces some serious challenges, specifically that of taking a medically compromised baby back to the boma. But thankfully, we were able to refer the child to a pediatric surgeon 2.5 hours away who inserted a shunt. Riziki has already returned for her post C-section follow-up visit, reporting that her baby is recovering well. We rejoice in knowing that another precious mother was saved by the FAME team.