When Preparedness Saves Lives
“The moment my child was sick….I was thinking he could die at any time….I was just happy from the moment I was received here. I didn’t know the treatment he was receiving, but I am happy that nurses and other people were coming and seeing my child, and day after day I saw him improving.”
I will never forget the tiny blue and yellow striped sock lying at the end of the bed as the FAME ER team rallied around a very young child who was obviously in crisis. Attached to a small white oxygen tank, a nurse from another medical facility had just carried the patient in after supporting him throughout an emergency transport from Mto wa Mbu to Karatu. With his small chest already retracting, nine month old Issaya was audibly wheezing and visibly in distress.
In the throes of what the ER team would immediately recognize as acute bronchiolitis and probable pneumonia, they worked quickly and seamlessly to save this precious life. I’ve always watched in awe when skilled doctors and nurses respond to emergency situations — the intense focus, the seemingly unflappable demeanor, the decisive action — each provider stepping into their role yet working in harmony, with singular purpose. These are the things I observed in this situation too — as they nebulized this little one who was struggling to breathe. Without missing a beat, the team inserted a bronco dilator into his trachea, dilating his lungs and clearing his airway. Issaya was terribly dehydrated, and so they inserted an IV into a vein in his scalp to replenish his depleted little body. Within 1/2 hour he was breathing easier. Within an hour, he was breathing well enough to breastfeed in his mother’s arms.
It is hard to believe how quickly a life, especially a child’s life, can be snatched away in the absence of emergency medical care AND how just as quickly a life can be reclaimed in the presence of healthcare providers equipped to respond in a crisis. Once the little patient was stable enough to be moved, Dr. Mwaluko began the process of admitting Issaya to our general inpatient ward. Still fragile and in need of close observation, ward nurses attended to his oxygen and inhaler needs and labs were drawn to further inform treatment. Ultimately, the preliminary diagnosed was confirmed — acute bronchiolitis/pneumonia, along with anemia. Antibiotics and iron were added to his treatment regime. Over the next two days, FAME nurses would keep a close eye on Issaya’s progress and provide support and encouragement to his worried mother. Finally, he was well enough to return home in the arms of a very grateful mother.
Note: We would learn over the course of Issaya’s stay that the family had traveled from their home village to Babati, roughly 100 miles away, where they boarded a bus bound for Mto wa Mbu. It was there that a Health Center started treatment but ultimately recognized that he needed a higher level of care. They made a referral to us, transporting Issaya another 18 miles up over a winding escarpment to FAME Medical in Karatu. This is the gap FAME is here to fill and the kind of collaboration between health facilities that we aim to cultivate.
*While the patient’s name has been changed to protect privacy, permission was secured to share his photos and story with FAME supporters, and to raise awareness of available medical care at FAME Medical.