So, it ended up being a relatively quiet on call. There were only seven admissions yesterday. Apparently, up until about a month ago, this had been the usual number of admissions for a month or so. There have been lots of guesses as to why admissions have fluctuated and have gone from numbers around five or 10 to well over 20. (Last night was likely low because it was so miserably cold). The nursing staff believe that there had been a drop in the number of admissions because people had fled during the xenophobic attacks a few months back, and now that admissions are back up to usual numbers, they believe that it reflects people moving back to the area from the refugee shelters that had been set up. One of the profs believes that we had seen a natural lull with a mild RSV season. Who knows?
We had 7 year old who came in yesterday afternoon looking quite ill. Her spinal fluid, which should be crystal clear, was actually fairly turbid looking. And sure enough, she has meningococcal meningitis. She has the classic definition of board like rigidity, meaning that if you put your hands behind her head and pull upwards, her neck doesn't flex. I'm not sure how long she had been unwell, but hopefully we are seeing her early enough that she may make it through this, and remained neurologically intact.
I arrived on the pediatric ward at about 5:45. Every morning that I get to work, the lights are on. And, a 6 a.m. round of porridge or bottles have already been handed out. Part of me has wondered two things recently. One, are the lights on all night long? Two, do they really really wake kids at 6 a.m. to feed them? And the answer to those questions are yes, and yes. While not all the lights were on the early in the morning, most were. And, I watched as A.L (my two year old who needs his tonsils out) was woken up and give and porridge at 6 a.m. I thought about this while I was at the gym this afternoon, and it does seem a bit cruel to wake of the kids for a 6 a.m. feed... but, part of the reason I am sure it is because there are very few parents on the ward, and the nurses are responsible for feeding the children. So by default, feeds occur on a scheduled basis and everyone eats at the same time. I suspect that give the level of malnutrition these kids live in, they must be hungry more often than not...
My eight-year-old to has pulmonary tuberculosis for the second time is still here. I technically discharged her on Friday. I was slightly annoyed to see here here yesterday, and quite frankly expected that she would be here this morning. Apparently, they cannot reach her mother to come and pick her up. The one functioning number on her admission facesheet, doesn't appear to be the correct number. Her mom hasn't actually been in the hospital to visit at all since she has been admitted. I suspect, like many of the parents, and that the cost of a taxi, or bus, has been too expensive to come for regular visits. I'm not sure know, when she'll head home.
