Ok, I was dead wrong.
GT is dead. Made an afternoon round after clinic wrapped up, headed into one of the wards, and the curtain was closed around his bed, and when I peeked in saw the defib machine. That's the surprise. He's the one I thought would live, at least for a longer while (talking years).
So I walked to find JC and see how he was getting on. I calcuated that 60% of the patients I have admitted from the HIV clinic had died. So I was worried about JC. Finally tracked him down to another ward. He is status quo. He'll head out this weekend on a weekend pass, and has lots of investigations lined up for next week.
I left him, and then as I was walking I saw PM, who is the guy who had infective endocarditis, from previous injection use. He was in clinic to follow up and to start HIV treatment, but has a fever, and so is being re-admitted. He was, in fact, discharged by the ward team earlier than we thought may be best. (Reasons-bed space?). I walk up to him as he is standing outside of Ward 20, the admission ward. He starts to talk, as his tears start to form, and he is explaining how frustrated he is, has been there all day, and hasn't gone to a ward yet, he isn't feeling well (and he's in mild respiratory distress as I watch him talk). He tells me how painful it was as the medical student kept stabbing and stabbing to get the IV and take bloods. And they want to poke him again. I'm afraid he'll just leave, he looks like he is at breaking point. But I am fearful that if he leaves, he won't be back, and he'll go home to die. I try to convince him to stay. He says he will, and I head off, wondering if he really will.
Bara is a place like no other...
