VSO are in Ethiopia ensuring more babies are delivered into the world healthy
I’ve got lots to share with you since I last wrote on how your gifts are helping me and many other VSO volunteers around the world to help those most in need. Thank you again for your continued support, it means a lot to me knowing you are following my progress from across the globe.
I have become really close to my colleagues over the last couple of months and have seen how their medical care for the mothers and babies visiting Abi Adi Hospital has improved. It is so satisfying to observe how skills as a doctor in the UK are being successfully passed on to the midwives here. This has definitely been one of the highest points of my placement so far, but there have been some tougher points too. Some patients have experienced particularly difficult births, often because complications have occurred as the mother is forced to travel long distances to get medical care.
I became a doctor to save lives and make sure mothers and babies get the best start in life. Volunteering for VSO has let me do this in ways I couldn’t have imagined – that’s what your invaluable support is contributing to.
Ensuring every mother brings their baby home
One particularly difficult case really brought home to me why the work here is needed. A young mother who had been in labour for several hours arrived at Abi Adi Hospital, where we were able to immediately assess her. My colleague quickly ascertained that she had a breech presentation (the baby is the wrong way up), which meant an immediate emergency delivery was required. Heartbreakingly the cord had stopped pulsating so it was already too late for the baby. I was devastated to give the news to the young girl. As a doctor unfortunately you do have to be prepared to deliver bad news sometimes, but it never gets any easier.
While the girl was being comforted by her family I performed a post-delivery check up. To my complete astonishment, I then discovered that she was in fact expecting twins. This had gone undiagnosed as antenatal ultrasounds are not routinely performed in Ethiopia. As we had managed to attend to the mother quickly when she arrived, my colleague and I managed to safely deliver a second baby – a beautiful baby girl.
The healthy baby girl only hours old
For the mother and her family, this was an amazing outcome, as they had only been expecting one baby. They were able to take their healthy daughter home all thanks to us being able to attend promptly and having the expertise to deal with the emergency.
When I’ve had a tough day like this one, I always remind myself that I have saved many babies’ lives since arriving in Ethiopia - but the day I stop worrying or feeling for the patients is the day I should leave medicine! Nothing beats the feeling of helping a woman bring her baby into the world. I feel that I will never get tired of hearing babies cry for the first time, or seeing the look of happiness and relief on the new parents’ faces.
Providing critical care for children
Knowing the young mother was able to go home with her newborn daughter thanks to our quick assessment was a positive twist in the story, but it still highlights work that needs to be done for healthcare in Ethiopia. I am proud to be part of a community of volunteers in Ethiopia sharing their specialist skills. Another VSO volunteer Patricia Doyle has made inspirational progress for Ethiopian children through helping set up the first High Dependency Unit in the country at Nigist Eleni Mohammed Memorial General Hospital. This High Dependency Unit offers the six most critically ill children in the region specialist care on a ward, with more medical staff available to constantly monitor, as well as more equipment. It has cost relatively little to set up but has been such a success already that VSO is now looking to expand by opening additional High Dependency Units like this across Ethiopia.
If you would like to see the difference Patricia and her Ethiopian colleagues have made with the unit please watch this video:
Lost in translation
Anyone who has ever learnt a language will appreciate how things can get lost in translation, and there have been some moments around the hospital that have got me smiling. All medical records have to be written in English, however this isn’t most of the staff’s first language. My Ethiopian colleagues and I communicate successfully between my broken Tigrinia (the regional language) and their broken English, most of the time! However, the other day I received a referral letter where “the baby is running down but not coming out?”
The signs around the hospital are also entertaining – is the below sick leave or skive?
'Ultrasuwnd’ My favourite- sick leave or skive?!
Thank you for your support
Having the wonderful support of the community of VSO volunteers, my family and friends in the UK, and all of you really is fantastic motivation to keep me going. Thanks to your regular donations you are supporting me, and other volunteers around the world, to help those who need us most. I look forward to updating you again soon.
