Case history. The intensive care doctor

The intensive care doctor

Case history

Juan was fifteen months old when his sister was born. His family lived in a village in Peru. His father was a farm worker who earned very little money. His mother wanted Juan to be healthy, and she saw advertisements for vitamin pills in the shops. She bought two bottles of pills every month, which cost a week’s wages. She could not afford to buy meat and vegetables as well, so the family ate only rice. She became anemic, and did not have enough breast milk to feed his sister properly. The baby was small and weak, and Juan was also weak because of lack of good food. Juan’s mother did not understand about immunization, so she refused to take the children to the clinic. When Juan developed measles, he was not strong enough to fight the germ. He died of a disease which was both preventable and treatable. The vitamin pills were a tragic mistake.

Most hospitals today have an intensive care unit. The doctors and nurses in this unit look after patients who are extremely sick. Many of these patients have had serious road accidents. Some are victims of violence. A few have severe infections or other illnesses. Others are recovering from major operations such as open heart surgery. Patients on the intensive care unit have difficulty performing the most basic functions of life: breathing, maintaining the circulation of the blood, and eating. No single drug can restore all these functions, and no machine can permanently replace them. But modern drugs and machines can help temporarily while the patient’s body is healing.

John was a fifty-four year-old truck driver. His wife sometimes traveled with him. One day, they had a serious road accident. John was knocked unconscious; he broke several ribs and he also broke his leg badly; in addition, his abdomen was crushed and his kidneys were damaged. He was trapped in the truck for five hours until the rescue team cut him free. The ambulance took him to a hospital, where he went straight to the intensive care unit. The doctors connected him to a ventilator, and also to a hemodialysis machine because his kidneys were not working. They gave him a large blood transfusion and performed an operation in his leg.

John was unconscious for two weeks but he recovered without any brain damage. The doctors switched off the ventilator, and John began to breathe for himself. His kidneys also recovered so he did not need hemodialysis for very long. The nurses and physiotherapists worked hard to prevent pressure sores and stiff muscles. John did not remember the accident, and he did not know that his wife had been killed. The doctors waited until he was stronger before they told him the bad news. John became depressed. The nurses tried to cheer him up and motivate him to start a new life. He was on the intensive care unit for three months. Eventually, he recovered completely but he will never lose the psychological scars of that fatal accident.

Дата добавления: 2014-10-15