A Doctor's "Secret" Health Notes

May 22nd You make an incision first on the skin, and then further incisions on each subsequent layer until the final one is made on the uterus (womb). Quickly the baby is extracted and the fast-bleeding edges of the uterus is clamped, here and there. You hear the new-born crying its head off as you deftly suture the gash on the womb, reassured now that the baby and mother should be quite safe. . . Such was the scenerio 3 hours ago, as I performed yet another Emergency Caesarean Section with Dr Larry assisting. The indication being foeto-maternal distress in a Prolonged, Obstructed labour. Only down-side was, Dr Larry and I not getting to see the UEFA Champions league final match-up between Chelsea FC and Manchester United - Just a little joke.

May 9th We lost the patient with advanced Tetanus. She died yesterday; so sad. Tetanus. Quite a deadly disease when treatment is delayed and the disease is at the advanced stage. The causative organism is a bacterium, Clostridium Tetani, that abounds in the soil and found in rusted iron. Apparently, the poor woman had had a locally done pedicure to her foot that resulted later into an infected wound. This would be the obvious source of entry into her system, of the deadly bacterium. Today also, we sadly lost a baby just before birth, and during labour. The cause of death can only be speculated here at best and its determination is subject to the degree to which intra-partum foetal monitoring and management is carried out at our centre. So, to what degree is intra-partum foetal monitoring and management carried out in this hospital where I work, you may well ask. I would say without elaborating in detail, that the standards could much be improved upon. We averted another possible intra-...