The hospital has been buzzing lately about a young woman whose life was saved. And with good reason! She may be one of only a few patients to be mechanically ventilated and survive in this part of Ethiopia.
Tseganesh was pregnant and getting near term, when she started feeling bad. She went to another health care facility, and after three days in the hospital, was discharged. Unfortunately, a few days after that, she started having seizures. Those in the medical community will recognize exactly what Tseganesh had. It is called eclampsia and it is life-threatening to both mom and baby.
When she came to Soddo Christian Hospital, she had been seizing for ten straight hours. She was rushed to the OR for immediate Cesarean delivery. It was two beautiful babies. Twins! The babies seemed okay, but Tseganesh was getting much worse. Though the seizures were controlled with medications, brain damage was suspected. At one point in the surgery, she even arrested briefly. Fluid had begun to fill her lungs, and it appeared that she aspirated as well during the seizures. She was critically ill to the point of near-death.
After the surgery, it was clear that Tseganesh was not going to breathe on her own. We made the decision to mechanically ventilate her, but with great trepidation. You see, our ventilator is brand new, and our staff are not very experienced with it. Ventilating a patient like this would be common in the West, but here, it could be a death sentence. Our physician and nursing staff were committed to saving this young woman’s life. So, day and night, a staff member was at her bedside. Turning her, keeping her breathing tube clear, monitoring the ventilator. And praying. We all took turns, and begged God to save this young woman’s life. And after five days on the ventilator, her lungs had cleared to the point where she could breathe on her own.
At long last, she was finally able to hold and feed her two precious babies!
We praise God for so many things in this young woman’s story:
- that He united our staff to work hard and provide excellent medical care
- that our prayers were answered, and her life was saved
- that she appears to have no brain damage from prolonged seizing and cardiac arrest
- that the two twin babies are healthy and thriving
- that willing donors from abroad gave money so that the hospital could procure a quality ventilator
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so thankful!