Before i begin, let me wish all steemians Merry Xmas. This story was a personal experience i had in Ghana as a pediatric nurse...i hope other nurses can draw a clue from it.
The first day we are joining Janet in Ghana on module 13 with the elective global health program. She went on the other side of the street to buy rice and was driven down by a taxi.
While the nurses are joining her, Janet begins to scream and it sounds throughout the department. Christina and me will be Quickly agree that we will not wound the children if it is not necessary. It's a terrible incident then the children do not get painkillers. After some days in the department, however, we dare to intervene and every time the students or Nurses start wound care, we ask if it is possible that the child may have a pain reliever. Most succeeded case. Especially by Moses and the girl beside him, Veronica, one can and does not even imagine that they have often been wound up completely without painkillers.
Moses has a rare skin disease. He was bitten by - probably an insect - and this has led to an inflammation and it is therefore a post cellulitis ulcer. Nobody knows how and during how long it has evolved bad a wound, but when Moses arrived at the Regional Hospital, one had to make a skin transplant from the legs.
The connections will be changed approximately every 3 days and a physiotherapist will arrive at the department twice a week. A couple of days ago the doctor said very definitely that something should happen to Moses now, as it's going the wrong way. The arm is very raised and it is not the wounds there is the problem anymore. For a long time, Moses has not received adequate antibiotic treatment and physical therapy (that this costs a lot). The inflammation is therefore hard at all. Right then he screams when just touching his fingers. His whole hand is very raised. Moses needs a compression joint and frequent physiotherapy for the arm to function again.
The mother is not happy to hear this. She is a mother-in-law and has 2 children besides Moses. She can not afford Moses to get that treatment as he should have. Only the connection that Moses right now needs, costs 200 GHS in response to 360 Kr. Oveni comes physiotherapy treatment. When I got home from a clinic that day, I started a collection for Moses by making a call on facebook.
All my friends and acquaintances would make a contribution immediately and I received a good amount that I directly needed of the following day. Together with Christina I went to a pharmacy and bought compound material (compression, 'armsling' and everything what it belongs to) for the next few weeks.
Here you can see pictures of Moses when he came in and after the treatments ...
In addition, I spent a small amount of the money collected for emergency medicine such as good painkillers to the department, like Nurses just can take off. At least in the near future, it will mean that it is not decisive how much money The mother is concerned if the child can have a pain reliever for the wound care treatment. I have stored some of the medicine for the next one hospital too, since I've heard they really also lack resources / materials / medicine there. On our 2 week course in the children's department we have seen a little bit of each. I have helped send and receive children from time to time operation, administer medicine, assist in wound care and measure values and assess and reflect patient condition together with the doctors.
Its was a pleasure to had help the little Moses as much as i can...Moses is doing great now. I will share other of my stories in other countries i volunteered for. Follow me for more stories.
Thanks