I
had a four year old male patient named Wilson who had open heart surgery on January
20th for correction of Tetralogy of Fallot.
He was unstable since his
transfer from the theatre/operating room to ICU due to hypotension.
His
condition kept turning for the worst. The main clinical sign is necrosis of his fingers and toes that
extended to hands and feet with blisters. In addition his abdomen got distended
day after day. He was with endotracheal tube connected to a ventilator.
The
sad part is seeing his mother and other female relatives staring at Wilson's
fingers and asking questions about his prognosis, if the fingers will be normal
again. They had been told by the doctor but they seemed to seek more
information from us (nurses).
I
asked myself, “Does God want to have many people to see this child's condition?”
The administrative staff came to visit Wilson mainly because they had learned
that his condition is bad but he continually gets medications to keep him alive
though unconscious. I asked my other co-nurseš if we can have a priest called
for his last rites, but no one was sure of his religion. This seemed unusual to
me. Anyway, we have been praying at his bedside. We talk with him as we take
care of him and we had the mother sit at his bedside and she talked with him
too.
I
had the willingness to take care of him in spite of the suffering this child is
undergoing. He is too young to carry his cross and it hurts to witness it. His
father did not visit which meant no support for the mother except for other
women in the family.
There
were days when I could not pray anymore at the bedside because I became
tearful. This is the only patient I was
affected so emotionally here at St Elizabeth Hospital because of the suffering
I had seen and that all I can do is to make him as comfortable as possible and
pray. I could not talk to the doctor about how long he will keep Wilson on the
ventilator with his worsening condition, etc.
There
was a time when the doctor suggested to have a transistor radio next to Wilson
to stimulate his brain with a musical sound. I followed this in spite of his
deteriorating condition. I used my iPad with music and placed it next to
Wilson's head. I know what you may be thinking at this point but I just like to
do what I can to help him in case it will do some good.
Eventually
Wilson was allowed to go by disconnecting him from the ventilator etc. May he
rest in peace.
