Saturday, March 20, 2010

The unborn baby

Few days ago, while i was busy working in my office, suddenly there was a call from the ANC (antenatal section). My colleague who is in-charge of it was on leave so I have no choice but to "one leg kick" the whole place.

On the phone i heard a desperate voice of a staff nurse. "Must be mou-hou-yeh" i thought silently in my mind. And true enough, she said there is a Malay lady who is about 19 weeks pregnant complaining of lower abdominal pain and per-vaginal bleeding which happen since morning.... and there is "something jutting out  from her vagina".... I was like WTF... anyway the vital signs were stable and so I have to abandon the huge load of people waiting outside and go to attend the case.

Once i reached the place, i saw some relieved faces. Then i saw a kidney dish containing a big sac and a piece of placenta. On further questioning and looking at the records, apparently she was already diagnosed to have a miscarriage the day before and that the pregnancy was non-viable already at the hospital and was asked to go to the nearest health center in case of PV bleed. The staff nurse should really have told that in advanced....haih...

Luckily the patient was in stable condition and the gestational sac and placenta everything was still intact, which means nothing was left in the uterus, which could be a messy affair. Ultrasound scan confirmed the finding.

Didnt take a pic of the sac though cos not appropriate ma...But it looks something like this..
Just imagine a big sac full of fluids and the inside contain a small fetus like the one above. Then beside it is a piece of placenta. It does smell ...musky? The quirky nurse was even asking whether to poke open the sac to see the contents inside. But i prohibited it cos whats the point of breaking it and letting out all the nasty amniotic fluid leh? Might as well leave everything in one piece and let it look beautiful at its last moment, at least.

Hmm...but the weird thing is... how come i dont feel anything at all? I dont feel anything disgusting or horrible (there were blood splattered on the bed as well). In fact there was once an accident case with a head trauma patient. I could stick my finger into a hole on the back of his head to see how deep is the puncture wound. And the head was wet with dripping blood. Disgusting right?

Have i lost my sense of humanity? Or have i become stoic from all these encounters? Hmm..

14 comments:

TZ said...

That's what i couldn't be a doctor... I have a goosebumps while reading your post.

Hey dude, you are a doctor eh~

Anonymous said...

i used to want to bcome a doctor, but couldnt make it. and i thought im strong, but i almost fainted seeing all the blood, really salute u guys!
u stand strong for the patients :) (humanely if i may add)

Bryan D.C. said...

We'll feel numb eventually.....unless they're someone related to us...then u'll fel differently...

blue said...

@TZ: its ok...calm down..*pat on the head again LOL

@Happy: I still think pharmacists are better...almost same pay but minus the heartache and headache :)

@Bryan: sounds like ur speaking from personal experience?

Gratitude said...

I dun think I wld ever feel numb. It's a lil' one that lost its life. I wld hv probably gone to a corner and sobbed. Darn lucky I'm not a doc. I wld have too many lousy days.
We need peeps like you to deal with these situations in a "numbed" way and not let emotions obstruct.
+Ant+

[SK] said...

you are already used to all these, you are numb.. but in a sense this is good, because you can deal with them calmly..

blue said...

@anton: i can only say different people cope differently...dun be surprise to see some health personal who sobbed in a corner..

@SK: maybe i had become so "numb" that it dilutes the happy and sad moments of my life...life become dull, u know what i mean?

Chris said...

Oh? U r a doctor?

blue said...

@chris: Nope...im just a "bomoh" who practice without license..care to consult me? I can give u discount.. LOL

Medie007 said...

shoulda take a piccie. i never seen one intact one plus a developing embryo tim... but then again, havent done obs. so... hoping i'll deliver live ones. lol

blue said...

@medie: choy...of cos u would wanna deliver babies who are alive and kicking la..takkan u want stillbirth? That one "dai wok" lo..

said...

hmm~ i think i should be ok to help delivering a baby... but i scare i will muntah pula :p

Tweetie said...

all tis bcos u r meant to be a doc...its a gift. not everyone can stand that. i definitely cant...

blue said...

@L: cool...except for the vomiting part :D

@tweetie: well i cant stand touching people's head and hair all day long like the hairstylists do...its all just part of the job's routine :)