My new year story!
So with the launch of the blog, I was unaware of the many adventures life had for me. So let's back up a little bit to how it started. A couple of days ago, as a result of my excess spare time I happened to do an 8 hour marathon of an American show which I just stumbled upon called 'What Would You Do'? The show is sort of like a constructive prank show, where people are faced with real life scenarios and their reactions are caught on tape. This my marathon act has left my Husband challenging my every action and inaction. Inaction more than action. So on this New Year's Day, we happened to be at cross over service where I was challenged into nurturing a young kid whose "eyes were red and would have great difficulty sleeping". Note here, my dear husband is super convinced about his medical skills beyond any reasonable doubt. To begin the year with good deeds, I succumbed and rocked the child to sleep and I must say she did sleep off in a matter of minutes. although her parents may have looked at us like potential kidnappers...
How her parents looked at us...
After the cross over service we spent some time visiting family and friends. Eventually, it was time to say our good byes. I had already envisaged how much sleep i could catch on our ride back home as we had travelled inter-city. We boarded our bus, I strategically picked out my comfy seat-good for view and for sleep- and as soon as the bus moved I was fast asleep. Little did I know what was coming!
Bodi no be firewood!
In the times I've been practicing medicine I've really not been in the scene of many emergencies. I had witnessed a couple when I was in medical school for instance on a flight I once boarded a man apparently fainted. On getting there the man was up already. So when I watch shows like royal pain, and greys anatomy, I somewhat get upset by the producers level of imagination. But today, I learnt something, emergencies do happen at oddest times and a witness is crucial to helping the doctor understand.
So back to my story, while I was napping finely, I notice hubby jump out of his seat and his like "Anonymous! Wake up!! This guy is having a seizure!!!" I'm like "yepka, work don find me come!?!?" 🏃
I fumbled with my seatbelt for an eternity and my 'self acclaimed former life doctor husband' is waiting anxiously on his 'present life doctor wife' after what seemed as an eternity of trying to get off my seat, I leapt to hold up the guys head which was already falling onto the lap of the guy seated next to him who was screaming "I think this guy is dying can someone call an ambulance" and hold it up high so he could still breathe. As he was seating position and I could hardly get him down on the ground. I undid his seatbelt, while hubby tried to make the guys seat flat. I did a quick assessment, he was foaming from the mouth, still having a serious jerking movement of his arms and legs, had a rash under his nose. He is between 22-25 years of age. He had good pulses on the neck. And then he suddenly stopped moving. In all this time, the driver had slowly halted the vehicle and rang the ambulance services. We asked a couple of questions. Although we couldn't get an accurate history as I'm positive the guy wasn't very coherent.
While we waited on the ambulance the driver, hubby and I kept a watchful eye over the guy.
I went to wash my hands and returned to my seat and started doing possible differential diagnosis with hubby :) although I May have judged and condemned him a little. For which I'm ashamed now.
However a couple of minutes later, I did a quick appraisal of my interaction with the guy, and I thought I could have done better as the driver later became more of a doctor than I was. He was very much kind enough to check up on him every now and then as opposed to me who did a few checks and when I saw he was fine, I let him off the hook and moved on with my life and quest for sleep. The driver was quite quick to empathise with the young man, I don't know either of their stories though. But I had to resort to conclude the driver was doing his job, and I felt I could let him be when I saw he was stable enough. But I guess my over watching of WWYD has gotten a better part of me.
Anyway I've decided to see all opportunities as a learning point, and today I've learnt I would need to make an effort to be much kinder even while doing my job.
It turns out the young man did have Epilepsy. Meaning he didn't have any of the other scary things hubby and I imagined.
Learning points-
People still do have epilepsy- it's not eradicated, it's non infectious.
Should you come across someone having a seizure, and you have access to some space, lay the fellow on the flat ground and turn him to lie on his left side.
DO NOT attempt to hold them down. Make sure the area around them is cleared of anything that could cause more injury to them.
You don't NEED to give them water!!! (Hubby has a theory water cures all and even suggested we gave our water therapy. I don't know what sort of medicine they practiced in his former life) Until you are certain they are awake and can have a great a sensible conversation with you.
DO NOT put anything in their mouth- fingers, spoons, knives. Nothing please.
Transport them to the nearest hospital for proper evaluation and management.
Final notes: The paramedics came at an hour forty-five mins later. I gave them a quick review of what I saw and my examinations. They took him into their ambulance for another series of examination. After a couple of minutes, they concluded he won't be continuing the journey with us and they would need to admit him. I felt really sad and when over to the ambulance to re-assure him he would be alright.