Ramblings and Musings

Yet 'nother F(s)unday

Hello friends! As is by now my trademark, here I am to write the sporadic blog on a Sunday, the only day when I am able to sit and write in Peace.

My week has been more or less ordinary, but there were a few extraordinary events, and it is these that I will share with you.

Unlike the American system of Medicine where the State can order the treatment of someone who does not wish it to be given, most probably because the "patient" is invalid, mentally unable or spiteful about the treatment, in India, so far there is no rule for the system to retrieve a patient from the community and to give him/her the treatment that is necessary.

One such misunderstanding/error took place last week when I was called to attend a just-delivered baby who had NOT cried at birth. The tragedy is that the child's mother and grandmother had refused permission for a Ceserean section although this was her first delivery and the baby was lying inverted in her womb!

After the ob doctor removed her rump and torso, the head got stuck inside the birth canal for well over thirty minutes. Upon emergence, she failed to breathe or cry at all. Eventually, we gave her oxygen etc and transfered her to the Neonatal ICU for further care. Five days later, the baby is still in deep coma, with no response to painful stimulations and no movement of any limbs etc.

We did a head scan and an EEG, and both show that brain is still alive. So we cannot take her off the breather.

What a sad state of affairs ...