For most of this week I have been working in the ER. It has been very busy. The people here get very ill very fast. Bethel has a violent strain of strept pneumonia that not only causes deadly septic pneumonia, but a lot of deep skin infections as well. We have even had a few cases of meningitis that have had to be flown to Anchorage for care.
Some of the saddest times are when I have to treat a victim of domestic violence, this is never easy. Today I saw a little 7 week old who was hit with a belt. Alcohol was involved, which is usually the case.
On a more positive note, I was able to ride on two medivacs. A medivac is a medically equipped small plane that travels with paramedics and doctors to remote villages without access to health care. Usually, they are only called in critical situations where emergent care is required. The name of our plane today was Life Med Alaska.
This afternoon myself and two paramedics flew to two villages to pick up some seriously ill patients. The flights were both about 1 hour, and they took us into some of the most rural parts of Alaska. On our last village trip we actually had to take 4 wheelers to get to the patient.
One of the villages sat right in the mountains, it was so beautiful! Snow was falling, the sun was setting, and I just couldn't believe that I was actually doing this.... I really felt like Dr. Quinn, it was amazing!
Once we got our patients stabilized we loaded them up on the plane and airlifted them to Bethel for further care. During the flight we monitor their vital signs, IV push meds when required, and radio the accepting ER with updates. The pilot, a very spunky female, let me sit in the cockpit and wear the earphones so that I could listen in and respond to the situation the entire trip. Medicine really doesn't get much cooler than this!
This was such an amazing experience, its hard to even describe all the thoughts running through my mind. I am so grateful for this opportunity and for all that I am learning. I will be smiling about this for a while!
Words cannot even begin to express how proud I am of you and Ian. God is good all the time. I love you dear daughter.
ReplyDeletei'm enjoying your medical stories.....keep them coming....it's awesome that you can be involved in helping those in need the most, it's so easy for "us" to forget what a blessing it is that we can go to the doctor, ER, clinic, etc. for immediate healthcare. great to "see" you last night on Skype, so glad we finally got it. love you pretty girl....."Go Dr. Quinn!"
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