Monday, August 06, 2007

Counting to three – three patient encounters



The summary page of the Baylor clinic’s electronic medical record contains most all of the information one needs to guide a patient visit, including an “issues for follow-up” box.

One morning last week, I saw three patients with the following issues for follow-up.

Patient #1, age 3 years: “Cough; mother died.”
Patient #2, age 8 months “On TB treatment; mom died 7/7/07; thrush”
Patient #3, age 4 months: “Mother deceased (need to clarify TB status of mom); pneumonia, HIV DNA PCR pending”

A year ago I would hear a word like “body count” and think of crime dramas or war documentaries.

Now that I have done the counting myself, I just think of people my age or younger who have died, many of them leaving parentless children.

These are too many parentless children here.

Still, the counting continues.

--

I hope that I continue to get better at what I am doing.

I hope that we continue to do more and more.

I hope that some day there is more counting down and less counting up.

I hope this dearly.

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3 Comments:

At 9:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Ryan,

This is not easy to write after reading your posting today, words seems so powerful and so helpless at the same time.

I am working with an organisation called Paediatric AIDS Treatment for Africa (PATA) or teamPATA. There is due to be a conference at the end of november in Swaziland.

Would you consider allowing us to link from http://www.teampata.org website to Pediatrician in Swaziland?

You can contact me directly on marco@teampata.org if i can be of any further help

Keep up your Good Work!
Marco

 
At 7:42 AM, Blogger Ryan said...

Of course. I will link and post on the conference if you can send me the info. I sent you an email at the address you gave me. -ryan

 
At 5:47 AM, Blogger Robby Meara said...

Amen, cuz. Take care of yourself.

 

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