Night Float IV - the Final Chapter (Seriously, this all happened the same shift)
Where was I? Ah, yes, when we last left our young protagonist, he was flying high over the dark tundra of the far north. His patient gradually awakening from the narcotic haze of the vicodin. Vicodin, as you may know is hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Tylenol). Most folks worry about the narcotic. We worry about the Tylenol component. If you want a sure way to kill yourself slowly, Tylenol is the way to go. It insidiously cooks your liver, while you’re walking and talking. Our young man, fortunately, lived to see another day, another school year, and probably another girlfriend (hopefully he won’t make the same mistake for her) without any serious repercussions.
When I arrived back at the hospital, despite the late hour, my day was far from over. A 35 year old woman, with a history of large babies (often a complication of gestational diabetes), who was Group B Strep positive (an infection found in pregnancy that can cause meningitis in the newborn), and who was pre-eclamptic (one of the scariest of pregnancy maladies…hypertension, and protein spillage in the urine, leading to seizures) showed up with contractions 3 minutes apart. These three complications are scary one at a time, but here on the Delta, it’s all in a day’s work.
She was stable, dilated to two centimeters (three is considered active labor) and didn’t need antibiotics for her GBS status yet. It was just before 6 a.m. and I would let my Attending sleep a little longer before I woke him with a delivery that was sure to happen hours later. Move ahead forty-five minutes. Yes, ¾ of an hour. She is dilated to 10 centimeters, contractions are coming fast. We’re having a baby, whether we like it or not. (That is one of the nice things about OB. If you leave well enough alone, everything comes out in the end.)
The confused look on his sleepy face matched the ghostly, explicative deleted, pallor of my own, as I awoke him for the delivery. Amazingly the delivery went off without a hitch. It’s all good.
This is the Delta. Thank God. This is the Delta.
PS- Congrats to Tony and Lisa, and welcome to little Zachary. You guys rock.
When I arrived back at the hospital, despite the late hour, my day was far from over. A 35 year old woman, with a history of large babies (often a complication of gestational diabetes), who was Group B Strep positive (an infection found in pregnancy that can cause meningitis in the newborn), and who was pre-eclamptic (one of the scariest of pregnancy maladies…hypertension, and protein spillage in the urine, leading to seizures) showed up with contractions 3 minutes apart. These three complications are scary one at a time, but here on the Delta, it’s all in a day’s work.
She was stable, dilated to two centimeters (three is considered active labor) and didn’t need antibiotics for her GBS status yet. It was just before 6 a.m. and I would let my Attending sleep a little longer before I woke him with a delivery that was sure to happen hours later. Move ahead forty-five minutes. Yes, ¾ of an hour. She is dilated to 10 centimeters, contractions are coming fast. We’re having a baby, whether we like it or not. (That is one of the nice things about OB. If you leave well enough alone, everything comes out in the end.)
The confused look on his sleepy face matched the ghostly, explicative deleted, pallor of my own, as I awoke him for the delivery. Amazingly the delivery went off without a hitch. It’s all good.
This is the Delta. Thank God. This is the Delta.
PS- Congrats to Tony and Lisa, and welcome to little Zachary. You guys rock.
posted by rob at 9:25 PM
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