Duke team focuses on aftercare for Ugandan patients
Surgeries with the Duke medical team continue in Uganda today, but the focus now for the first patients is aftercare. The doctors learned in the past that when they left at the end of the week, if the patients did not get good aftercare, their prognosis did not fare well. To this end, they created a 4-bed intensive care unit. It is staffed 24 hours by the American medical team.
Today, we were able to visit with several patients who underwent surgery yesterday. For the patients who had brain tumors removed, the progress is slow, but they are getting excellent, intensive medical attention, unlike anything that has existed in this hospital prior.
Brian, who is 7-years-old and had spinal surgery yesterday is awake and his parents are with him. While he's not too happy to be lying in hospital bed, his parents are thrilled that the surgery seems to have been a success, and they are hopeful that he will have a great future as a result.
My takeaway so far in this entire experience is that we don't realize how lucky we are to have the top-notch medical care that we have in our country, and specifically, in the Triangle. And it's not just about the medical care, the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals I have had the opportunity to observe this week are first and foremost compassionate human beings. They truly care about their patients and want the best for them.
Dr. Michael Haglund prays with his patients on the operating table before they are put to sleep. We witnessed him praying with Kim Rash this morning, a missionary here in Uganda undergoing neck surgery. She told me afterwards that she had a great sense of peace going into the surgery as a result.
You know the old saying, "it's not brain surgery." You've heard it a million times, probably in your office.
Well, guess what, this week it is brain surgery here in Uganda. And while it's amazing to behold, it's even more amazing, and humbling, to get to know the men and women dedicating themselves to improving lives here and at home.
