Saturday, 19 July 2014
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Baby Hat
Baby Hat was born with a congenital heart disorder, in the West this would have been picked up antenatally, she would have surgery soon after birth as without surgery most infants die within a year.
The first sign of problems emerged when baby Hat was 7 months old, she was extremely breathless. Luang Prabang is a relatively small, remote town in the mountains in the north of Laos, Hat and her family live a 6 hour drive, on a dirt road, away. The doctors there advised she had a major heart problem and that nothing could be done.
Her uncle knew a Lao-Australian family living in Luang Prabang, Hat's family wanted to do everything to save her. After some phone calls the family decided they would travel here to seek more expert medical help. When she arrived at a local hospital I was asked to see her, she was very unwell, her heart was failing. The only life saving option was urgent surgery, however there are no heart surgeons in Laos. I was out of my depth so emailed doctor friends at home and at MaeLa refugee camp for advice.
Word spread amongst the local ex-pat community who gave emotional, practical and financial support to Hat and her family. There are specialist paediatricians in the capital Vientiane, I spoke to them and they advised transfer in order to stabilise her heart failure in ITU and then to arrange surgery in a Thai hospital.
I was concerned she was not strong enough to survive the journey, 10 hours by road or an hours flight and I didn't want her to suffer. The ex-pats and the Friends Without A Border raised money swiftly so that was not a problem, her family were aware of the risks and decided if there was even small hope they wanted to try everything to save her and would fly to Vientiane.
We tried to arrange a nurse to travel with the family to monitor her oxygen levels which kept falling from normal levels of 95% down to 20-30% and to have a oxygen on stand-by to treat if Hat became hypoxic. The airline would not allow oxygen on the flight, the family decided they just had to get to the specialist help asap. Baby Hat arrived in Vientiane and was admitted to ITU. But sadly the next day had cardiac arrest and later died.
It felt pretty helpless, frustrated and sad. Where you're born is a lottery and there are huge health inequalities in the world. If Baby Hat was born in a developed country, the likelihood is that she would have a relatively normal life. She was born in a poor country where there is limited healthcare and what is available is often unaffordable. In this setting Hat lived a very short life of 7 months, it's tragic, unfair and heart-breaking for her family.
I was inspired by the sensitivity, thoughtfulness and action of the ex-pats. When I first met baby Hat I had a feeling the outcome would not be good, I wasn't sure whether I was being a pessimist or if I was being realistic, it was good to listen to other views - to do everything possible to save her life. Once Hat's family made their decisions we were all collectively willing her on, she was a fighter. I had just met this group of people and was grateful for their support and admired their passion and compassion.
I've been reminded why I'm here, even small changes will make a huge difference to the heath and well-being of the children of Laos. In the future babies like Hat need to be treated by specialists near to their home, I really hope this happens.
The first sign of problems emerged when baby Hat was 7 months old, she was extremely breathless. Luang Prabang is a relatively small, remote town in the mountains in the north of Laos, Hat and her family live a 6 hour drive, on a dirt road, away. The doctors there advised she had a major heart problem and that nothing could be done.
Her uncle knew a Lao-Australian family living in Luang Prabang, Hat's family wanted to do everything to save her. After some phone calls the family decided they would travel here to seek more expert medical help. When she arrived at a local hospital I was asked to see her, she was very unwell, her heart was failing. The only life saving option was urgent surgery, however there are no heart surgeons in Laos. I was out of my depth so emailed doctor friends at home and at MaeLa refugee camp for advice.
Word spread amongst the local ex-pat community who gave emotional, practical and financial support to Hat and her family. There are specialist paediatricians in the capital Vientiane, I spoke to them and they advised transfer in order to stabilise her heart failure in ITU and then to arrange surgery in a Thai hospital.
I was concerned she was not strong enough to survive the journey, 10 hours by road or an hours flight and I didn't want her to suffer. The ex-pats and the Friends Without A Border raised money swiftly so that was not a problem, her family were aware of the risks and decided if there was even small hope they wanted to try everything to save her and would fly to Vientiane.
We tried to arrange a nurse to travel with the family to monitor her oxygen levels which kept falling from normal levels of 95% down to 20-30% and to have a oxygen on stand-by to treat if Hat became hypoxic. The airline would not allow oxygen on the flight, the family decided they just had to get to the specialist help asap. Baby Hat arrived in Vientiane and was admitted to ITU. But sadly the next day had cardiac arrest and later died.
It felt pretty helpless, frustrated and sad. Where you're born is a lottery and there are huge health inequalities in the world. If Baby Hat was born in a developed country, the likelihood is that she would have a relatively normal life. She was born in a poor country where there is limited healthcare and what is available is often unaffordable. In this setting Hat lived a very short life of 7 months, it's tragic, unfair and heart-breaking for her family.
I was inspired by the sensitivity, thoughtfulness and action of the ex-pats. When I first met baby Hat I had a feeling the outcome would not be good, I wasn't sure whether I was being a pessimist or if I was being realistic, it was good to listen to other views - to do everything possible to save her life. Once Hat's family made their decisions we were all collectively willing her on, she was a fighter. I had just met this group of people and was grateful for their support and admired their passion and compassion.
I've been reminded why I'm here, even small changes will make a huge difference to the heath and well-being of the children of Laos. In the future babies like Hat need to be treated by specialists near to their home, I really hope this happens.
If you'd like to know more about Friends Without A Border, who I'm working with, check their website www.fwab.org
Saturday, 21 June 2014
Luang Prabang is a very special place ....
.... and at the moment I'm loving the smell of the frangipani trees, it's the smell that I associate with the tropics and especially Laos, the air is really fragrent with frangipani and mango, the cicadas are manic too
enjoying the banter with the market sellers
the novice monks
the novice monks are one of the reasons I'm here, they're amazing young men.
their english has improved since I last saw them 6 months, i'm very impressed with their work ethic and desire to learn, combined with their sensitivity, generosity and a great sense of fun.
i love spending time with them, i find it calming, we practice English under the shade of the trees, giggle, i listening to some of their life difficulties and dilemmas, and join them praying to the Buddha. their chanting is very relaxing, i love the way is reverberates through me and gives me time to stop and think about what's important in life
their english has improved since I last saw them 6 months, i'm very impressed with their work ethic and desire to learn, combined with their sensitivity, generosity and a great sense of fun.
i love spending time with them, i find it calming, we practice English under the shade of the trees, giggle, i listening to some of their life difficulties and dilemmas, and join them praying to the Buddha. their chanting is very relaxing, i love the way is reverberates through me and gives me time to stop and think about what's important in life
breaky by the river
I liked having breaky with louise michin and charlie stayt but this is heaps better
the office
the office is in the centre of town and the hospital is on the outskirts about 4km away, spending most of the time in town at the moment preparing the curriculum. When we need to head to the hospital I either cycle (arrive dripping - it's 50% humidity), go by tuktuk (have to wake the driver - he enjoys a snooze between trips), golf buggy (cheapest option - we are a charity, wish he'd take us to the clubhouse!) or on the back of Somlith's motorbike (my favourite - speedy, exciting and scary, am holding on). We share the building with other organisations, I like popping into the tradition Lao medicine shop, their teas and chilies are a panacea, getting use to the communal toilets, can I entice any volunteers!? When peckish I pop out for some fruit, would prefer chocolate but you need to make the most of what's on offer, a branch of rococo arrives soon !! Should get my official work permit soon
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