2 physical therapists held down a child a put traction on a broken femur.The child, Joseph, screamed when even his other leg was straightened because it moved his left leg.I asked them as soon as I heard what they were doing to stop and bring him to the operating theater to put him under anesthesia.They laughed and said no.I explained how painful it was and how they need to give him something.They said they could reset the leg just fine without it.I kept working on a child two beds away.But the screaming got too awful. The entire ward stopped and turned to stare.I went back over and pleaded again.I told them that this is wrong and they were torturing the child.They laughed again.After they were done, one of them came to find me and said “see I reset the leg just fine without any pain medication”.
This is a glimpse into my journey to and my life in Zambia. For two months, I will be living in a small village called Macha working in the hospital. I will be going as part of a HIV leadership program through INMED that trains doctors how to setup HIV treatment programs in low-income areas.
My name is Meghan.
I'm a 4th year medical student at UW.
I'm going to be a pediatrician at Case Western's pediatric hospital, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital! As you can tell, I am in Zambia working in a HIV hospital for six weeks.
Oh yay, my alias is Dr. Elliot Reed. ;-)
2 physical therapists held down a child a put traction on a broken femur. The child, Joseph, screamed when even his other leg was straightened because it moved his left leg. I asked them as soon as I heard what they were doing to stop and bring him to the operating theater to put him under anesthesia. They laughed and said no. I explained how painful it was and how they need to give him something. They said they could re
set the leg just fine without it. I kept working on a child two beds away. But the screaming got too awful. The entire ward stopped and turned to stare. I went back over and pleaded again. I told them that this is wrong and they were torturing the child. They laughed again. After they were done, one of them came to find me and said “see I reset the leg just fine without any pain medication”.
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