A Day of Firsts

It’s been just over a month since I arrived in India and I’ve started to adjust to many of the aspects of Mumbai life; sleeping through the traffic in the morning, avoiding drinking tap water, etc. But still, all of the traveling, shopping, and such that I’ve done here I’ve been accompanied by someone who could speak Hindi and who knew what to do. Today I took a bit of a leap of faith and decided to travel by bus and rickshaw alone. Thankfully, it was in an area of Kandivali that I’ve gotten to know very well so both trips turned out fine, though I did get off the bus one stop too earlier, and gave me quite a boost of confidence that I can manage by myself here to a certain extent.

I also got to accompany Dr. Asher, a gynecologist who is a good friend of Samir Mama to his OPD at a 40-bed hospital in Malad. Dr. Asher is a soft-spoken gentlemen whose been practicing for over 20 years. He very patiently explained pretty much everything relevant about his field of practice, from the hormonal cycle that controls the release of the egg from the ovary to how to determine where the heart is by palpating the women’s belly. It was also nice to be able to place some real experiences and memories to the theoretical knowledge I’ve read in my anatomy book, which is what this sort of clinical experience is all about.

My other first started well but ended on a rather somber note. At 8 this morning, I accompanied Samir Mama a maternity home run by a Dr. Medha Vora; she is a very energetic woman who I’ve met a few times since Mama does sonography there every Tuesday. Today Mama went to do an emergency sonography and then he went to his clinic while I stayed to see a Caesarian section. Dr. Vora’s assistant Minakshi explained the steps of the procedure while we waited for the anesthesiologist to finish his work, and then we donned our caps and masks and entered the OT.

Everything went well at first and a 3-kg healthy baby boy was delivered to a thankful mother of three. It was quite amazing to see the baby utter its first cry and the joy on the mother’s face as she thanked Dr. Vora for delivering him. Then as Dr. Vora began suturing the incision she had made in the abdomen, the mother’s pulse and blood pressure began to fall until the pulse could no longer be detected. At first, I pressed myself into a corner of the OT hoping I would not get into any of the nurses way as the rushed to assist Dr. Vora and the anesthesiologist. But with some of the nurses busy with the newborn baby, I was asked to assist in small ways, closing the door, handing Dr. Vora her stethoscope, and the most unnerving part, checking the woman’s wrist for a pulse that wasn’t there.

I guess you could say that I saw a person die today. For several minutes the newly-made mother-of-four’s heart had stopped; cardiac arrest. My first code. After a while it became difficult to watch as the nurses and doctors applied chest compressions, added a new IV, and attempted to use a defibrillator that refused to cooperate. Soon the OT became crowded with nurses and other doctors so I thought it best to slip out at wait in Dr. Vora’s office, lest I get in anyone’s way.

The doctors and nurses were able to resuscitate the mother and move her to the ICU at the maternity home, but she is in a coma and with serious concerns about brain damage. The prognosis does not look good. Thankfully, her newborn son is doing well and is with his family.

As for me, it was definitely an experience I will not soon forget.