Many would say: snatched from death’s jaws

The case of the month

Leonarda Huaman* is a farmer’s wife and lives in Calca, a mountain village.  The 36 year old is already a mother of five.  Hard work is her daily bread and she takes the rough with the smooth.  10 days ago while she was loading firewood onto her donkey, vaginal bleeding started.  Instead of going to the local health centre the Indian bought some pills in the village pharmacy.  The bleeding continued and soon she noticed a terrible smell, then her strength decreased and she grew worse every day.

Her husband and her eldest son brought her to the missionary hospital last Saturday.  The doctor on duty called our gynaecological assistant doctor and after a medical examination Dr Luciana Almendariz confirmed a septic abortion, i.e. after a miscarriage her uterus became inflamed and the germs had already caused a blood poisoning (sepsis).  Her haemoglobin value was 3.1g% (13-16g% is normal).

She needed to be operated on immediately.  After two blood transfusions the emergency operation began, overseen by Dr Haßfeld.  Would the Quechua-Indian survive the sepsis?  She spent 24 long hours in our intensive care unit.  Without supporting her circulatory system (Noradrenalin) her blood pressure would have crashed into a bottomless abyss. She was given three further blood transfusions.  Finally her haemoglobin value stabilized itself at 9.8g%.  One could say she had left the danger zone.

Yesterday she could stand up for the first time. Speaking Quechua she shared her story with Ren Neyra.  She is still breastfeeding her youngest child, a 12 month old baby.  That is why the mother did not even think of an abortion.  Praise God that she reached our hospital just in time.  Many staff helped save Leonarda’s life: our colleagues working in our blood bank, in our anaesthesia department, our operating theatre’s care staff, our nurses working in the intensive care unit and finally also those working in our general hospital ward.  Through all of their help they ensured that five children did not become orphans and one husband a widower. * Name changed.

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