The Race Against Time II

18th Oct 2010 - 2015hrs

In a matter of minutes, we are reached AnE of "RSPI"... The duty doctor is a lady - Dr Lily. Without delay, I told her about Reanne conditions and she start to scribe something on Reanne file. As she instruct the nurse to administer medication to her. After her instructions, I ask her :

Daddy: Dr, is this the usual/best way of attending to her ? She is running 40degC fever.
Dr Lily: If not, what do you want????
Daddy: Angrily/impatiently... you are the Doc, you should advise me! I just want to make my daughter feels better.!

Finally, I stop her and said: Maybe we should call Dr Sander (Reanne's pediatric) and see if he got another views (as I believes that ward doctors are very general trained and they usually follows standard protocol). She was hesitant at my request but gave in eventually.

Dr Sander instructions was to get them to do a BLOOD test on Reanne !!!! BLOOD TEST !!!! My heart stops when I hear this. Con-currently, a few questions pops up in my mind...

1. How are they going to draw the blood from her
2. Why they need to do blood test? Is it dengue fever (which is very common in Indonesia)?

After awhile, the nurse came with the needle and test tube for blood...... :(
At this point of time, I have 1 relax looking nurse (apparently they feels that its not a big thing anyway.. its only fever), 1 crying baby - Reanne and 1 crying mother - Roanna. Then I ask 1 of the nurse..

Daddy: How are you gonna to do it? You cant hold her hands down for even 3sec. She will struggle.
Nurse 1: place her down on the bed and tilt her side way. (the moment she leaves mummy arms, she starts to cry and struggle...).
Daddy: You cant do it like this....
Nurse 1: Ya, I cant do it alone.... I need help (and she signal for help).

***All this while, Reanne is screaming and Mummy is crying***

Nurse 2 came and we start all over again.....

First, they press down reanne right arm and wrap her arm and legs under the blanket (to prevent her from struggling). As we are holding her down, the nurses proceed to insert the needle into left arm... As they are doing this, I over heard:

Nurse 1 : The veins is so small....
Nurse 2 : Try first.. but slowly
Nurse 1 : Cant really see.... (at the same time she was tapping her arms, trying the locate the vein)

Daddy : Do you know how to do it?? If not ask someone that knows.! Can you see the vein??
Nurse 1 : Dont worry we know.. (she is still trying to locate the vein)
Nurse 2 : Dont cry mummy .. dont worry...( Roanna's tears is bigger than Reanne's ones)

Finally, they manage to insert the needle and the next thing we realise is the blood is flowing out very slowly and they are squeezing her arms to speed up the flow or to make sure blood is flowing out....then comes our questions...

Mummy : Dear, why they need to squeeze her arms? Why blood is flowing so slow? She dont have enough blood meh ?
Daddy : I also not sure .. let me ask.
Daddy : Nurse, why the blood is flowing so slow? Is this normal?
Nurse 1 : Oh.. dont worry fever cos the blood to thicken and hence is not flowing our as fast.
Daddy : Are you sure (not convince) ... other babies also like this??
Nurse 1: Yes. No problem.

After 15min, all is done and the result is ......

Immediately after the nurse tapped the needle, Roanna scope Reanne out of the bed and cuddle her, hold her as close to her as she can (tears still dropping from her eyes and Reanne is still crying) . At this time, I did what a husband and daddy should....

I lean forward and give them a big hug and a kiss to Roanna and Reanne.....

The test result will be out only in 2hrs.....the clock reads 2100hrs!!!

It has been almost 45min since Reanne last took her medicine, but we can still feels her head is burning. So we measured her temperature again.... its reads 38.8degC. I immediately go to the nurse and told her the fever is still high ( at the same time showing her the reading on the Thermoscan ear thermometer....seeing is believing!!!). Her immediate response is .. Oh this type of thermometer is not accurate. I look at her in denial ! Out of goodwill, she signal a junior nurse to come and help us retake Reanne's temperature with their "more accurate thermometer".

The junior nurse walks towards our bed and she holds a thermometer holder in her hand. I starts to wonder what type of thermometer they have that can be more accurate than our Braun's Thermoscan Ear Thermometer. !!!!

As she settles down, opens up the holder and flash out the thermometer that the AnE department uses and claims to be more accurate than our Braun's Thermoscan Ear Thermometer .! Both of us were shocked..... Its a conventional "Mercury type thermometer" !!! WTF....Can this be more accurate than ours??? First,you needs more time to take the reading, and putting it under a grumpy baby arm is not a easy task also.

Again... we have to hold her down again for the nurse to take her temperature...After 1min or so, Its reads 37.8degC (vs 38.8degC that we measure using our Braun's Thermoscan Ear Thermometer). Its below 38degC the nurse said ! And looking very satisfied, she walks away after telling us: Its coming down.. dont worry.

We are not convinced at all... Her body temperature dosent feels like its below 38degC. But there is nothing we can do. We just carry her out of the AnE room to the walkway for a walk.

As we are waiting for the blood test result, I keep thinking.. Is Mercury thermometer more accurate than these thermoscan ones? ? ?

Another 1.5hrs to go before the result is out... our hearts are heavy... praying and hoping that the result will not contains any surprise.

Its 1 of the longest 2hrs of my life.......



To be cont.......