Sanctuary

7 weeks in Peadiatrics posting, and i think i caught the gist of childcare and overcame the awkwardness of facing children. gist though i said, not the whole package. but a whiff that's substantial enough to bring back home from the wards. 

           

seeing children with chronic diseases makes you appreciate what you had in your childhood. and u kind of get the idea of what your parents had to go through raising u up (to ur twenties). man. *wipes sweat.

there were children w thalassaemia who had to go the hospital every month to get blood transfusion.

children who stayed in the wards for weeks for serious lung disease.

mothers taking care of their children with cerebral palsy- they grow to normal adult sizes but can't talk/walk/self care so they're wheelchair/bed bound.

parents with syndromic children.

parents with special children. seeing all these cases opens your eyes.

in the management of ill children, a huge bulk of it is in managing the parents emotionally, psychologically, socially. u got to really talk to the parents. understand their background, education level, occupation, financial limitations, how many other children they have, can they cope with bringing their child to the hospital every month, are they able to give enough attention to the sick child, do they have good family support.

i encountered a mother with 4 children with bronchial asthma: has 8 inhalers in the house. and she's got 2 make sure all her children take the inhaler puffs everyday twice a day. (i'd have gone bonkers if i had more than 5 inhalers ard my house)

a mother resigned from her job and committed herself to go to school and change diapers for her child everyday during his recess time. he has spina bifida (paralysed waist down including bladder control). other than physical needs, she's gotta deal with the child's emotional needs. bcz other than the paralysis, his IQ is normal. he's like any other children, who have peer pressure, the fear of being an outcast, self esteem issues etc. imagine urself to be the only person in the school wheelchair bound, and ur mother comes to change ur diapers for u everyday. it can be humiliating for him. and its not easy for the mother. but she's his motivator and stronghold. bcz she knows the moment she gives up, he gives up on himself. she's 1 strong woman. *salute

i imagine how mothers/fathers in the hospital feel when they see other babies around them growing and developing normally, talking, crawling while their 1 year old child looks different, doesnt talk, doesnt respond to them bcz she's syndromic. of course they love their child. but its not easy.

the emotional and psychological aspects are strong hard huge parts. and dr.s need to know how to handle and address them. it's all pretty overwhelming. i am moved whenever i see mothers taking care of their child with cerebral palsy. at least when we see how much the mother cares for the child, we know the child is in good hands.

the other side in peads: 

            

newborns. cutesie adorable newborns. they suckle at reflex when u put anything into their mouth. teehee. 

the art of coaxing babies? maybe just 60% there atm. kids love squeaky balls. babies love rattles. but if any1 starts crying, quickly give them back to their parents and runnn! unless u're in an exam. then u're trapped. xP 

having a short case next wk. keeping fingers crossed for a happy wont-cry baby.