Preventing patients’ deaths in makeshift hospital wards Eastern Visayas #YolandaPH

Email from Myra, published with permission: 

“My sympathies to Patrick  and his family. I  met Patrick, Owens and Ana in your office when i was in the Philippines. The generator is a big help to the residents of that Barangay in Tacloban.  In 2012 our hospital donated eight old pulse oximeter machines that we used for our medical  mission in 2012….

     (blog admin’s note: i googled pulse oximeter: it  measures whether your body is absorbing oxygen properly; and  not below 95% saturation; when a patient starts losing oxygen, the doctor has less than three minutes to prevent brain damage, heart failure, death; the device is useful for patients under intensive care, emergency treatment, surgery, recovery, etc. and sets the universal standard for patient care. )  

From Myra again  (continuation of letter): ”In the 2012 medical mission, I emailed our hospital CEO and President (same person) and we donated the eight pulse oximeters to the Philippine Minnesotan Medical Association (PMMA) medical mission. We performed about 80 ENT/OB-Gyne surgeries and 63 pediatric plastic surgeries, and diagnosed and treated thousands of medical cases.

  “ I’m writing  our hospital CEO again to ask if our hospital can donate again the  pulse oximeter machines we are not using anymore.  Although I won’t be able to join the medical mission , hopefully I would be able to get these machines. The medical mission in January 2014 will be in Catarman and another province in the Visayas region.

“I’ll keep in touch.

 Myra”

seated pose, at peace with the wild flowers…

Part of Myra’s email today:

“Last week we received an

update re: a 2-year-old child

who was my patient. He was

brain- dead and was an organ

donor. It was a difficult case for

me and our staff. Last Friday we

got an update on the donor case

outcome. He was able to save

three lives. His right kidney was

given to a 45- year- old mother

of two. She was on the waitlist

for two and a half years. The

transplant was done in St.

Vincent’s Hospital in Los

Angeles ( Kuya Teng used to

work there a long time ago.) His

left kidney was given to a

48-year-old mother of five. She

was on the waitlist for five and a

half years. The transplant was

done in UCLA. His liver was

given to a 2- 1/2- year-old boy

who loves cars, trucks, and

books. He was on the waitlist for

13 days. The transplant was

done in UCLA.These miracles of

life i experience…. I’ve been

talking with somebody whom i

used to work with in PGH

(Philippine General Hospital),

and is now connected with a

Philipppine Medical Association

chapter here and they do

medical missions in the

Philippines, every two years. i

plan to go in 2012. I’m also

planning to coordinate with the

PGH nursing department

(people there whom i know) to

be like a volunteer consultant

and help in educating or

improving nursing care in

Pediatrics which is my specialty.

I’m also dreaming of getting my

Master’s in Nursing and to teach

in the future… ”

Yes. That’s her. My sister.

Reply from Myra (i asked

for permission to publish):

“Yes you can share it. I had a

moment alone with this boy

before he was brought to the

operating room as an organ

donor. I saw Woody and Buzz

Lightyear on his bed beside him.

I checked his hand, in his palm

there were pieces of cheetos

curls. I smiled, he must have

loved cheetos curls. I checked

underneath his sheet i saw more

cheetos around him. As we were

leaving the Pediatric Intensive

Care unit to the operating room

his family was singing a hymn, it

was beautiful and comforting

but very sad. A family member

called out “to infinity and

beyond!”

once, twice, thrice….. like Buzz

who saved the world, he was

indeed a hero. To infinity and

beyond!”