Saturday afternoon, Team Heart completed our 15th and final surgery, a mitral valve replacement in a 19 year-old girl with severe mitral regurgitation. All the cases went well, were technically successful, and, as of rounds on Sunday morning, are doing well. We had one emergent take back for bleeding, one patient who tried very hard, and unsuccessfully, to die the first night after surgery- a triple valve patient, and the other usual issues, shown here 24 hours later. All this notwithstanding, everyone survived, and the smiles we received on rounds today more than compensate for all the hard work. The team has performed superbly. We have many new and many return members, and each and every one has done a wonderful job of caring for the patients and of supporting one another.
Ceeya and I are so very proud of the team this year, as we have been each prior year. The experience quite simply could not have been better. Our Rwanda friends and colleagues, especially Joseph Mucumbitsi, but also Nathan, Mugisa, Gloria- the House Doctor, Maurice- the aspiring cardiac surgeon, and all the nurses and staff who have done such a good job for our patients, truly are part of our team, and we of theirs. The work is hard and challenging, but we see progress each year, even if it is slower than we might like.
As we pack up, and some, including me, leave today for home, we reflect again on the incredible privilege we have been granted to be able to do this work. These are wonderful people, and the opportunity to perform such a service for them, and to be able to help save and change their lives is reward enough for each of us. It truly is the best thing we do, both personally and professionally.
This is 2011 patient to remember! So grateful it was a positive outcome.
ReplyDelete