TheBanyanTree: Good things at work

[PJMoney]

I assisted at four cases yesterday.  The first was a caesarean and was
accompanied, initially, by much talk, between the dad and the anaesthetist,
of fishing.  Fishing is big here and the dad had a photo to show of a very
big fish indeed.  At the head of the table people were saying "Wow!" and
"I've never seen a fish that big!" but at the business end we were
concentrating on other things so I can't tell you what sort of fish it was
or exactly how big.    

The next topic of conversation was the sex of the baby.  These expectant
parents had chosen to follow tradition and not know before the baby's birth.
They already had two daughters and were hoping for a son.  But just in case
of another daughter the mother had decided to abandon her plan to include
tubal ligation in the procedure.

So the head was delivered and then a shoulder. I tucked my finger in the
armpit while the other shoulder was delivered and then the obstetrician took
hold around the baby's chest and lifted it out.  There was a whoop of
delight from dad as he recognised that he had a son.  Many photos were taken
and joy filled the room.

The last case was a laparoscopy.  When I was last working in hospitals, more
than 20 years ago, this sort of thing was all very new.  I've seen the
images obtained but only second hand; pictures of pictures.  So the clarity
of the images produced was a surprise to me, and a gratifying one because
I'm having my own laparoscopy in a month.  It's good to know that the
surgeon will be able to see so clearly when he attempts to divide the
adhesions that have been giving me so much grief in the last couple of
years.

Janice