Memoir of a medical intern…..day 5

My feet are very oedematous. They can’t fit in a picture. I’d have taken a picture…. ..

Yesterday was my second night call duty Damn! It was theee duty. Friday 8:30am to Sunday 8:30am. Then a new work day till 1pm sunday.

I’m typing this on Sunday, I.e I almost failed to breathe yesterday. I didn’t get time to have lunch, I went to the mess kitchen at 5pm. I found cabbage. Yes, I ate cabbage and drank water, hoping to be back for dinner at 9pm. Angela, my newest sister😊 kept me supper. Pork was served. But work was served too.

Emergencies know no hunger. For some reason there’s always a reserve of ATP in your system.

Time check, its 1:30am, my duty goes calm.I had been running theatre, maternity ward and gynaecology ward as the only intern on call. I was both hungry and tired. I have always loved food and thought I’d choose food over many things 😂, but at that point, standing in the long corridor of maternity ward, I chose Sleep. I chose to walk to the doctor’s call room to sleep. I had just entered the bed, I heard sirens of an ambulance approaching the hospital. I was lucky. That wasn’t my emergency.

I slept off until an hour later when I was woken up by the mighty ringtone of the doctor on call’s phone. Another emergency. A referral in. I rushed to ward, we ended up in theatre, and I was held up there till 5:40am.

Tried sleeping and again the phone rang at 6:15am, yet another emergency. Theatre again till 8:30am. Another day began.

My feet are edematous, sweat all over my body, sleep all over my face, and had been surviving on the cabbage i ate at 5pm. But this one time, I finished call with a smile. I made many life saves last night😊. It had been worth it