THE SUCKER PUNCH

(Image: Getty)

The hospital waiting room was a little musty: the smell of dust covered the environment, a clear indication that harmattan was in the air. I could feel the tension in both our minds as I held tight to her hands and watched nurses walk around with files. We could see through the almost fallen window through to the laboratory where our blood samples were being screened.

...the Government has not done enough I whispered.

Across the room sat a man, I could guess he was in his late twenties,  just like myself. He wore a disturbing look,  his eyes were pale from worry, he sat with his face in his palms and was lost in thoughts,  clearly,  he was here for the same purpose as us. A nurse walked towards him,  tapping life into him with her hands,  she handed him an envelope and escorted him to the counsellor.

HAND WASHING: A Despised Centuries-old Vaccine By Dr Mark Godwin

Somewhere in rural Africa, a 4-week old baby is rushed to the Children Emergency Room with complaints of persistent passage of copious loose stools, at an average frequency of 10 per day which were initially pale and cheesy, but lately, greenish or blood stained and caffeinated. There’s a preceding history of fever that was gradual in onset, with progressive loss of weight lasting 10 days.

PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE

‘Doctor, I am an ulcer patient’, he said; ‘I have had ulcer for over 5 years’, he added. I squirmed.

The misconceptions that have placed peptic ulcer disease in the same category as other chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes have been saddening. These have been festered by poor information and unfounded beliefs.

Say No To Herbal Concoctions!

He laid on the bed, his entire body so swollen that you would be pardoned to believe he's a live character about to feature as ''Michelin'' in a tire advert. A close look at him however showed that all wasn't well with him- he was breathless, gasping for air and in so much distress that he was screaming for help. Let's call him Terfa.

Terfa's problem wasn't just the physical pain and torture he was experiencing. He had just been diagnosed of a kidney problem which required that he underwent dialysis three times weekly to stay alive. Dialysis is a procedure by which ''poisons'' that ought to have been removed by the kidneys

When Saving Lives Depends on Diligence, Not Sophistication

Twenty-two year old Ada (not her real name) had been admitted for two weeks and was being managed for stroke in the young. Contrary to her family's expectations, her condition only grew worse. When she became deeply unconscious, the managing consultant had to invite the hospital's ''young'' neurologist to take over Ada's management. Fortunately for me, I was training under the neurologist as a house officer.

I count myself fortunate to have been trained by him because under him, I learnt an important principle which I'm about to share in this piece.