Friday, February 13, 2015

The Reality of Ebola hit Liberia

The Reality of Ebola hit Liberia



Families in Liberia are affected by Ebola daily. The reality of the Ebola epidemic is sometimes hard to face within the family and medical field.More people are dying within constraints each day.
There is a lady name Ms. Sayvon that lost her husband to Ebola who got the disease from helping someone else that fell out in their village. She lost two of her older children to a illness and  accident. She became motherless when she lost her one years old in her arms another victim to Ebola. Ms. Sayvon also ended up having the disease due to exposure. This is not just her story alone, but many other people experience concerning Ebola all over the country. Ebola is a social problem because it affects people all over the world.
Within the Ebola treatment clinics more patients die then becoming a survivor like Ms. Sayvon. Medical workers are not able to utilize their skills to the fullest potential due to safety hazards. Dr. Pranav Shetty shared “ You always want to do more, but if has to be balanced with what’s possible, and with what makes sense for the context you are working”. There are constraint at the Ebola treatment clinics concerning patients, procedures, medication , and health workers.
Health workers are limited to their availability  at the sick ward because the amount of time the protective suits will operate. They use their creativity to get things done for an example, to make the fluids go faster the medical staff tie a rope to the rafter to hang IVs and use blood pressure cuffs to increase the speed.
The medical staff are not able to record a good amount of data. Medical staff keep track with their patients using memory techniques using their instincts and experiences. There is a lot of paper work that is not allowed in the room so detailed notes are not an option. If papers are used in patient rooms they got to be disinfected through a special process. It can take months for blood samples to get back to the Ebola treatment clinics. Ms. Sayvon was told she was negative for Ebola and had to be retested. The clinics need a efficient way to communicate with the outside world and participate in globalization to provide better care.
Patients are given antibiotics and anti malarias as a precaution to treat diseases coexisting with Ebola because there is no way of testing. There is only a certain amount of medications available so staff have to be careful administering medication. For example the doctor can’t prescribe sedatives to everyone and then don’t have no sedative available if a patient have a seizure.
There is a lot of needed medical equipment that can not be used. At the sick ward there are no stethoscope or manual blood pressure equipment. It can be hard to take blood because the staff are required to wear three gloves which makes it hard to locate  veins. IVs are very efficient and useful for low blood pressure, organ failure, and etc. IV are not used much at the sick ward because it’s risky handling a needle and the insertion got to be cleaned frequently which could result in too much blood lost. For an example, Ms. Sayvon had sepsis an infection most likely because her insertion was not changed as needed. Patents have to change their own bag fluids because medical staff are not able to. Patients are not able to receive the best care. The operation of the Ebola treatment clinics is against how people within society think medical care should be facilitated. This social problem is becoming harmful to many people in different ways.


Analyze:

It’s hard to really have empathy for others and know what they are going through without “walking in their shoes”. I couldn't imagine losing my family to a disease (belive majority of the world couldn’t). Ebola became a social problem when it started to affect many people and others became aware through globalization. There is no way Ebola is a personal trouble it’s harmful to many people. It’s also other social problems interwine within the Ebola epidemic like the hopital conditions discussed.It demonstrates some of the obstacles that could be encountered when attempting to resolve a social problem.

Ebony Barr
2/13/15
3:47 pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/world/africa/wish-to-do-more-in-ebola-fight-meets-reality-in-liberia.html?action=click&contentCollection=US%20Open&region=Article&module=Promotron

Ebony Barr, Health and disease

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