by Sr. Margaret Anne Meyer MMM USA 09.10.2024
It was with a heavy heart that my obstetrical internship had ended. I remember being puzzled at the excitement of Mr. Sheehan successfully removing a diseased kidney. The kidney was not crying and showed no signs of life, like a baby did. It took me awhile to get into the thrill of excising tumors and setting bones which would restore a person to full life again. Let me explain to American readers that a fully medically qualified surgeon gets the coveted tile of Mister for historical reasons. The other consultant on the Surgical team taught me the principles of surgery and I loved assisting at operations for both of them.
During the summer months, a few children were brought to the Casualty Department in a severe state of shock after being stung by a jellyfish. Fortunately, they could be resuscitated and come back to life. It was very frightening for all of us, family, and hospital staff. They had been swimming in the Irish Sea. The Gulf Stream comes up the west coast of Ireland and these creatures come with it. As I mentioned before, we had Clinical Clubs, and I decided to look up the mechanism of a jellyfish sting and found it to be the same mechanism as the instrument used in a duodenal-jejunum biopsy. Perhaps this procedure is not done any more, but the biopsy was taken when a little cutting edge was released. To me it looked exactly like what a jellyfish did to inject its venom.
Traffic accident victims were admitted quite often. Many did not survive because seat belts were just coming in then, and many people still did not use them. I was terrified at the thought that a split-second decision could mean life or death to these patients. Again, the Sister Nurses taught me valuable lessons on how to care for the patients. Just do the most needed procedure to save a life and forget your fears. Concentrate on the person in front of you who needs help. I am very indebted to all the MMM Sister nurse and lay staff who formed me into a Doctor who was able to function on the Missions with a heart and with confidence in God.
I found it remarkable how surgical repair of wounds produced much healing. Mr. Sheehan was particularly good at skin grafting and he taught me how to do this. It came in useful later in the Missions, especially when working with patients with severe burns.
As time went on, I liked what surgery entailed in examining patients for anaesthesia the night before surgery and talking to them about it. Now there is one day in Ambulatory Surgery.
Night call was especially challenging when patients came in haemorrhaging and trying to keep them alive with blood transfusions. The consultants would know when to watch and when to intervene with their years of experience, but I found it hard to know the difference. I kept in close contact with them on the phone.
Often those with surgical emergencies like appendicitis would be admitted during the night. Most often they could be operated on early the next morning. Again, it was a phone call to the consultant to determine the seriousness of the patient.
On two mornings a week we had ward rounds followed by attending the Surgical outpatients for new referrals and follow up visits. If I happened to be on call the night before I could sleep later and attend the 8:15 Mass celebrated in the hospital chapel. We would be ready for the rounds by 9AM. The other three mornings found us in the operating theatre. (to be continued…)