Friday, August 31, 2012

Tuesday Dr. Appointment


The following is a report from Amy Syres, a nurse in Cap Haitien who is working with Milonia.  She was fortunate to make it to Milonia's appointment last Tuesday, August 27.


 Jenn and I met up with Milonia and her mother at Milot at about 1 this afternoon. It turned out to be great timing. They were finished with the visit and had had a chance to put prices on her prescription. Just a few vitamins and supplements today. I really think the doctor is focused on getting her at a healthy weight and nutritional status before attempting insulin. They don't feel she needs it yet. I think that getting a consistent 2 blood sugar readings a day will let us know for sure whether she does or doesn't need to start. She doesn't have a rendezvous until September 25th but we will keep in touch with her to find out if she needs to go back sooner. 

The picture below is Milonia with Ms. Celestin. She is caring nurse and a compassionate woman. She takes the patients under her wing and patiently walks them through their visit. The diabetic clinic at Hôpital Sacré Coeur du Milot operates on Tuesdays and Thursdays while the rest of the week it services people with other chronic conditions. Ms. Celeste knows every patient and is quick to give her phone number to those who need extra support. She was happy to see Milonia today and had two things to say about her visit. 
a) Her blood sugar isn't too high. Her fasting blood sugar was within range and her the result of her Hba1c wasn't terrible.
b). The doctor's assessment of her general condition was positive. She has definitely improved since her first visit (4 weeks, 6 weeks?? ago).

More troublesome is her degree of malnutrition. Today she was prescribed only vitamins, protein powder, and iron. She didn't have to do any other laboratory analyses which, with doctors that aren't afraid to order tests, is actually a really good sign.

We had a chance to practice using the glucometer they received last week. She'll be testing twice a day, once before a meal and once a few hours after eating. She'll record these numbers and bring them to her next visit. If she runs persistently high or low she can head back to Milot with a better idea of what's going on. 



Thank you to Amy for going the "Second Mile" and being there for Milonia.  Progress is going to be slow, but I am encouraged to hear that the medical staff seems to think she improving.  


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