A most memorable day for SANA on June 7, 2011 as the team, made up of Reem Abu-Rustum, MD, Katia Fajloun, RN, and Noura Kassir Jumaa, carried out it's first outreach trip...

Equipped with all the basics, including prenatal vitamins, glucometer and a portable ultrasound (SeeMore USB probe connected to a laptop), the team travelled the now familiar route to Knaisse.

 

We were greeted by the Mukhtar and his wife who had offered a room in their welcoming home for us to examine the patients...While we were setting up, their young children were sent out as messengers to call in the patients from their homes, for lack of any other mode of communication. Luckily all of our medical devices had fully charged batteries, including our ultrasound laptop, as there was no electrical power the entire time we were there...

We had more gynecological than obstetrical patients, given the cultural misconception that free care is not proper care, a notion that SANA shall be actively working to change.

Much time was spent with each patient counseling on proper diet and the importance of prenatal care. Amongst the gynecological patients seen, the number of children they had had ranged between 9-13.

With our basic screening, we identified a probable new diabetic patient with a fasting glucose of 121 and a poorly controlled diabetic with a post prandial glucose of 296. Both were urged to seek further medical care and were counselled as to proper diet and exercise.

Perhaps the most memorable image imprinted into all of our brains was the face of one of the obstetrical patients as she received her first scan. She had been seen once this pregnancy but had no idea how far along she was. Her face lit up as she saw her 23 week fetus on the screen and the bonding was felt by all in attendance. Her recounting this experience will most definitely be key in recruiting more patients the next time SANA is out here...

In addition to dating the above mentioned patient, we corrected the dates of a pregnancy thought to be 10w4d but was actually 6w6d. This will prove to be of utmost importance in preventing un-indicated early inductions and avoiding post-datism...

Calcium supplements were made available to all, courtesy of Pfizer Consumer.

After this most quenching experience, the gracious people of Knaisse expressed their purest appreciation through  gifting each of us with hand-picked perfectly white Gardenia flowers...

The gratified team headed back home with such eagerness to expand its outreach activities having been left with such a feeling of accomplishment at having made a positive, albeit small, impact in the lives of the women of Knaisse...