CAMAGÜEY.- The sound of the cardiorespiratory monitor will remain in her mind like the echo of terrible days. Perhaps, more than once she wakes up remembering the feeling of suffocation. She will touch the belly like when she was on that hospital bed. A glance at the crib will be enough to calm everything down.
Acela González Guerra is 40 years old. She was happy with the third pregnancy. She was at risk because of her age, but unlike the low weight indicated in previous pregnancies, she now managed to gain a few pounds.
-I started with 45 kilos and reached 52 kilos.
The firstborn just turned 21 years old. Just on the day of the celebration, she began to feel bad. She then rushed to the Maternity Hospital and was soon admitted to the Centennial Hospital.
- "You must stay", I was scared. Oh doctor, what happened? "You have COVID."
A week, on September 10, she was referred to the Obstetric Surveillance Unit of the Manuel Ascunce Provincial Hospital. She was not immunized against the pandemic. Thus began the fear of never seeing the family again.
- I arrived at the Cardiocenter with shortness of breath, with pneumonia. They put the oxygen mask on me. From there they transferred me here. I was very serious.
As the clinical simptoms worsened, on the 12th of that month they proceeded to non-invasive mechanical ventilation. Six days later, and better with a negative PCR, she goes to the Intensive Care Unit of the same health institution.
- To pregnant women, take care of yourselves. Use your face masks so that you do not happen the same as me.
The lady worsened clinically and radiologically again. It was necessary to ventilate. Then began the debate about the maternal benefit, that is, to make the decision of the cesarean section at 29 weeks.
- I felt some fear because I was not at term, but I knew my child was going to be born.
After the operation, Acela improved her condition. She achieved some stability, but she relapsed to the point of requiring supplemental oxygen until October 3 when her medical history notes changed to encouraging on the rise.
-I thank the whole team, wonderful. I have no complaints.
Little by little, she began to take up basic activities such as eating, walking and even receiving the benefits of the sun. She had to overcome the adversities of 39 days prostrate to complete the cycle of her gestation.
-I feel pretty good. Now I go to the Maternal, where my girl is.
This week, Acela was able to leave the hospital to meet her little girl, who was helped to be born on September 27. Since then, the girl remains in the Maternity Hospital, as she weighed 1,180 grams. She was transferred ventilated, although with negative PCR because in Camagüey there have been no cases of vertical transmission.
-To Luz de los Milagros I love her. I'm happy.
Both catch up and Adelante Digital tries to imagine the intimate dialogue, the balm of the newborn's scent, the mysteries of motherhood that appease her terrifying experiences when she lives very close to death.
THE VISION OF THE EXPERTS
Dr. Juan Orlando Roura Carrasco is a Specialist in the II Degree in Intensive and Emergency Therapy for Adults. He has been Head of the Provincial Group of Intensive Care for 27 years at the Manuel Ascunce Domenech University Hospital in Camagüey.
- Worldwide, obstetric care has dealt a heavy blow. COVID-19 often leads pregnant women to a bad prognosis and ends their life. There are cases that fortunately, due to the team's work, can be discharged, says the Assistant Professor and Master in Medical Emergencies.
“I look at my residents. They are young people with tremendous impetus, and they keep going because the specialists who are next to them are people with an altruistic character, with a desire to solve problems, ”says Dr. Roura.
For his part, Raúl Alberto Morales Rivero is the Head of the Room of the Polyvalent Intensive Care Unit of the Manuel Ascunce Domenech University Hospital since 2007. In addition, he is a First Degree Specialist in Intensive and Emergency Nursing, Master in Medical Emergencies and Assistant Professor.
The WHO has been talking about pandemic fatigue. From the psychological point of view, his team has all the conditions to suffer from stress due to the increase in cases, deaths, and respiratory distress in patients.
- Fortunately we have not had psychological affectations, other than those of feeling the loss of a patient, sharing the pain of the family or also in the team. That is inevitable, but you know that doing everything possible and the impossible to save life, keeping the family informed of the state, the evolution and what we do every day for patients gives a spiritual peace that compensates, as well as in the group we have a psychologist. Sharing the work, compensate the load favors a balance ”, emphasizes the nurse Raúl.
Dr. Jesús Sayú Romero closely follows each case of pregnant and postpartum women affected by COVID. He does it because of the responsibility of the Maternal and Child Department of the Provincial Health Directorate in Camagüey.
- Around 1 500 cases of pregnant women with COVID are reported in the province. In 2020 we barely had 40 cases. Since June of this year we began to have serious maternal deaths. We have organized ourselves because it is a new disease, he points out.
The young specialist in First Degree in Obstetrics also recommends greater personal care, and invites everyone to trust immunization:
-The implementation of vaccination has had good results. Some have resisted vaccination because they believe myths that it could harm them. The vaccine is not contraindicated in pregnancy, on the contrary, it is based on tetanus toxoid that prevents postpartum bleeding.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez