In early 2000 I went on a surgical mission with a team of
volunteer doctors and nurses to Guatemala City. This was one of the many trips we had made to
this country to perform surgeries on children who did not have nor the access
or resources to pay for these kinds of surgeries. These trips were sponsored by an NGO whose
prime goal was to raise funds so less fortunate children could have access to
the same treatments as children in the U.S.
On this particular trip we came across a little girl who needed a
tumor removed from her brain. On arrival, we checked all our equipment and
came to realize that we did not have the particular skull drill needed to
traverse a skull during these types of surgery. The clinic that we worked through also did not
possess the necessary equipment. The
little girl would probably not live long enough for our next scheduled trip
therefore it was essential that we operated on her during this trip. Failure for my team was never an option. We were used to working in environments that
were unsanitary by U.S. standards and sometimes with archaic equipment. Many surgical disasters had been fixed last
minute using duct tape and plastic tubing. We were no strangers to innovation when it
came to saving children.
This particular day was stressful because you could not “duct tape”
yourself out of this situation. Me being
the only Spanish speaker on the team, I was sent on a wild goose chase with our
“armed” bodyguard and driver to the neighborhoods of Guatemala to find something
that could be used as a skull drill. I
remember the excitement and fear of entering the various “black market” zones
hoping to find something that would work. When we were unable to find the drill through
the black market we started visiting auto parts stores and mom and pop hardware
shops. We were in some very shady areas
of town, and time was running out. In a
fit of desperation we finally thought of visiting some local orthopedic dentists
in the hopes that maybe they would be open to loaning us a bone drill that
could be used in its place. After
visiting a few different dentists, we finally met with one who was willing to
help us. But now we were faced with another challenge. The bone drill he had was not electric, but
instead an archaic hand-winding version. A surgery that should only take 3 or 4 hours
would now turn into an all-day event.
We rushed back to the clinic with the hand held drill and
presented it to the team. The
disappointment was imminent but they were still set on saving this little girls
life. The surgery took over 15 hours to
perform. I later heard the gruesome
details of what had to be done. It was
stressful for our medical team but even more so for the child and the parents
who waited, agonizing for the results.
Everything turned out okay that day and we were able to add it to our
successes. Our team has retold this
story on future trips we have made and in the hospitals where they work as an
example of how they “beat the odds”. The
story has been used to inspire surgeons and nurses who feel like they have hit
a brick wall during life and death situations. Denning explains that “tiny deviations from
the norm attract our attention so we can take preventative actions before it’s
too late” (Denning, 2011, p. 185).
I believe this story has been used this
way in many situations. This story has
been able to catapult groups of nurses into action when they were stuck for a
solution. Denning describes this
phenomenon when he says that “every time
we make plans or take action, our choices are based on a mental model or story
in the back of our head that leads us to believe that the action being taken
will lead to the desired result” (p.191). In remembering this story, those who
experienced it use it to inspire their resourcefulness.
References
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