By Khalida Darwan
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, our baby boy was finally born at the Royal Women’s Hospital. As we joyfully left hospital on the Friday evening our hearts were filled with an overwhelming sense of happiness and love, celebrating the safe arrival of our precious bundle of joy.
However, our joy did not last long as I suddenly began experiencing inexplicable symptoms of pain and discomfort throughout my body. The sudden and intense shivering, coupled with feeling extremely cold, high body temperature, dizziness, puffy and heavy eyes, tightness in my back, pale complexion, pain in my kidneys, shortness of breath, thirst and dry lips left me frightened. My husband and the midwives assured me it was typical for a woman recovering from childbirth and I found comfort in their words.
I experienced shivering attacks four times over the weekend and on Sunday afternoon I decided to call the assessment centre for help. I was advised to see a GP. Later that evening I spoke with my cousin, who is a doctor, and she immediately suggested that this could be an infection and urged us to seek medical attention promptly.
We called an ambulance and waited for around 45 minutes, during which time my feet began to swell uncomfortably. A caring individual from the ambulance department called us every five minutes, asking a series of questions before apologising for the delay. As time ticked on, and my condition deteriorated, my husband decided to drive us to our nearest hospital – Footscray Emergency Hospital.
The ambulance office contacted us to check on our wellbeing and informed us that they had alerted the Footscray hospital of our impending arrival.
When we arrived we were saddened to witness a yard filled with ambulances, and it became apparent that nobody had informed the staff about my urgent condition. I endured an agonising wait in a lengthy queue, tears streaming down my face, my body throbbing with intense pain.
After what felt like an incredibly long time, someone at the reception finally noticed my distress and gestured for a wheelchair to be brought over. At last, we made it to the reception desk where a young woman asked for my personal information and inquired about my pain. ‘You are fine and not in an emergency,’ she said. ‘You might have to wait for five or six hours until a team can attend to you.’
I pleaded with her, insisting that my condition was critical. ‘We’re sorry, there’s nothing we can do right now.’ She asked me to rate my pain on a scale from one to ten and without a moment’s hesitation I replied, ‘Ten out of ten, even eleven!’ Yet, she remained unmoved, stating that she could not assist me since I had not been categorised as an emergency case.
I could not comprehend why they expected me to endure more suffering or even jeopardise my life. The pain I was going through was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Breathing became a challenge. Yet, instead of addressing my concerns, the staff member repeatedly said ‘Sorry we cannot do anything urgently now.’
She directed me to the next window where a man asked me where I was born. ‘She was born in Afghanistan!,’ my husband replied. A hint of recognition sparked in his eyes. ‘Do you speak Pashto?’ he said, transitioning from English to Pashto. ‘We speak Persian,’ my husband said in English. The man repeated three times in Pashto, ‘Were you here before?’ but my husband couldn’t understand so I tried using my limited Pashto vocabulary. The female staff member intervened and said ‘We cannot help them here. Send them back to the Women’s Hospital where she had her baby.’ Switching back to English he agreed, ‘Yeah, you should go back to the Women’s Hospital.’
As we left through the emergency gate of Footscray Hospital my fever and shivering worsened and I felt a sharp pain from the swollen area to my stomach. I screamed in pain and despite the commotion, no help or ambulance was offered. In desperation my husband drove to the Women’s Hospital, parking at the emergency entrance and I anxiously watched the entrance, afraid of a repeat of my previous ordeal. To my surprise and relief, a group of medical personnel quickly approached our car with a wheelchair. One young and compassionate person stood out, offering their help, and guiding me into the wheelchair.
They swiftly took me inside where a whole team of doctors, nurses, midwives, and staff appeared out of nowhere. They cared for me with such dedication that I am truly grateful for their kindness and may they be blessed abundantly. Other teams urgently assessed my vital signs, all the while assuring me that I was in safe hands and urging me to stay calm. They weighed me, gently inserted cannulas into my hands, and after a short time the pain vanished.
Relief washed over me like a precious gift, and in that moment, I remembered my baby. ‘My baby!’ The medical team swiftly reassured me with, ‘Relax, your baby is safe and here with your husband. They will stay by your side. And one of our dedicated midwives has been assigned to care for your precious little one.’
Throughout the night I was transferred to different rooms, undergoing various examinations to ensure my wellbeing. After spending 24 hours at the Women’s, a team of doctors approached us and explained that my symptoms seemed to stem from different viruses, and it would be best to transfer me to the Royal Melbourne. There, I could receive intensive oxygen and other necessary treatment. So, on Monday night, around 9pm a highly skilled team efficiently transferred me to the ICU of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
After a series of blood tests, chest x-rays, back and kidney scans, ultrasounds and so on, it was revealed that I had contracted sepsis, a mysterious and perilous illness that none of us – not me, my husband, nor seemingly, any of the staff at Footscray Hospital – had been familiar with.
I am now on a six-week course of medications and I am eternally grateful to God, for guiding me into the caring and capable teams at the Women’s and Royal Melbourne Hospitals. Words fail to convey the depth of my gratitude for the extraordinary care I received at both hospitals. As a person of faith, I fervently beseech God to open the doors of blessings in their lives for the incredible work they do, and I earnestly hope that the Federal and Victorian governments recognize and appreciate the invaluable services provided by both hospitals.
Finally, it is my sincerest desire that these same governments also strive for improvement in both our state Ambulance service and Footscray Emergency Hospital, so that people in future need receive the prompt and efficient care they deserve.
