At the beginning of this month we began a new medical mission to Ethiopia. As we have done before, we want to share with you highlights and special moments that make up our day to day while we are there.

Let us tell you about one of the cases we had to address shortly after arrival. The patient, a 76-year-old woman with a history of hypertension, was presented to us in a comatose state, with recurring seizure activity, suffering between 10 to 15 seizures daily. Although she was given various antiepileptic medications, her seizures did not remit.

We diagnosed her with obstructive hydrocephalus due to a previous cerebral hemorrhage. As a first step, an external ventricular drainage was performed, but despite this, the patient’s level of consciousness remained very low, a 5 on the Glasgow scale.

So, it was decided to perform a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt, which was carried out without complications. The results were spectacular. The patient woke up much more alert, with Glasgow of 9 and responds to visual and pain stimuli with appropriate reflexes. Although she still does not respond to verbal stimuli, her condition continues to evolve positively and her family is very satisfied with the surgery.

We look forward to helping many more patients over the next few days. Our work keeps us going!

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