Khamisah,
35, sits on the steps of Banda Aceh's Lhong Raya football stadium,
a blank expression on her face, eyes fixed on some invisible
object in the distance.
Her parents-in-law are dead, lost to the tsunami. By her side,
her young daughter plays with an open packet of biscuits wrapped
in shiny red plastic.
A short walk from here at the Red Cross hospital, Khamisah's
husband, Yusfarida, lies on a stretcher. His jaw locked, a drip
in his hand, he is gravely ill with tetanus.
“I am very worried for my husband. He is getting worse
and worse,” said Khamisah. “But I will not leave
his side.”
Yusfarida, 45, is from Teunom. When the tsunami came, the massive
waves washed him away, taking his house as well as his health.
A wound, sustained during the tsunami, became infected. Untreated,
tetanus causes convulsions and shaking, difficulties breathing
and in the worst cases, death.
But Yusfarida is fortunate. Ten days ago doctors and nurses
from the German Red Cross set up a basic health care clinic
in Teunom. Yusfarida made his way to the centre. For five days
he received treatment for his wound as well as for tetanus.
But the clinic in Teunom, which sees some 200 patients a day,
is only equipped to deal with basic health issues and emergencies
such as minor operations.
So the Red Cross arranged for a medical evacuation from Teunom
to a field hospital in Banda Aceh, run by the Norwegian Red
Cross, under the auspices of the International Committee of
the Red Cross.
The next morning, a Red Cross helicopter flew Yusfarida, his
wife and daughter, as well as another patient with a less serious
case of tetanus, to the hospital in Banda Aceh to receive specialist
treatment from Norwegian doctors and nurses.
The 100-bed field hospital, housed in dozens of tents, is located
some 15 minutes from the airport, on the outskirts of town in
the shadow of the football stadium. It includes an X-ray room,
two operating theatres, a sterilisation area and an intensive
care unit, as well as a centre for waterborne diseases, a blood
bank and laboratory.
But that's not all. This facility hosts an obstetrics and gynaecology
unit, an out patient department and a paediatric facility.
Staffing this impressive and well-equipped facility, are 32
Red Cross doctors, nurses and engineers. One of them is anaesthesiologist,
Kare Lovsiakken from Oslo.
“We opened the facility yesterday,” says Kare, a
burly man wearing dark sunglasses, stethoscope wrapped round
his neck. “So far we have seen many outpatients. But right
now there are about 20 in-patients.”
Whisked from the Red Cross helicopter on a stretcher to the
intensive care unit to receive oxygen, antibiotics, tetanus
injections as well as antiserum, Yusfarida will be monitored
round the clock.
Despite the high standard of care Yusfarida receives here, the
Red Cross is very worried for him. “It is a very serious
case of tetanus. It is too early to know if he will make a full
recovery,” Kare cautions.
The next few days are critical. If Yusfarida's condition improves,
he can expect to stay at the hospital for some weeks.
However one thing is certain. The Red Cross medical evacuation
saved his life.
The team from Norway will be in Banda Aceh for three months.
But they are prepared to stay as long as they are needed. “We
could stay for up to one year. It just depends,” says
Kare, shrugging his shoulders.
Meanwhile, Khamisah and her young daughter have no one to stay
with in Banda Aceh. She has relatives here but she does not
know where to find them. Or whether they are still alive.
“Don't worry,” says a Norwegian Red Cross doctor
with a reassuring smile. “We will take care of the whole
family.”
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Khamisah
sits on the steps of Banda Aceh's football stadium with
her young daughter. Her husband is receiving treatment
for tetanus at the nearby Red Cross field hospital (p12574)
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Yusfarida,
who is gravely ill with tetanus, has been rushed from
Teunom to the Norwegian Red Cross-run field hospital in
Banda Aceh (p12575)
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The
100-bed field hospital in Banda Aceh sits alongside the
town’s football stadium. It is run by the Norwegian
Red Cross, under the auspices of the International Committee
of the Red Cross (p12576)
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Norwegian
Red Cross staff, including anaesthesiologist Kare Lovsiakken
(left), treat tsunami survivors in the field hospital
(p12577)
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