Blow out the candle!

How, you might wonder, do I manage a patient with a medical problem that can’t be handled at my post? This is actually quite common at many embassies and not just those with poor, local medical care. Some very modern places in the world do have a medical viewpoint that is culturally different from Americans and, when necessary, we medevac to a location more in keeping with our standards or expectations. Of course, the majority of medevacs are for conditions that cannot be medically treated due to lack of appropriate local resources.

The type of medevac depends on the patient and the problem. Sometimes, the patient travels on commercial transportation alone, sometimes with a non-medical or medical attendant and, in the most severe circumstances, we call in an air ambulance. During my career, I’ve had patients who have required each kind.

You might think that the person who is able to travel alone would cause me the least angst, but that isn’t a given. Consider the mid-40s gentleman who, after six months of feeling not quite right, was evaluated by his family doctor while in the United States on leave. A chest X-ray was suspicious and a CT was ordered but, before the report was sent, he returned to post in Kabul, Afghanistan. This gentleman brought a letter into my clinic that had arrived via DHL.

The letter started with “Take this to your medical provider immediately” and, as I read, I saw the term “dissecting, ascending aortic aneurysm.” These are not words a nurse practitioner wants to read, ever, but particularly not in the middle of a war zone with limited options for emergency care. After many phone calls of consultation, the decision was made to fly the patient back to the U.S. for surgery—on regular transport. Imagine both my surprise and relief when I received a message some 30 hours later that the patient was at Duke University Hospital prepping for surgery after an uneventful flight.

The only case of Guillain-Barre I’ve ever seen occurred when I was serving in Conakry, Guinea. While my patient’s ascending paralysis was making its way up his torso, I was calling in the air ambulance. Unfortunately, air ambulance support to a remote place like Conakry can take a lot of time and, in this case, more than 24 hours. I moved the patient to the hospital nearest the airport where there were people—but precious little else—to help me take care of him. The internist overseeing the patient’s care moved the anesthesia machine into the room in case he required respiratory support, as there was no ventilator in the hospital. But, much of the time there was no electricity in the hospital either, so an Ambu bag was brought in as well!

After we settled the patient in the room, the internist brought in a candle and a tape measure. He proceeded to measure 18 inches out from the patient’s mouth, then lit the candle and asked the man to blow out the flame. He did. This, the internist said, was proof that his pulmonary function was adequate. As long as our patient could blow out the candle each hour, we would not have to intubate (put in a breathing tube). Every hour, for the next 20-plus hours, either the internist or I dutifully lit the candle and our patient dutifully blew it out. By the time the air ambulance arrived, my patient only had use of his head, neck, shoulders and upper arms, but he could still blow out the candle! I have no idea if this procedure is actually founded in good science, but I can tell you that this hourly exercise was immensely calming both to my patient and me during an otherwise very scary situation.

When the flight crew arrived and I reported off, I couldn’t help but notice the confusion on the face of the attending physician when I explained that our patient had been able to extinguish a candle flame at 18 inches throughout our wait for the air ambulance. I’ve tucked this little pearl of information into the recesses of my brain, in case I’m ever in a similar circumstance and need a rudimentary means of assessing respiratory effort. I’m happy to wait.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership, published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.