Thursday, November 30, 2017

Huge Heart

Jimmy came in to my clinic room complaining of feeling sick and being short of breath.  After examining him, I was concerned he had TB - either in his lungs or his heart and so I got a CXR.  This is his CXR, which showed one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen.  An ultrasound showed me that although his heart itself was a little big, the 7 cm pericardial effusion was the reason for the size of the hearts. As I talked to Jimmy, he agreed to be admitted to the hospital, and felt better just 1 day later.  3 days after admission, I rescanned his heart and found that his pericardial effusion had gone from >7 cm to 4cm in just 3 days with the TB treatment, and he was ready to go home.  Jimmy was so very thankful for the help he received, believe that he would have died, had he not come to Kudjip.  Thankfully he didn't die and is going home in better health and refreshed in his faith, which brings joy to my heart, knowing that we made a difference in one's life.