It was around 04 hours on Friday 26th May, 2023 when a pregnant woman in her early 30s of Matero township from Lusaka Province suffered a miscarriage right in one gold miners’ camp in the jungles of Kanyelele gold mine.
Some onlooker Women panicked to try and help the suffering woman by all means yet the condition could not improve.
Some locals that are familiar with herbal and traditional treatments tried their own knowledge and experience but failed. Suggestions were that they ferry the miscarrying woman to specialists like a nearby health facility but the idea proved futile as there was no money around to book a vehicle. As they ran through all these ideas, the condition was becoming out of hand.
As all attempts to help proved futile and all hope was lost, Around 07:00 hours, someone realised they had a midwife who had set up a restaurant nearby (JOAN MULENGA). They quickly went and explained the situation to her. With no hesitation she rushed to the scene and discovered that the foetus was already out but the placenta was still in inside and the mother was trying by herself to remove it.
JOAN MULENGA swung into action immediately to make an assessment and discovered that the placenta could not come out unless the patient is seen by specialised doctors. She quickly rushed to the top of the mountain to access network signal and contacted a Mr Vernon, a health worker in mpika.
Mr. Vernom equally did not waste time to release the ambulance. Joan rushed back to her patient again to get her prepared and at this point the mother was bleeding to death, fluids were given to her for her energy and rehydration.
In no time, Joan asked if there could be made a stretcher to help carry her to a place where the ambulance woukd pick the patient from. Some Men quickly organised a hand-made stretcher and lifted her to a place where ambulance could reach.
After observing ambulance may take time due to bad road Joan organised people from the camp who contributed money to pay a vehicle among the transporters to start off so that they could meet it on the way and for sure before linking Kasama-Mpika road, redemption was on the way, they met the ambulance.
By 12 PM, the patient was at the hospital at Michael Chilufya Sata and the patient was being attended to by the facility workers. Joan was there waiting to hear the stability of her patient. She remained there until the patient was out of danger.
Lesson learnt, we are on duty 24/7 and at any time whether paid or not we need to do our passion and save. Indeed, Joan is a midwife not by name only but in practice too. She completed in 2021 from Lukupa college of midwifery in Kasama and still waiting for deployment in government.
MBM
IMAGES: Joan and her Patient