Traum or Nightmare - Trauma Hospital

After almost 8 weeks of vacation, we quickly returned to work. We spent the last days in Paraguay working at the Trauma Hospital. There, we quickly learned about surgery, neurosurgery, traumatology, and the emergency department. It became clear to us that one of the biggest problems there was the high number of motorcycle accidents. Mostly young men suffered serious injuries after an accident because they were not wearing a helmet or any protective gear. As the Trauma Hospital in Asuncion is a national center for accident surgery, accident victims from all over the country come to Asuncion for treatment.

Personally, I struggled with tears a few times when I saw the siblings, parents, or other relatives holding the hand of a patient who had lost the ability to speak and was groaning in pain. It's not that I haven't encountered situations like this in Germany, but my patients there were mostly over 18 years old and didn't suffer such injuries because they didn't wear helmets while riding motorcycles. Furthermore, the treatment of each individual patient was delayed due to the holiday season and the number of necessary surgeries. The high cost of the materials needed for the surgeries also prolonged the healing process of broken bones.

In our last days working in the emergency department, we noticed, in addition to the usual improvisation, that the severity of injuries was classified much more strictly than what we have experienced in Germany. Complaints about long waiting times or lack of treatment were rare. The patients were always patient, grateful, and amazingly tolerant of strong pain.

For us, it was a unique opportunity to work at the Trauma Hospital. But there is so much sadness and pain in this building.