A Day in the Life of Siloam

A Day in the Life of Siloam: a Physician’s Perspective

Originally published in the Christmas 2000 edition of Healing Waters
By Morgan Wills, Staff Physician

Morgan Wills, M.D., Staff Physician

8:02 Walked in a couple of minutes late to staff meeting. Nancy is leading us in prayer for the day’s clinic. Get teased by Beth and Alissa for being late. Coffee needs a little more sugar. Mark and Nancy lead us through a sea of issues that are confronting us this week. Thank God for administrators!

8:58 Our faithful Tuesday morning volunteer nurse, Laura Denison, arrives and as usual patiently waits for us to end staff meeting and open the front door.

9:05 Looking over lab results from yesterday’s patients. Called the caseworker for a Sudanese refugee with an artificial heart valve to let him know that his blood was now appropriately thin. They thank us profusely!

9:15 Screaming of young children fills the waiting area--probably anticipating shots … Ellen (staff nurse) will have her hands full!

9:20 A recently arrived refugee from the Middle East arrives for a scheduled follow-up appointment. I quickly review pertinent questions for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder while the rest of the staff prays for what they know will be an intense patient encounter.

9:25 Squeals of laughter from the waiting area; our office coordinator Alissa, wacky puppet on hand, is entertaining some of the Bosnian and Congolese children in the waiting room. We wonder who’s enjoying it more—her or the kids?

9:25 Meanwhile, my patient is a Muslim father of four who was shot multiple times, taken hostage, and tortured by the Iraqis during the Gulf War. In addition to chronic musculoskeletal and stomach problems (half of it was surgically removed), he struggles with poor sleep, flashbacks, explosive anger, and a fear of being alone. He claims not to be able to work to support his family, and the relief agency has already way overspent their budget on him. He is frustrated, and his proud demeanor soon melts into tears. He is incredulous at the offer of prayer and receives it eagerly!

10:00 After an extensive work-up and counseling, the patient is started on antidepressant and antacid medicines. The search is on for a psychiatrist to see him in follow-up as well as for some benevolent sources of alternative income or housing while his complicated medical and emotional problems can be sorted through and treated. Spent ten minutes explaining the experience with our Vanderbilt volunteer medical student of the day.

10:30 Next, some refugee school physicals for a healthy 17-year-old Sudanese girl and two Somali boys. Time to ditch the white coat. The first one speaks great English, but the latter needed a family friend to translate, so it takes a little longer. They giggle when I examine their abdomens. Some things are universal, I guess.

12:45 After a quick bite to eat and some paperwork, a 24-year-old Ethiopian young man presents with follow-up for his abdominal pain. Discounted lab work from Baptist Lab confirms that he has an infectious cause, and we piece together an appropriate drug regimen from our donated pharmaceutical supplies. Meanwhile, he tells me about his loneliness. Wait a second! Our volunteer nurse Laura has a friend involved with ministry to international students. A few minutes and a phone call later, this patient, an orthodox Christian, is excited at the prospect of joining a Sunday night Bible study with other young Africans in the area.

1:30 A 40-year-old man recently released from prison drops in because of indigestion, prostate, and scalp problems. These problems are diagnosed and treated, but the visit suddenly takes a longer twist when a urinalysis and a quick blood test confirm that he also has diabetes. There are a few no-shows, so we go through some diabetic education and make a strong case for abstaining from alcohol. The offer of prayer is a welcome surprise again.

2:30 Review a few cases with Clay, staff nurse practitioner. When in doubt, I call an orthopedist friend with a question about knee injuries. Feels more reassuring than just reading it in a book.

3:30 A Vietnamese family here for school physicals – one boy has Strep throat. No allergies, well… penicillin on the way!

4:00 The patient flow slows down to a trickle. There is time to make follow-up phone calls to patients and I still haven’t gotten in touch with that psychiatrist. I review a few cases with Beth, staff nurse practitioner. It’s been an equally interesting and challenging day for her, but we both agree there isn’t anyplace else we would rather be than serving at Siloam.

5:00 The day ends and we all look forward to tomorrow – it’s Dr. LeRoy Barden’s day off and he and his wife, Eva, spend it with Siloam – treating patients and blessing volunteers and staff with their presence.