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In the 80's I had a pregnant patient who had aquired HIV through her ex-addict husband. She had never been a drug user or had any high-risk behaviors. This was in the era before AZT and the prognosis was awful.
She was a wonderful woman. During her 8th month of pregnancy, we admitted her with her second bout of Pneumocystis pneumonia. She was going to die. Probably within a month or two. She called me to her room and asked if I would deliver her baby by Cesarean. I asked why. She told me she could feel life slipping away and she wanted to hold her baby before she died. I told her that she would not survive the stress of surgery in her condition. She didn't care. She just wanted to touch her baby.
I consulted the hospitals ethics committee and we decided to honor the patients request. I performed her Cesarean on a Monday morning. She died Tuesday night holding her baby. The baby was HIV negative.
It's an awful disease. Just awful. It's heartbreaking to care for these patients.
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My work here is nearly finished.
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