It was proposed to me by Professor Riccardi, the Director of our Department, to take a couple of days leave and head for Pristina in Kosovo, and to go to the city hospital and get to know and help the nurses in the pediatric onco-hematology department.
I accepted with great enthusiasm, and having already had an experience abroad I know that these opportunities are enriching both professionally and personally.
On our first day, before going to hospital I had the pleasure to meet Leonora, the mother of a young patient treated in Italy in my department, who in the local association has several responsibilities, one of which is cultural mediator between us and the staff. A woman with great patience, during our few days stay in Pristina, she was dedicated to us, even in her free time taking us around the city.
The hospital is divided into pavilions, the impact of pediatics is destabilizing, moving from the 1st floor of the department of general pediatrics, which is dilapidated, to the 4th floor of pediatric onco-hematology which has been completely renovated, thanks to a donation. You have the impression of not being in the same place, however, as you are separated from each reality only by the stairs.
When I entered the ward, I was greeted by some of my ex patients from Kosovo treated in our division in Italy, who are now out of therapy, and who go to Pristina for routine checks. This is a further assurance that our work can and should work.
The medical and nursing staff welcomed me with such kindness, immediately putting me at ease, allowing me to visit the department within the Day Hospital, a facility devoted to children, with a games room, and very colorful rooms, as all pediatric wards must be.
In the few days that I was with them, I assisted with medical examinations and started to get to know the clinical cases that are being monitored.
On the first day we met, the nursing staff, asked me to explain the mechanism of operating the infusion pumps that came with the department. Following the explanation, everyone did some exercises in order to better understand the mechanism, with good final outcome.
On the second day of our stay, after a medical examination and with Leonora’s help to translate, I gave a little lesson on central venous catheters, the different types to be found on the market, their differences and how they are managed, which are fundamental for good care for the young patient. This lesson was proposed by Dr. Faulkner, as the Kosovo project is the hope of treating and curing in time the cases of leukemia at higher risk of cancer and other diseases, by not having to uproot the child from his/her familial environment and origins.
With my experience in Kosovo, I have seen that my colleagues have a great desire to improve care and advance professionally and are all very valid personnel.
Thanks again to Dr. Faulkner, to Stefania and Leonora, special people, with whom I shared this experience and that will remain a beautiful memory in my heart.