Page 19 - ANZCP GAZETTE DECEMBER 2023
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02:30
You arrive at the airfield, hoping they’ve managed to book you the Learjet. The answer is no, but the pilot tells you you’re about to use the plane Dua Lipa toured in last month – well I guess that will have to do! Load up the plane, secure the box and connect it to power for in-flight charging... which is precisely the time you find out the plane has American power points and you don’t have an adaptor. A frantic phone call with the coordinator later, and the pilot has managed to secure a spare adaptor. You board, claim a recliner (the couch seems a little excessive) and are now pondering a nap. You immediately regret your previous caffeine decisions.
06:00
With the sun cresting over the clouds on your descent, it doesn’t get much better than this. Off the plane and load into the waiting taxis. The two-hour battery life on the box should be more than enough for your transit.
07:00
You arrive at the donor hospital, greeted by the Donate Life team to guide you through the unfamiliar hospital. He apologizes profusely for not being able to source an American-Australian power adaptor at 3am when he was awoken with the request but assures you that his wife will be waiting at the hardware store when it opens at 7:30am. Sheepishly you admit that it’s already sorted, and you apologize for the early waking.
07:30
Knife to skin on time! Your surgeon scrubs up and opens the chest to visualise the heart, confirming the final go- ahead. There are two other procurement teams here, and they are splitting the liver which is expected to be a couple of hours. You find the tea-room and manage to waste only 10 minutes before deciding to wander the hospital in search of the nearest coffee.
09:30
Now adequately caffeinated, you’re happy when you receive the phone call that they’re nearly ready for you in theatre! You take a final sample of the priming fluid, only to find out this hospital has no means to temperature correct the sample to the required 15°C. Not to worry, after early issues encountering this very problem, you’re thankful to have taken the time to validate manual temperature corrections for on-the-spot calculations. <Insert quick math> and the box is all good to go!
DECEMBER 2023 | www.anzcp.org 16