The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

EVER since her certification as the first Bahamian wound, ostomy and continence nurse several years ago, Dawn Albury-Gaitor has been saving the lives of many people. Those with special needs have sought care provided by Nurse Albury-Gaitor to improve the quality of their lives. She operates an out-patient clinic called Island Ostomy Wound Treatment Center.

The specialised field of wound, ostomy and continence nursing involves the care of patients with abdominal stomas, dermal wounds, pressure ulcers, incontinence and related skin conditions.

Nurse Albury-Gaitor has been a registered nurse for 26 years and graduated from the Bahamas School of Nursing in 1991. Her interest sparked after she was exposed to wound care that was different than she learned while in training.

“I started to work a part-time job along with Dr Duane Sands who is a cardiovascular and thoracic doctor and a wound care specialist. He asked me to hold down his office when his nurse was on vacation. I noticed there were persons that were coming in with their legs wrapped from the knees to the toes and he was doing things that I had no idea of. I hate not knowing. So I started to do some reading and it was shortly after that I left the Bahamas and went to the US to further my education and just to find out what the world has to offer in critical care. I also found out that there was a specialty of wound care that I did not know of,” she told Tribune Health

While working at the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Institute of the Bahamas, she was then exposed to colostomy, another area of care she wanted to become proficient in.

“That then opened up a entirely new area because while working in wound care I was exposed to people that were using a bag called a colostomy. This is because when persons have traumatic injuries to the belly like in car crashes where the sternum or the belly crashes to the wheel or dashboard or they have some sort of injury on the inside. In addition to the wound, they have also damaged their bowels. So within that wound there are the bowels. A wound care nurse has to be skilled enough to be able to manage that wound so that it can heal and also isolate the bowels so that faecal material does not contaminate the wound. This opened up a whole new field of ostomy care,” she said.

Nurse Albury-Gaitor studied the nursing subspeciality wound care at the Medical University of South Carolina’s nursing division. She completed the programme in 2005 and sat the international certification through the Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Society Board (WOCNCB) in 2010, and obtained her certification in the same year, becoming the first and only Bahamian Certified Wound Care Registered Nurse to date. She also enrolled in the ostomy program at the Emory University in Atlanta and successfully completed the Management of Standard and Continent Diversions (Ostomies). One year later she sat the international examinations in ostomy management, becoming the first Bahamian Certified Ostomy Nurse to date.

A colostomy, Nurse Albury-Gaitor said is a surgical procedure that brings one end of the large intestine out through the abdominal wall. The procedure is performed when there is an infection in the abdomen, injury to the colon, partial or complete blockage of the large bowel, rectal or colon cancer and if there is wound in the perineum.

In some instances people who have suffered gun shot or stab wounds to the abdomen usually undergo the lifesaving procedure.

An ostomy pouching system is then used, providing a means for the collection of waste. The ostomy pouch attaches outside of the body and is usually hidden under clothing. The pouch is attached to an opening called the “stoma”. The ostomy pouching system can be temporary or permanent, Nurse Albury-Gaitor said.

“I have a quite a few patients who are wearing the bag and it makes it easier when you have that person who is educated in that area and knows what to expect. Sometimes when I go to change their bags I get every bit of attitude thrown on me. But I do not get discouraged because I know this is part of the programme. They never signed up for it. But what I do is life saving. So, for some of them it is the box, and 6 feet under or the bag. When I put it like that the bag really seems attractive. You can do anything with the bag, but once you are dead you are dead,” said Nurse Albury-Gaitor.

“I love when I meet an individual who makes it seems as though their life is over: I am not going to venture out the house or do this anymore, I wanna kill myself. I tell them and I encourage them. Sometimes early on, every time the bag drops off they call me in the middle of the night. My husband has to get up and go with me. I cannot get angry because this is normal, they dismiss it, they do not accept it, they do not look at it, they do not clean it. When I see that person now coming to my office in their own clothing, no one knows anything is under there, they are back to work, they have taken their life back, they have integrated into community, they are able to have sexual relationships with their spouse, their mates. That makes it worth it. It makes a difference.”