In January 2010 my Sierra Leonean friend Catherine Conteh had an elective caesarean section under regional anaesthesia for the delivery of her second baby in a Western Australian hospital (figs 1,2).Apparently her anaesthetist tried and failed several times to insert an epidural (? an attempted CSE) and eventually resorted to a spinal. During the surgery Catherine developed a severe headache (? was air used for loss of resistance) for which she had to be given 'strong' painkillers post operatively. She wassent home on day 4 but her frontal headache and photophobia persisted. Her symptoms were better when she lay down but worse when she sat or stood up which made it more difficult to care for her new baby Derek (named after my father).
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