another full week, as it usually is, especially when i’m in the labour ward. monday was all day lectures including learning suturing, practicing on fabric and next week on meat.... yes should be interesting! i already have been able to suture before so its good to continue to practice and learn more of a technique. tuesday we headed out to the hospital.
tuesday was a busy day, its funny how as i sit to write this on sunday, trying to recall the week the days just seem to mesh together. i remember i did a delivery on tuesday, little girl! the mom was so excited! thats my favorite after the baby’s out and you place them on their mamma’s tummy and you look at her face and she’s all smiles so excited! thanking you and thanking God for her baby! it was so busy that day that my partner wasn’t able to help me right away so the baby just chilled on its mom throughout the rest of the delivery till someone could come and take the baby for her vitals and to be weighed. i think its neat when everything goes well and the baby and mom can just be together for a bit. she needed only a few sutures and i got to do them! went relatively well. some difficulty getting started because at first we didn’t have any of the drug that freezes the women. and many women needed suturing that day. terrible thought to suture without freezing first. the women are in so much pain, all cuz the hospital has ran out of supplies. i don’t know how but we were able to obtain some so she was able to be frozen, thank you God!
wednesday i stayed and monitored a women for the entire day. she had been in labour for quite some while and i was getting concerned cuz her contractions weren’t progressing very well. by the end of the day she still wasn’t getting any further so after discussing things with the doctor we put an IV in her to give her body more energy, they were gonna continue monitoring her after we left, all i could do was pray that she would be able to deliver her baby and it would be okay. (the baby’s heart rate had dropped since earlier that morning) i went back the next day and checked the paperwork and she had delivered a healthy baby boy!
thursday, was a good day. i was able to monitor a women early on then do the delivery mid morning! another little girl. its neat cuz i felt that morning a name for a little girl, (whenever a baby is born we pray over them and ask God if he has a specific name for them) and on the way to the hospital i felt there’d be a little girl and her name was to be Angelina Faith. so as soon as i saw she was a girl, i thanked God that i could give her this name. (the name is for us to be praying for them, its not necessarily the name the parents give. sometimes they ask us but most of the time the baby isn’t named for a few weeks after birth) it was a really good and quick delivery. spent the rest of that day taking vitals of mom and baby and doing paperwork!
friday was another really busy day. right off the hop i went to monitor a women and she was asking me to push. i had been told she was only 8cm dilated and usually you don’t encourage pushing quite yet cuz she can tear, but this women was 40 years old and it was her sixth child. you’d think she’d know her body and when to push, also because she’d had so many babies her body will dilate a lot faster. i was told just to check and make sure it was okay to push but when i went to check she was done with asking to push and just started pushing. so as i’m trying to feel for any reason not to push (trying not to use words that some may not want to hear!) that baby was moving down quickly. within one push she had gotten its head and shoulders out. baby didn’t even turn as they usually do so the shoulders can come out in the right way, and before i knew it one big baby boy was born! she was very happy and enjoyed holding him on her tummy. everything went really good. the rest of the day was chaos, helping others in their births. a breech baby born, and just babies coming all over the place! lots of paperwork and vitals to take, beds overflowing and women needing to be transferred. one of those days that when you leave you feel like you still need to be moving and doing things.... a good day though, i prefer them busy over slow. makes things exciting!
saturday was a chill day. watched a lot of movies and hung out with people. power was out for some time in the evening and is out right now as i right this. this morning (sunday) we went to church as a team. the same church we went to last week although this time EVERYBODY came! it was a good service and during it started pouring rain. so nice after it being over a month where it hasn’t rained at all. it poured and filled the streets as we drove home it was slow going but we made it fine. i’m thinking about taking a nap before dinner and before another full week! thanks for your prayers!
till next time...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
week thirty one-base group
being a part of the ‘base group’ this week is very different now that we’ve moved and are also in lecture phase. we now get to spend tuesday and wednesday in the ICU ward at the hospital. after monday lectures thats exactly what happened. tuesday was my first full day in ICU. it went really well. as a student we have to do four different case studies, all to do with the four main problems in pregnancy (eclampsia, obstructed labour, puerperal sepsis and PPH (postpartum hemorrhage)) and being in the ICU is the perfect place to be able to learn more and get information for a case study. when we first got there we spent some time cleaning down bed frames and window ledges etc... and then took vitals on the women. the one side is all pre eclampsia/eclampsia and the other is post cesarian. i worked in the eclampsia side, one of the side effects of eclampsia is extremely high blood pressure. and i soon learnt how high it can go. some of these women were 180/120 and with the normal range being 110/60 - 140/90 this is extremely high and dangerous. i also got to interview one women for a case study gathering basic information about her and her pregnancy and labour experience. it was such a sad story.
she had woken up in the hospital the day before (monday) and had to ask ‘where am i and when did i get here?’ she was told she’d been here since last friday and that she had delivered her baby friday but it was born dead..... can you even imagine? first off i didn’t know that one can deliver being unconscious, second, to wake up and find out you’ve been in the hospital for four days and you’ve lost your baby..... she didn’t seem too upset but sometimes the mom’s don’t show too much emotion. we prayed for her and she was discharged that day. she is fortunate that her family brought her to the hospital when she did because she was still alive, but i can’t imagine how she must be feeling after such a traumatic labour experience.
there was another women brought in while we were there who was having difficulty breathing. it was painful to watch her take huge gasps of air. she was only seven months pregnant the but the hospital staff were administer drugs to her to help mature the baby’s lungs and then induce labour in hopes of saving both mom and baby. the next day when we got there she was still there, she had delivered a tiny little girl who seemed to be doing well. the mom however was still not doing any better with her gasping for air. since the baby was so little we wrapped it onto her chest (kangaroo care) to help ensure the baby’s temperature stayed stable. well she ended up falling asleep (mom) and after some time one of the girls on my team tried to wake her and she would not wake up. even the hospital staff had a difficult time waking her up. she did finally wake but was so distraught and confused saying the baby on her was not hers. we tried to re-account the details of whats been happening to her but she continued to deny the child being hers. we eventually had to remove the baby from her in hopes that later she would ‘come to’ more. it was agreed that she needed a higher level of care than the hospital could give her and she would be transferred later that day.
that same day there was a women with an extremely high pulse and bp. she was in labour and we had been monitoring her and it was time for her to deliver. i was preparing to do the delivery and was with her for quite some time when it was realized that she would not be able to deliver. the head was not advancing no matter how hard she was pushing, and also by now the baby’s heart rate had dropped to 100 (110-160 normal) after calling the doctor it was decided a vacuum extraction would be done. it was a bit of a challenging situation, the doctor decided to fix her IV line as there were clots in it and that took some time, including him banging the end of the line against her bed frame spraying blood all over the wall and floor where her water and food were being stored. i was quite upset, blood is not something you want going ‘everywhere’. he began the vacuum and it took four tries for the cup to stay suctioned to the baby’s head. he was finally pulled out and only needed rubbing on his back and baby began crying! beautiful little boy. the mom however now had a pulse of 180, nearly double what it normally should be. and she had severe tears that were causing her to continue to bleed. another frustrating thing then happened, this women is laying on the table, exposed and bleeding, needing immediate care and the doctor decides to answer his phone! there are some things culturally that have now become acceptable but this is not one of them. most all staff carry their phones on them and will answer them no matter what it is that they are doing in that moment. we’ve even seen them do it during a cesarian, yes an operation, they simply have another staff member hold the phone to their ear while they continue to cut open a women's belly. ridiculous eh? anyways, in the end she was sutured and bleeding did stop. it was the end of our work day and we had to leave but i talked to one of the doctors about her pulse and they said they would go and make sure she was taken care of. so i can only pray she received the care she needed. and i do believe she did, most of the doctors in ICU are really amazing. it was a good experience apart from the vacuum moment but i learnt a lot and the staff their are really good and knowledgable. and besides the one answering his cell, he did a very good job at suturing her up.
thursday my group traveled back to the base clinic that we would work at before the move. i spent the entire morning doing antenatal care. take bp, check fundal height(measure belly), feel for position of baby, check hear rate and all done. the staff would take my results and go from there. i probably got to check almost twenty women! it was a fun morning, its nice that we’re all more confident in our skills and so are the staff at the clinic. they nearly let me do everything on my own. and when they didn’t quite believe me they’d re-check, but they always got the same as what i had! one staff even told me ‘hongera’ which means ‘congratulations’ haha! it was a good day apart from one of the bus rides we took where i’m pretty sure the driver didn’t know he was driving a bus and mistaken it for a race car. at one point he slammed on the breaks and because i was sitting in the middle seat in the very back i had nothing but isle to stop me and i flew forward two rows. if it weren’t for Celia grabbing my arm i would have kept going.... a little scary but i was fine!
friday i got the opportunity to go to labour ward because one of the girls wasn’t going. it was a really good day, started off a little rough with a breech baby born with a low apgar who still was not entirely stable when we left. but the rest of the day was great. i was asked to monitor one women who was just brought in from ANC and was told she was 7cm and this was her third child.... i thought okay, sure i’ll check her vitals and such. i went to check her bp but she was having a contraction so i thought i’d wait, then i noticed she was pushing and i thought, 7cm? not a good time to push she’ll tear or wear herself out. so i tried telling her to breath and not push but she was in no way acknowledging my existence. so i thought, i should check her then and pulled away the khonga she was wearing and there was the bulging membranes with the head directly behind out to its nose already! (i should know not to trust the 7cm we’re told by now but i did not this time!) i fumbled with gloves and someone broke the membranes and i got my hands ready just in time to deliver the body and slip the cord around him. a beautiful baby boy, let out a strong cry right away! i let him lay on his mama’s tummy for a while until she made it clear she wasn’t a fan of this anymore! haha! and clamped and cut the cord and handed him off to Naomi to weigh and do a vital check. after that everything continued to happen very quick and third stage was done before i knew it. she was cleaned and sitting on a postnatal bed with baby beside her only half an hour after she originally came into the labour ward! the quickest and cleanest delivery i think i’ve ever done! it was good because it was early on in the morning so i was able to monitor both of them and help out Naomi when she did a delivery later on that morning. it was a great way to end the week!
the weekend also went well, sleeping in and going to Shoppers Plaza to develop some pics, buy a few snacks for the week and hang out at the bookstore, kinda makes you feel like your at home! sunday four of us tried out a new church. it was really good! they meet at the cinema’s and it was english speaking. pastored by an American who has lived here for the past ten years. we met his family and a few others and everyone seemed really kind. our entire team is going next week! hopefully they’ll have enough seats! the rest of the day i worked on homework and studied for the monday test. and just relaxed. oh also got a bit of a haircut. one of my staff can cut hair so it was nice to be able to get a trim. but yes i suppose thats about it.... i’m in labour ward next week, only five more hospital weeks left and six in Tanzania.... pretty crazy to think i’m halfway (or just over) outreach.....
till next time....
she had woken up in the hospital the day before (monday) and had to ask ‘where am i and when did i get here?’ she was told she’d been here since last friday and that she had delivered her baby friday but it was born dead..... can you even imagine? first off i didn’t know that one can deliver being unconscious, second, to wake up and find out you’ve been in the hospital for four days and you’ve lost your baby..... she didn’t seem too upset but sometimes the mom’s don’t show too much emotion. we prayed for her and she was discharged that day. she is fortunate that her family brought her to the hospital when she did because she was still alive, but i can’t imagine how she must be feeling after such a traumatic labour experience.
there was another women brought in while we were there who was having difficulty breathing. it was painful to watch her take huge gasps of air. she was only seven months pregnant the but the hospital staff were administer drugs to her to help mature the baby’s lungs and then induce labour in hopes of saving both mom and baby. the next day when we got there she was still there, she had delivered a tiny little girl who seemed to be doing well. the mom however was still not doing any better with her gasping for air. since the baby was so little we wrapped it onto her chest (kangaroo care) to help ensure the baby’s temperature stayed stable. well she ended up falling asleep (mom) and after some time one of the girls on my team tried to wake her and she would not wake up. even the hospital staff had a difficult time waking her up. she did finally wake but was so distraught and confused saying the baby on her was not hers. we tried to re-account the details of whats been happening to her but she continued to deny the child being hers. we eventually had to remove the baby from her in hopes that later she would ‘come to’ more. it was agreed that she needed a higher level of care than the hospital could give her and she would be transferred later that day.
that same day there was a women with an extremely high pulse and bp. she was in labour and we had been monitoring her and it was time for her to deliver. i was preparing to do the delivery and was with her for quite some time when it was realized that she would not be able to deliver. the head was not advancing no matter how hard she was pushing, and also by now the baby’s heart rate had dropped to 100 (110-160 normal) after calling the doctor it was decided a vacuum extraction would be done. it was a bit of a challenging situation, the doctor decided to fix her IV line as there were clots in it and that took some time, including him banging the end of the line against her bed frame spraying blood all over the wall and floor where her water and food were being stored. i was quite upset, blood is not something you want going ‘everywhere’. he began the vacuum and it took four tries for the cup to stay suctioned to the baby’s head. he was finally pulled out and only needed rubbing on his back and baby began crying! beautiful little boy. the mom however now had a pulse of 180, nearly double what it normally should be. and she had severe tears that were causing her to continue to bleed. another frustrating thing then happened, this women is laying on the table, exposed and bleeding, needing immediate care and the doctor decides to answer his phone! there are some things culturally that have now become acceptable but this is not one of them. most all staff carry their phones on them and will answer them no matter what it is that they are doing in that moment. we’ve even seen them do it during a cesarian, yes an operation, they simply have another staff member hold the phone to their ear while they continue to cut open a women's belly. ridiculous eh? anyways, in the end she was sutured and bleeding did stop. it was the end of our work day and we had to leave but i talked to one of the doctors about her pulse and they said they would go and make sure she was taken care of. so i can only pray she received the care she needed. and i do believe she did, most of the doctors in ICU are really amazing. it was a good experience apart from the vacuum moment but i learnt a lot and the staff their are really good and knowledgable. and besides the one answering his cell, he did a very good job at suturing her up.
thursday my group traveled back to the base clinic that we would work at before the move. i spent the entire morning doing antenatal care. take bp, check fundal height(measure belly), feel for position of baby, check hear rate and all done. the staff would take my results and go from there. i probably got to check almost twenty women! it was a fun morning, its nice that we’re all more confident in our skills and so are the staff at the clinic. they nearly let me do everything on my own. and when they didn’t quite believe me they’d re-check, but they always got the same as what i had! one staff even told me ‘hongera’ which means ‘congratulations’ haha! it was a good day apart from one of the bus rides we took where i’m pretty sure the driver didn’t know he was driving a bus and mistaken it for a race car. at one point he slammed on the breaks and because i was sitting in the middle seat in the very back i had nothing but isle to stop me and i flew forward two rows. if it weren’t for Celia grabbing my arm i would have kept going.... a little scary but i was fine!
friday i got the opportunity to go to labour ward because one of the girls wasn’t going. it was a really good day, started off a little rough with a breech baby born with a low apgar who still was not entirely stable when we left. but the rest of the day was great. i was asked to monitor one women who was just brought in from ANC and was told she was 7cm and this was her third child.... i thought okay, sure i’ll check her vitals and such. i went to check her bp but she was having a contraction so i thought i’d wait, then i noticed she was pushing and i thought, 7cm? not a good time to push she’ll tear or wear herself out. so i tried telling her to breath and not push but she was in no way acknowledging my existence. so i thought, i should check her then and pulled away the khonga she was wearing and there was the bulging membranes with the head directly behind out to its nose already! (i should know not to trust the 7cm we’re told by now but i did not this time!) i fumbled with gloves and someone broke the membranes and i got my hands ready just in time to deliver the body and slip the cord around him. a beautiful baby boy, let out a strong cry right away! i let him lay on his mama’s tummy for a while until she made it clear she wasn’t a fan of this anymore! haha! and clamped and cut the cord and handed him off to Naomi to weigh and do a vital check. after that everything continued to happen very quick and third stage was done before i knew it. she was cleaned and sitting on a postnatal bed with baby beside her only half an hour after she originally came into the labour ward! the quickest and cleanest delivery i think i’ve ever done! it was good because it was early on in the morning so i was able to monitor both of them and help out Naomi when she did a delivery later on that morning. it was a great way to end the week!
the weekend also went well, sleeping in and going to Shoppers Plaza to develop some pics, buy a few snacks for the week and hang out at the bookstore, kinda makes you feel like your at home! sunday four of us tried out a new church. it was really good! they meet at the cinema’s and it was english speaking. pastored by an American who has lived here for the past ten years. we met his family and a few others and everyone seemed really kind. our entire team is going next week! hopefully they’ll have enough seats! the rest of the day i worked on homework and studied for the monday test. and just relaxed. oh also got a bit of a haircut. one of my staff can cut hair so it was nice to be able to get a trim. but yes i suppose thats about it.... i’m in labour ward next week, only five more hospital weeks left and six in Tanzania.... pretty crazy to think i’m halfway (or just over) outreach.....
till next time....
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
week thirty- ANC
lectures as usual on monday and then thursday night as well. but thursday we had clinical practice in blood taking and IV’s, and who is it we practice on? well each other of course! i was pretty impressed that i allowed others to stab me with needles but it actually went fairly well, a few bruises and a bit of swolleness but all was well. i think taking blood is my favorite! getting to draw back and see the blood in the syringe. such a moment of proudness!
i was in anc this week. it was challenging and at times frustrating but was able to spot a few fevers and pre-eclampsia (a disease that entails extremely high bp, and can lead to fits, extremely dangerous for mom and baby). but caught early enough both mom and baby have a higher rate of living. one day i took several women to ultrasound. the ultrasound tech’s are not a fan of it when we come with many women so i went ahead of time to warn them i was bringing three, possibly four women with me. they said, ‘only three’ but who am i to say no to a women in need of ultrasound? i did end up only needing to bring three. but one of whom was terribly weak. Celia (one of the other students) came with me and had to help her onto the examining table and the women nearly collapsed. her HB levels were so low (blood) and she had no energy. she needed fluids but there were no IV lines. also we had a women who needed an indwelling catheter and the nurse says ‘she needs a catheter’ me ‘okay do we have any?’ nurse ‘no we don’t have’...... not very helpful when women are in need of these simple things. who knew going to the toilet during labour was so important for the whole process to continue safely. after delivery the women's uterus needs to contract to a certain size. if there her bladder is full then it can not contract properly and the women will continue to bleed. this particular women was getting ready to go home when i noticed her getting into the cab having to be escorted by family because she appeared in so much pain she could not walk. to top it off she was deaf. we grabbed a staff who communicated with the family that she can not go home in this state and they assisted her back into the hospital. it was her who needed an indwelling catheter.... we did manage to find a canula (for IV) for her so we could begin to put fluids into her. that was the story this past week, ‘this women needs this but there are no supplies’ when this happens either the women's’ family goes to buy them and if that is not possible the women is left without the care she needs. our team bought several canula’s and catheters for the hospital this week and are trying to figure out a way to be able to provide more supplies for the hospital. it is government ran but its not the ‘highest level of care’ hospital and things are not provided well.
friday i was able to go with Celia to a different hospital were the mom’s we can not treat get transferred to. apparently the mom i delivered a week ago with the baby who was not doing well but was better the next day, she again was not doing so well and her mom brought her to this hospital. i was able to find the mom after much searching and we also found four other moms we had in some way or another helped at the hospital where we work. we were told that their babies were kept on the floor below in a separate ward. we entered the hallway and asked permission to find these babies. the staff there were quite confused why we were there. they kept asking ‘what is it your dealing with?’ we had to explain that we had delivered/helped these babies/women and we only wanted to check up on them. they thought it was neat that we would come and do that and were granted permission to search the rooms for the particular babies. there were six rooms, four of which were filled with babies, some sick and some okay. it was neat but also sad to see the sick ones fighting for life and then to see two with charts labeled ‘new orphans’ i think that got to me the most. to see this little girl squirming and knowing that there was no one who would come to hold her. we located four out of the five we were looking for. the only we could not find was the one i had delivered. i was disappointed but had searched the rooms twice. (the other two rooms were the primi rooms. with such little ones unlike anything you’ve seen. some could have fit in my hand) i said goodbye to my mom and told her i couldn’t find her daughter, she explained where she was but it was past visiting hours and we weren’t allowed back in. i have her phone number and she mine, so i will be staying in touch to see what is happening.
this weekend has been relaxing, which is really nice. next week i’m in icu. i’m a little nervous, not sure what i’ll see but i like being able to learn more about cases that are more serious.
till next time...
i was in anc this week. it was challenging and at times frustrating but was able to spot a few fevers and pre-eclampsia (a disease that entails extremely high bp, and can lead to fits, extremely dangerous for mom and baby). but caught early enough both mom and baby have a higher rate of living. one day i took several women to ultrasound. the ultrasound tech’s are not a fan of it when we come with many women so i went ahead of time to warn them i was bringing three, possibly four women with me. they said, ‘only three’ but who am i to say no to a women in need of ultrasound? i did end up only needing to bring three. but one of whom was terribly weak. Celia (one of the other students) came with me and had to help her onto the examining table and the women nearly collapsed. her HB levels were so low (blood) and she had no energy. she needed fluids but there were no IV lines. also we had a women who needed an indwelling catheter and the nurse says ‘she needs a catheter’ me ‘okay do we have any?’ nurse ‘no we don’t have’...... not very helpful when women are in need of these simple things. who knew going to the toilet during labour was so important for the whole process to continue safely. after delivery the women's uterus needs to contract to a certain size. if there her bladder is full then it can not contract properly and the women will continue to bleed. this particular women was getting ready to go home when i noticed her getting into the cab having to be escorted by family because she appeared in so much pain she could not walk. to top it off she was deaf. we grabbed a staff who communicated with the family that she can not go home in this state and they assisted her back into the hospital. it was her who needed an indwelling catheter.... we did manage to find a canula (for IV) for her so we could begin to put fluids into her. that was the story this past week, ‘this women needs this but there are no supplies’ when this happens either the women's’ family goes to buy them and if that is not possible the women is left without the care she needs. our team bought several canula’s and catheters for the hospital this week and are trying to figure out a way to be able to provide more supplies for the hospital. it is government ran but its not the ‘highest level of care’ hospital and things are not provided well.
friday i was able to go with Celia to a different hospital were the mom’s we can not treat get transferred to. apparently the mom i delivered a week ago with the baby who was not doing well but was better the next day, she again was not doing so well and her mom brought her to this hospital. i was able to find the mom after much searching and we also found four other moms we had in some way or another helped at the hospital where we work. we were told that their babies were kept on the floor below in a separate ward. we entered the hallway and asked permission to find these babies. the staff there were quite confused why we were there. they kept asking ‘what is it your dealing with?’ we had to explain that we had delivered/helped these babies/women and we only wanted to check up on them. they thought it was neat that we would come and do that and were granted permission to search the rooms for the particular babies. there were six rooms, four of which were filled with babies, some sick and some okay. it was neat but also sad to see the sick ones fighting for life and then to see two with charts labeled ‘new orphans’ i think that got to me the most. to see this little girl squirming and knowing that there was no one who would come to hold her. we located four out of the five we were looking for. the only we could not find was the one i had delivered. i was disappointed but had searched the rooms twice. (the other two rooms were the primi rooms. with such little ones unlike anything you’ve seen. some could have fit in my hand) i said goodbye to my mom and told her i couldn’t find her daughter, she explained where she was but it was past visiting hours and we weren’t allowed back in. i have her phone number and she mine, so i will be staying in touch to see what is happening.
this weekend has been relaxing, which is really nice. next week i’m in icu. i’m a little nervous, not sure what i’ll see but i like being able to learn more about cases that are more serious.
till next time...
Monday, January 24, 2011
week twenty nine - Labour Ward
believe this will be the first blog that i’ll write on sunday, and upload sunday as well! (okay monday, but close enough!) a tad sunburnt at the moment from spending the day yesterday hanging out by a pool and tired from a night spent awake. why? you might ask was i awake all night long? well, African’s are party people. they also LOVE to to play LOUD music. and this loud music lasts alllllllllllll night long. therefore i was awake alllllllllll night long. but i was grateful that i could sleep in this morning. its choose your own church. so me and naomi had home church and listened to a sermon together. other than church i’ll need to get online to upload this, and then study for my test and do pre-reading for lectures tomorrow. but for now let me give you an update on this past week.
monday- lectures once again. still focusing on obstructed labour. then it was my week in the labour ward! and what a week it was. first day i delivered while the women was on all fours. usually the hospital staff do not approve of this and they very assertively request the women to be on her back. but i suppose because i was there beside her and she was in so much incredible pain laying down that they left her. during one of her contractions i felt the need to ‘check’ and see if anything was coming, and yes indeed the head was on its way, i gloved up and called for my staff and she came just in time as i was helping the little girl come into the world! a lot of more details i could include but i won’t for the sake of those reading who prefer not to hear all those yummy details! tuesday as well i delivered a beautiful baby girl, although her apgar was not good. (apgar is a score we give the baby based on how there doing after 1 min/5 min birth. the score is out of 10, with 2 points given to ‘colour/heart rate/reflex & irritability/muscle tone/respirations’) this baby had an apgar of 4. she had no cry, was terribly limp and slightly blue/gray. her heartbeat was stable and strong but for some reason her lungs would not allow her to have proper resps. while i finished up the mom some of my teammates did resus on her. we left her with a more stable resps rate but she was still on oxygen and hadn’t cried yet. the mom was amazing though. she spoke english and our first encounter of that morning was her asking me to take her to theatre (operation room) and get the baby out she said, ‘please madam i can not do it anymore, just get it out. take me to theatre’ i explained that it would be very soon and she could not go to theatre because there was a line up for theatre and by the time she got in the baby would be out, plus also they can not take someone to theatre whose baby is already fully engaged. then she says ‘ please madam just cut me, just get it out i can not do it anymore’ i explained that i could not just cut her and put my hand up her and pull it out and that the time it was taking is allowing her time to stretch so she won’t have to tear or be cut. she was not impressed but we prayed together and she seemed to trust me. well it was only twenty minutes later that her baby girl was born! it was sad leaving her not knowing how the baby would handle the rest of the day or night but the next morning i went to postnatal and she was there holding her girl! she see’s me and smiles and says ‘she cried last night!’ such a happy mommy! it is my blessing and privilege to help these women.
thursday and friday i delivered two more healthy girls. four girls in a row! thursday was so busy my staff only made it there for a moment to see me get the head out and slip the cord over the baby’s shoulder and guide the rest of her out. i’m becoming more and more confident in deliveries and enjoying being able to handle situations on my own. a hospital intern stayed with me for the rest of the delivery and helped out in the third stage of labour as it got a little complicated, but ended up good. while i was finished the delivery, a women was brought in from ANC and we were told she had a pre-mature baby and it was coming. it was delivered by one of us and was the tinniest thing i’ve ever seen. it was terrible sad to see this little life cut short. and even sadder to see the mom is utter agony over her lost child. friday was even busier. there were four students and two staff and everyone did a delivery and one student did two. there were also many born by the hospital staff as well! every where you looked babies were coming into the world! i got to learn something new as well. my lady tore pretty bad and so my staff taught me how to suture. she did the first 3 and i finished the last 5. the women was so chill about everything, which is good cuz we gave her a lot of freezing, but even with freezing you’d still feel the initial piercing of the needle and she would wince, but the best part was when her cell rang and she answered it! can you imagine ‘hello, yes i’m just being sewed up right now...’ we had that earlier this week as well, with a women wanting her ringing phone while pushing!!!! craziness.
a busy week, but a good one as well. saturday was a great day of hanging out by a pool. theres this hotel a bit out of town that you can pay to hang out by the pool and so thats what three of us did. it was lovely. took an hour and a half to get home but it was worth it! next week i’m in ANC!
till next time.....
monday- lectures once again. still focusing on obstructed labour. then it was my week in the labour ward! and what a week it was. first day i delivered while the women was on all fours. usually the hospital staff do not approve of this and they very assertively request the women to be on her back. but i suppose because i was there beside her and she was in so much incredible pain laying down that they left her. during one of her contractions i felt the need to ‘check’ and see if anything was coming, and yes indeed the head was on its way, i gloved up and called for my staff and she came just in time as i was helping the little girl come into the world! a lot of more details i could include but i won’t for the sake of those reading who prefer not to hear all those yummy details! tuesday as well i delivered a beautiful baby girl, although her apgar was not good. (apgar is a score we give the baby based on how there doing after 1 min/5 min birth. the score is out of 10, with 2 points given to ‘colour/heart rate/reflex & irritability/muscle tone/respirations’) this baby had an apgar of 4. she had no cry, was terribly limp and slightly blue/gray. her heartbeat was stable and strong but for some reason her lungs would not allow her to have proper resps. while i finished up the mom some of my teammates did resus on her. we left her with a more stable resps rate but she was still on oxygen and hadn’t cried yet. the mom was amazing though. she spoke english and our first encounter of that morning was her asking me to take her to theatre (operation room) and get the baby out she said, ‘please madam i can not do it anymore, just get it out. take me to theatre’ i explained that it would be very soon and she could not go to theatre because there was a line up for theatre and by the time she got in the baby would be out, plus also they can not take someone to theatre whose baby is already fully engaged. then she says ‘ please madam just cut me, just get it out i can not do it anymore’ i explained that i could not just cut her and put my hand up her and pull it out and that the time it was taking is allowing her time to stretch so she won’t have to tear or be cut. she was not impressed but we prayed together and she seemed to trust me. well it was only twenty minutes later that her baby girl was born! it was sad leaving her not knowing how the baby would handle the rest of the day or night but the next morning i went to postnatal and she was there holding her girl! she see’s me and smiles and says ‘she cried last night!’ such a happy mommy! it is my blessing and privilege to help these women.
thursday and friday i delivered two more healthy girls. four girls in a row! thursday was so busy my staff only made it there for a moment to see me get the head out and slip the cord over the baby’s shoulder and guide the rest of her out. i’m becoming more and more confident in deliveries and enjoying being able to handle situations on my own. a hospital intern stayed with me for the rest of the delivery and helped out in the third stage of labour as it got a little complicated, but ended up good. while i was finished the delivery, a women was brought in from ANC and we were told she had a pre-mature baby and it was coming. it was delivered by one of us and was the tinniest thing i’ve ever seen. it was terrible sad to see this little life cut short. and even sadder to see the mom is utter agony over her lost child. friday was even busier. there were four students and two staff and everyone did a delivery and one student did two. there were also many born by the hospital staff as well! every where you looked babies were coming into the world! i got to learn something new as well. my lady tore pretty bad and so my staff taught me how to suture. she did the first 3 and i finished the last 5. the women was so chill about everything, which is good cuz we gave her a lot of freezing, but even with freezing you’d still feel the initial piercing of the needle and she would wince, but the best part was when her cell rang and she answered it! can you imagine ‘hello, yes i’m just being sewed up right now...’ we had that earlier this week as well, with a women wanting her ringing phone while pushing!!!! craziness.
a busy week, but a good one as well. saturday was a great day of hanging out by a pool. theres this hotel a bit out of town that you can pay to hang out by the pool and so thats what three of us did. it was lovely. took an hour and a half to get home but it was worth it! next week i’m in ANC!
till next time.....
Monday, January 17, 2011
week twenty eight- ANC
lectures again, obstructed labour! then i was in ANC for the rest of the week. tuesday i was sick so i stayed back, haven’t been sleeping well lately. sunday night i didn’t go to sleep till six am and had to get up only an hour later.... the next night wasn’t a whole lot better, sleeping on and off all night so by tuesday i think my body had had enough and i felt yucky all morning. i was asked to go and get tested at the clinic for malaria. one of the other girls also was going to get tested... mine was negative but hers positive. i’m very thankful i didn’t get malaria. i slept the remainder of that day and felt much better by evening. wednesday and thursday i went to the hospital, in ANC.
it wasn’t super busy and nothing ‘crazy’ happened but it was a good time. i got to practice more VE’s and get the hang of it, i was able to tell the doctor my findings and have him completely agree with me! that was very exciting! there was a delivery as well in ANC because the women was on the drip (medicine to help with labour) but also i think because her sister worked in ANC and she wanted to do the delivery. the next day i worked in the postnatal end of things. many of the women were still bleeding and a few babies had fevers so i spent the day monitoring everyone. it was a steady day. a little sad with three women who had lost their babies. i got to pray for one of them and just hug her and sit with her for a bit while she cried. she spoke a little bit of english so i was able to talk with her for a bit and try my best to encourage her. but what can i say to encourage a women who had just lost her child? i hope she felt the peace of God and that me just sitting with her meant something.
friday was an exciting day for our team. we found out wednesday that we were moving! there had been some challenging things at the place we lived. the location, general conditions and other things that contributed to the idea for the move. we are still in contact with the base, and there are no hard feelings so that is very good. so we spent the morning cleaning and packing and then moved into the city! its very exciting to be living in the city, closer to the hospital and shops and things. we’re now living in a compound, to be specific in a guest house ran by monks! the compound is like a village. there also nuns here! so funny but its nice. i’m really enjoying it, we have our own kitchen to use which means we are cooking our own food and we’re two to a room instead of the seven that we were in the old house. its a more homey feeling and feels good to come home to after a long day out. plus a huge blessing is we have AC! who knew eh? there’s also an orphanage in the compound and maternity clinic that we’ll hopefully be able to help out at.
saturday we celebrated Naomi’s birthday! (its really monday) we went out to buy a khanga from the team, then out to lunch at this place called Steers. its a little joint that has a few different western restaurants in one. so i got pizza and she got her chicken burger she’s been wanting. and we both got milkshakes! weird drinking milkshakes here! it was neat cuz the whole team came out for lunch, we pretty much filled up that place! then ten of us went to the mall and saw a movie, Gallagers Travels... or something like that. it was good, i’m sure those of you reading know what i’m talking about, but to us all movies are so new, i’m gonna get home and think things are new when there really a year old! it was a fun day!
sunday we had church and a free afternoon. in the evening we met to discuss the food situation because we are now preparing all our own food opposed to back at the base they prepared breakfast and dinner for us.
there will be a bit of figuring out our new area and how the team works in this place, but its a huge blessing for us and i am very grateful!
till next time.....
it wasn’t super busy and nothing ‘crazy’ happened but it was a good time. i got to practice more VE’s and get the hang of it, i was able to tell the doctor my findings and have him completely agree with me! that was very exciting! there was a delivery as well in ANC because the women was on the drip (medicine to help with labour) but also i think because her sister worked in ANC and she wanted to do the delivery. the next day i worked in the postnatal end of things. many of the women were still bleeding and a few babies had fevers so i spent the day monitoring everyone. it was a steady day. a little sad with three women who had lost their babies. i got to pray for one of them and just hug her and sit with her for a bit while she cried. she spoke a little bit of english so i was able to talk with her for a bit and try my best to encourage her. but what can i say to encourage a women who had just lost her child? i hope she felt the peace of God and that me just sitting with her meant something.
friday was an exciting day for our team. we found out wednesday that we were moving! there had been some challenging things at the place we lived. the location, general conditions and other things that contributed to the idea for the move. we are still in contact with the base, and there are no hard feelings so that is very good. so we spent the morning cleaning and packing and then moved into the city! its very exciting to be living in the city, closer to the hospital and shops and things. we’re now living in a compound, to be specific in a guest house ran by monks! the compound is like a village. there also nuns here! so funny but its nice. i’m really enjoying it, we have our own kitchen to use which means we are cooking our own food and we’re two to a room instead of the seven that we were in the old house. its a more homey feeling and feels good to come home to after a long day out. plus a huge blessing is we have AC! who knew eh? there’s also an orphanage in the compound and maternity clinic that we’ll hopefully be able to help out at.
saturday we celebrated Naomi’s birthday! (its really monday) we went out to buy a khanga from the team, then out to lunch at this place called Steers. its a little joint that has a few different western restaurants in one. so i got pizza and she got her chicken burger she’s been wanting. and we both got milkshakes! weird drinking milkshakes here! it was neat cuz the whole team came out for lunch, we pretty much filled up that place! then ten of us went to the mall and saw a movie, Gallagers Travels... or something like that. it was good, i’m sure those of you reading know what i’m talking about, but to us all movies are so new, i’m gonna get home and think things are new when there really a year old! it was a fun day!
sunday we had church and a free afternoon. in the evening we met to discuss the food situation because we are now preparing all our own food opposed to back at the base they prepared breakfast and dinner for us.
there will be a bit of figuring out our new area and how the team works in this place, but its a huge blessing for us and i am very grateful!
till next time.....
week twenty seven
this week has been a mish mash of a little bit of everything. it been another week of transferring over into a new phase. technically this BAS school is two schools in one, with two lecture phases. we have now entered the ‘applied lecture phase’ meaning that onceish a week we will have a day completely devoted to lectures. our lectures this time around are dealing with the problems in pregnancy and labour. our first day was this past tuesday, and we learnt about administering drugs, the different kinds of drugs and went through a case study of a women who died during labour and we were to figure out the causes leading up to her death. its different getting back into a ‘classroom’ setting, but also i feel its a nice change. we still go to the hospital on the days that we’re not in lectures and the exciting thing is that because of lectures we’ll also start getting to work in the ICU helping women who are at greater risk. i’m looking forward to being able to fully care for the women instead of when problems arise having to have a doctor intervene.
our ‘first half’ staff left tuesday around noon. it was sad to watch them leave but partly exciting to be entering this new phase of the school. i think all of us, students we’re ready for change, but we’re missing them for sure. especially after having them speak into our lives and be sharing a room with a two of them as well.
wednesday we went to the hospital, my first time with the new staff. i was in ANC (antenatal) and it went amazing. nothing crazy or out of ordinary happened but i got lots of practice in VE’s and i can actually understand what it is i’m feeling now! (i’m sure for sum you didn’t need to know that information but for me its big, because thats been something that has been very difficult to understand so the fact that now i get it! woo hoo!) i was also sent on an errand of taking two women to ultrasound. i’m now convinced they send us white girls to do these errands because the ultrasound technicians don’t like it when we come. i had to fight a little for the women to get seen. the problem being that they told me was, the machine is tired, and they were tired and they didn’t want wrong information to be found, also that we already sent six women earlier that day and there was a line up of people. i tried to tell them that we could not find the heartbeats for their babies and we needed to make sure that they were alive it was very important. they finally agreed to seeing the women but i could tell they were not happy. that wore off as they started joking around with me that the one technician ‘loved me and wanted my contact information.’ i explained that i had no phone and then he asked for my email. i said ‘umm i ‘don't think so’. they then read my name tag and made some comments about my last name, the one knocked on the wall and said ‘wall?’ and i was like, ‘yes wall as in wall’ they thought that was pretty funny! it gets a little frustrating when there is such a lack of professionalism. a few things like, lack of privacy for the patients and them making comments like ‘he loves you’ while a women is on the table having an ultrasound done is just not proper, especially coming from doctors. but this is normal here.
something i have been thinking about lately is the lack of human value that is expressed here. and what that means for a nation/country. if there is a lack of value on human life, what does that mean for a country? it means you can shove as many people as you can into a bus and drive away while someone is trying to get off. it means that women with babies and elderly have to stand in the middle of that bus while the capable people around them sit. it means that instead of calling each other by name its okay to poke and shout ‘hey you’ at someone to get there attention. it means that there is no such thing as privacy and anyone can walk in while your in the middle of a doctors appointment, no matter how personal the topic of the appointment may be. it means there is no concept of time and you can show up for things whenever you feel like it. it means women in labour can be yelled at if there being too loud. it means you can ignore a women who’s pushing her child out just because she is HIV positive. it means a lot for a country. it spurs on selfishness and people taking their eyes off the needs around them and focusing only on the needs of themselves. i can not write this and say it is true of ‘everyone’ here, but it something that i have noticed, the scary thing is, this mentality is not just here in a third world nation but its heading into our western world as well. where people care more about the money they make then how they make it. where they want to get to ‘the top’ and don’t care how they get there. where their own pride and stubbornness keep them from having a relationship with family and friends. this happens when we take Jesus out of a nation. ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself’ this is what he asked.... are we doing it? its a little scary to hear how laws are changing and how corruption is taking the place of integrity and honesty in our country. in Canada and the US. it doesn’t just happen here, in Tanzania.
yes its corrupt here, the government can control the electricity and businesses can determine that they can charge a ‘white’ person more than a Tanzanian based on the idea that ‘white people are rich’. i’ve been asked many times ‘what is poverty like in your country?’ people want to know. they know what poverty is and they believe that no ‘white’ person has any clue what it is. the the truth is that poverty is everywhere. we have homeless people in Winnipeg, we have families that can’t buy enough food for their children to have adequate nutrition. and on the opposite side of things i have seen places downtown where there are citizens here who have huge houses, who can afford the proper food and they don’t have to watch their families go hungary or be sick because they can’t get the right foods. it double sided everywhere we go...
as a school we have discussed lately how we make a change. how can we go into the hospital, a group of foreigners who are only students, and make a lasting difference there? we’ve discussed this and thought about what it means to make a change, and i believe that we can’t go thinking we’re gonna change the whole world, but we can go and change lives. we can be a support for the women who normally wouldn’t get the support. we can do the checkups in ANC and see which women need immediate care and which ones can wait a little. the doctors we have worked with truly do have these women’s best interest at heart. they are there just as we are, to save lives. but the system they have is not always the best. women are seen as they come, not necessarily based on how much an emergency their situation is. they are not always checked up upon after they deliver either. its amazing to see how many situations where because of one us checking women and babies, lives were saved. fevers in babies have been taken under control, bleeding in women has been stopped because we have checked them and been able to determine the cause and stop it. women who were abandoned by family and had no food for two days while in labour, were able to eat because we saw them and were able to provide some food for them. the doctors are simply not enough to be able to spot these things, once they know they are usually helpful in offering their advice in how to care for the women. but its the diagnoses that usually goes unnoticed. if we can take notice of them and stop problems before they escalate further, than thats a change worth making in those women's lives.
yes, focusing on the person. letting them know they are valued. that they and their child and lives worth saving. and hope that by our actions it spurs others to do the same. that is how we create change. that is my little rant for the week!
thursday i spent at the clinic, working in the lab, i got to do blood group tests, (i’m A+ as i found out!), lots of urine tests and some testing for malaria and other parasites. then i spent the remainder of the morning doing antenatal check ups. friday i went to the labour ward at the hospital and delivered my seventh baby! another healthy little boy. the delivery was a little slow and the doctors kept pressing for me to do an episitomy, we stalled as long as possible to give the women a chance for stretching but the doctors would have no more of it. so an episiotomy was done. and i got to do it, a little nerve-racking and those are not fun things to do, but i’m enjoying taking more responsibility in midwifery care. just a little one was done, and with the next contraction, he was born. mom and baby we’re both doing well and another delivery was happening that was my job to be the ‘second’ in. meaning i help the person doing the delivery (first person) and then take the baby to be checked over. in this case the baby came out with no heartbeat. we immediately rushed him over to the table and started doing compressions with bag and mask on him. i squeezed the bag while my staff started the compressions. one, two, three, squeeze and repeat. others surrounded us and began praying desperately for this little life. within seconds he had a slow heartbeat. we continued, after five minuets his heart rate grew stronger but he was only taking about 8 breaths per a minute. we continued praying and pumping air into his little lungs. a nurse came and took over the bag and mask, she pumped air into him so fast i thought his lungs for sure would explode, but instead he began taking more breathes. we continued in prayer. in less than an hour this little guy went from no heartbeat to breathing with the help of oxygen tubes, to laying in the hands of his mother crying and breathing as any normal newborn! thank you Jesus!!! we saw the mighty hand of God that day, a miracle in the life of this little baby boy!
well as you have read, lots has been on my mind this week, many things have taken place that helps being here all worth it. its been a challenging week with the power going off every single day, and the change of many things in our school but God has been with us through it all and i know he’ll continue to guide us as we go from here. thanks for your prayers for me and our school. they are greatly appreciated!
till next time....
our ‘first half’ staff left tuesday around noon. it was sad to watch them leave but partly exciting to be entering this new phase of the school. i think all of us, students we’re ready for change, but we’re missing them for sure. especially after having them speak into our lives and be sharing a room with a two of them as well.
wednesday we went to the hospital, my first time with the new staff. i was in ANC (antenatal) and it went amazing. nothing crazy or out of ordinary happened but i got lots of practice in VE’s and i can actually understand what it is i’m feeling now! (i’m sure for sum you didn’t need to know that information but for me its big, because thats been something that has been very difficult to understand so the fact that now i get it! woo hoo!) i was also sent on an errand of taking two women to ultrasound. i’m now convinced they send us white girls to do these errands because the ultrasound technicians don’t like it when we come. i had to fight a little for the women to get seen. the problem being that they told me was, the machine is tired, and they were tired and they didn’t want wrong information to be found, also that we already sent six women earlier that day and there was a line up of people. i tried to tell them that we could not find the heartbeats for their babies and we needed to make sure that they were alive it was very important. they finally agreed to seeing the women but i could tell they were not happy. that wore off as they started joking around with me that the one technician ‘loved me and wanted my contact information.’ i explained that i had no phone and then he asked for my email. i said ‘umm i ‘don't think so’. they then read my name tag and made some comments about my last name, the one knocked on the wall and said ‘wall?’ and i was like, ‘yes wall as in wall’ they thought that was pretty funny! it gets a little frustrating when there is such a lack of professionalism. a few things like, lack of privacy for the patients and them making comments like ‘he loves you’ while a women is on the table having an ultrasound done is just not proper, especially coming from doctors. but this is normal here.
something i have been thinking about lately is the lack of human value that is expressed here. and what that means for a nation/country. if there is a lack of value on human life, what does that mean for a country? it means you can shove as many people as you can into a bus and drive away while someone is trying to get off. it means that women with babies and elderly have to stand in the middle of that bus while the capable people around them sit. it means that instead of calling each other by name its okay to poke and shout ‘hey you’ at someone to get there attention. it means that there is no such thing as privacy and anyone can walk in while your in the middle of a doctors appointment, no matter how personal the topic of the appointment may be. it means there is no concept of time and you can show up for things whenever you feel like it. it means women in labour can be yelled at if there being too loud. it means you can ignore a women who’s pushing her child out just because she is HIV positive. it means a lot for a country. it spurs on selfishness and people taking their eyes off the needs around them and focusing only on the needs of themselves. i can not write this and say it is true of ‘everyone’ here, but it something that i have noticed, the scary thing is, this mentality is not just here in a third world nation but its heading into our western world as well. where people care more about the money they make then how they make it. where they want to get to ‘the top’ and don’t care how they get there. where their own pride and stubbornness keep them from having a relationship with family and friends. this happens when we take Jesus out of a nation. ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself’ this is what he asked.... are we doing it? its a little scary to hear how laws are changing and how corruption is taking the place of integrity and honesty in our country. in Canada and the US. it doesn’t just happen here, in Tanzania.
yes its corrupt here, the government can control the electricity and businesses can determine that they can charge a ‘white’ person more than a Tanzanian based on the idea that ‘white people are rich’. i’ve been asked many times ‘what is poverty like in your country?’ people want to know. they know what poverty is and they believe that no ‘white’ person has any clue what it is. the the truth is that poverty is everywhere. we have homeless people in Winnipeg, we have families that can’t buy enough food for their children to have adequate nutrition. and on the opposite side of things i have seen places downtown where there are citizens here who have huge houses, who can afford the proper food and they don’t have to watch their families go hungary or be sick because they can’t get the right foods. it double sided everywhere we go...
as a school we have discussed lately how we make a change. how can we go into the hospital, a group of foreigners who are only students, and make a lasting difference there? we’ve discussed this and thought about what it means to make a change, and i believe that we can’t go thinking we’re gonna change the whole world, but we can go and change lives. we can be a support for the women who normally wouldn’t get the support. we can do the checkups in ANC and see which women need immediate care and which ones can wait a little. the doctors we have worked with truly do have these women’s best interest at heart. they are there just as we are, to save lives. but the system they have is not always the best. women are seen as they come, not necessarily based on how much an emergency their situation is. they are not always checked up upon after they deliver either. its amazing to see how many situations where because of one us checking women and babies, lives were saved. fevers in babies have been taken under control, bleeding in women has been stopped because we have checked them and been able to determine the cause and stop it. women who were abandoned by family and had no food for two days while in labour, were able to eat because we saw them and were able to provide some food for them. the doctors are simply not enough to be able to spot these things, once they know they are usually helpful in offering their advice in how to care for the women. but its the diagnoses that usually goes unnoticed. if we can take notice of them and stop problems before they escalate further, than thats a change worth making in those women's lives.
yes, focusing on the person. letting them know they are valued. that they and their child and lives worth saving. and hope that by our actions it spurs others to do the same. that is how we create change. that is my little rant for the week!
thursday i spent at the clinic, working in the lab, i got to do blood group tests, (i’m A+ as i found out!), lots of urine tests and some testing for malaria and other parasites. then i spent the remainder of the morning doing antenatal check ups. friday i went to the labour ward at the hospital and delivered my seventh baby! another healthy little boy. the delivery was a little slow and the doctors kept pressing for me to do an episitomy, we stalled as long as possible to give the women a chance for stretching but the doctors would have no more of it. so an episiotomy was done. and i got to do it, a little nerve-racking and those are not fun things to do, but i’m enjoying taking more responsibility in midwifery care. just a little one was done, and with the next contraction, he was born. mom and baby we’re both doing well and another delivery was happening that was my job to be the ‘second’ in. meaning i help the person doing the delivery (first person) and then take the baby to be checked over. in this case the baby came out with no heartbeat. we immediately rushed him over to the table and started doing compressions with bag and mask on him. i squeezed the bag while my staff started the compressions. one, two, three, squeeze and repeat. others surrounded us and began praying desperately for this little life. within seconds he had a slow heartbeat. we continued, after five minuets his heart rate grew stronger but he was only taking about 8 breaths per a minute. we continued praying and pumping air into his little lungs. a nurse came and took over the bag and mask, she pumped air into him so fast i thought his lungs for sure would explode, but instead he began taking more breathes. we continued in prayer. in less than an hour this little guy went from no heartbeat to breathing with the help of oxygen tubes, to laying in the hands of his mother crying and breathing as any normal newborn! thank you Jesus!!! we saw the mighty hand of God that day, a miracle in the life of this little baby boy!
well as you have read, lots has been on my mind this week, many things have taken place that helps being here all worth it. its been a challenging week with the power going off every single day, and the change of many things in our school but God has been with us through it all and i know he’ll continue to guide us as we go from here. thanks for your prayers for me and our school. they are greatly appreciated!
till next time....
week twenty six - staff change
this week has been a mixture of everything, it started off regular though, with spending the first three days in the hospital. monday i got to deliver my sixth baby! a little boy. i was very excited, everything went smooth and the mom was doing amazing afterward.
wednesday afternoon the new staff arrived. a little overwhelming to be honest. it was kinda weird to see these familiar faces here, in Tanzania. it was good, just a little odd. then thursday we had a day off, for us but also for the staff to be able to adjust. it was productive, me and two others went downtown. got some pictures developed, went online for an hour and got subway for lunch! (very exciting!) then we walked to the post office and i got to finally pick up my two packages! very exciting!!! they were full of snacks! amazing! then headed back to the base where again the power was out. its gone out every day this week which has been slightly annoying, but i guess we should be grateful we even have electricity here. and it always comes on at night which is nice cuz then we can still sleep on the floor under the fan!
friday, new years eve, the group all went to the hospital. i stayed back cuz i wasn’t feeling well and slept the majority of the day. then in the evening we had a bonfire and did s’mores, no graham crackers but the ones they got were still pretty good. and the marshmallows are different as well, but it was still good! we played some random games and just hung out around the fire and then slowly people left to go to bed.... lame! so in the end there were six of us that were awake for midnight. we found a computer that had power (as the electricity was out again) and watched a movie and then just before twelve the power came on! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
it was a quiet new years but i still enjoyed it. its weird to think that we’re into a new year. and to think where i was last year this time.... its funny cuz i was somewhat preparing for this, where i am right now.
the remainder of this week has been our old staff transferring jobs and such over to our new staff. including one on ones. so theres been discussions and meetings and such and such. our staff leave on tuesday. i think it will be difficult but with everything in change it eventually becomes normal. so we’ll just wait till we go over this hump!
till next time....
wednesday afternoon the new staff arrived. a little overwhelming to be honest. it was kinda weird to see these familiar faces here, in Tanzania. it was good, just a little odd. then thursday we had a day off, for us but also for the staff to be able to adjust. it was productive, me and two others went downtown. got some pictures developed, went online for an hour and got subway for lunch! (very exciting!) then we walked to the post office and i got to finally pick up my two packages! very exciting!!! they were full of snacks! amazing! then headed back to the base where again the power was out. its gone out every day this week which has been slightly annoying, but i guess we should be grateful we even have electricity here. and it always comes on at night which is nice cuz then we can still sleep on the floor under the fan!
friday, new years eve, the group all went to the hospital. i stayed back cuz i wasn’t feeling well and slept the majority of the day. then in the evening we had a bonfire and did s’mores, no graham crackers but the ones they got were still pretty good. and the marshmallows are different as well, but it was still good! we played some random games and just hung out around the fire and then slowly people left to go to bed.... lame! so in the end there were six of us that were awake for midnight. we found a computer that had power (as the electricity was out again) and watched a movie and then just before twelve the power came on! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!
it was a quiet new years but i still enjoyed it. its weird to think that we’re into a new year. and to think where i was last year this time.... its funny cuz i was somewhat preparing for this, where i am right now.
the remainder of this week has been our old staff transferring jobs and such over to our new staff. including one on ones. so theres been discussions and meetings and such and such. our staff leave on tuesday. i think it will be difficult but with everything in change it eventually becomes normal. so we’ll just wait till we go over this hump!
till next time....
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