Day 62/63: 4th Baby/Massage!!!

Night Shift went pretty well...one gal came in for labor and had her baby at 12:10am, delivered by Hannah. Meanwhile, another labor came in--an 18-year old primipara buntis (first-timer). We connected immediately. Her bana, a little bit older than she was, was extremely supportive. She was nervous about what to expect with the labor, and I had a really neat time explaining it all to her, while I took her vitals, felt for position, and did an IE. The position and IE felt different than normal, but I thought it was probably still head. Ate´ eSteph was super, and she came and re-checked the position and IE, and after really feeling around and palpating, she announced that the baby was in Breech position!!

Publish Post

Protocol for transport, is to always try to get an IV started before transporting, which we did (not me this time though). This particular IV cannula, instead of following the vein in like it was supposed to, kinked and cracked--IV Failure--making it extremely difficult and very painful to extract, and with the potential nightmare of part of the cannula breaking off into her bloodstream. It was pretty scary for everyone involved, knowing that we might have to transport her like this (a cannula stuck in her arm, which would not be a good remembrance on MMC with the SPMC)...Ate´ asked me to run up to the Filipino quarters, and get another Super to come down and take her place, while we both went to the SPMC with our patient. Unfortunately, most of them were either gone, or didn't answer, so Sylvette came down and helped take charge, as did Joy (one of the American midwifes).

By the time I got back from getting a Super, Praise the Lord!, Ate´ had gotten the IV cannula extracted with no casualties, and we got and IV set up in her other arm. Ate´ had just decided that it would be okay for me and another girl to transport her, because everything seemed to be going well, when the patient had SROM--2 minutes before leaving!! So, Ate´ and I ended up going, hoping that she wouldn't deliver on the way there...rolling her out in a wheelchair, and bringing into the SPMC on a gurney.

It was really neat, because Ate´ really let me be the primary with my patient, and let me have the time I needed with the patient before we left MMC, so that I could pray with and encourage her. Poor girl, she was so courageous during the whole ordeal, but she was crying heartily when we left MMC....I can only imagine all the thoughts that must have been going through her mind, and it was truly heartbreaking....

I prayed for her the whole time we were in the ambulance, as well as before we left SPMC....Ate´ eSteph and I had a really good talk on the way home about what actually happened with the whole IV situation and prayed for her and her bana, as well as thanked God for allowing the IV cannula to come back out, without any part of the plastic breaking off in the vein.

After I got back, another patient--Romylyn, a G3P3, 23 year old--came in at 1:40am. She had come for a prenatal this morning and referred for hypertension, thankfully, that resolved. At 1:52am, she had SROM, right before me and Ate´ eStephanie did an IE. It was completely unexpected, and got me a good bit. There was no staining, and the IE showed that she was already 5 cm dilated.

When I went out to get her bana (husband), I wasn't for sure that the word "bana" only applied for husbands, not both, and so I told him his 'bana' needed him...he was a young guy, and he got a huge smile on his face, and said "I am the bana!", upon which, I said, "Oh, right...." lol He was extremely supportive during labor and afterwards which was a huge blessing.

"Melyn" did really well pushing, and after 7 minutes of real pushing and a 13:15 hr labor, she gave birth to a beautiful 7 lb 6 oz lalaki (boy) at 2:59 am, who had Apgar Scores of 9 and 9 and was 21.5" long. After a long discussion and much teasing :), they decided to name him "Devon James". During the newborn exam, I found that his heart liked skipping beats irregularly, but so far, thankfully, it hasn't seemed to cause him any long-lasting problems.

LITTLE FACTS: Melyn gave birth laying supported by a wedge, and did not tear except some skin splits which did not need repairing. Her ebl was 500cc, so we inserted a D5LR IV. The cord was extremely short, and the placenta had marginal insertion, which means that the cord attached to the side of the placenta instead of the top of the round part.

After she had her baby, her bana's sister came in, and we had a blast...both her and Melyn's bana spoke very good English, and there was much 'joke lang' done... During labor, I wasn't sure how much English "Melyn" understood (of course, she was in labor, so to try to translate everything into her own language was hard), but afterwards, her bana confirmed that she did know English, she just understood it better than she spoke it.

During their teasing of me and the baby mostly, she kept quiet, but kept laughing, and in fact, we had so much fun, that my Super actually came in and asked us to be a little more quiet, since there might be other patients sleeping...that was actually very funny, because we went from Hannah sometimes translating for me during labor, to all of us chatting in Filipino English non-stop afterwards!! lol

Shift ends at 6am, but I stayed and tried to finish all the paperwork with them, because I liked them so much, and so didn't leave until almost 7am. I then ran home and took a shower (boy do I love cold water!!), before going back to take pictures of the happy family. In Immediate Pospartum, we had discussed a Bible verse, and I had promised that when I came back, I would bring my Bible and we'd look it all up. It was really neat, because they openly acknowledged that they didn't read the Bible too much, but they wanted to learn.... At Mercy, each couple gets a New Testament Bible given to them, and boy do they appreciate it!!

I then came back, took a nap, talked to my little sister Rebekah, family, and cousins for a couple hours, took another nap, moved all my stuff to my new room (the Barnett girls' room), made mexican dip for dinner, and then went for a massage at 7pm with Ashton and Joy.

I've always wanted to experience a massage, but at home, they're SO expensive....and my famliy gives really good ones, so I just never have yet.... Well, here, you can get a 1.5 hr. Aromatherapy Massage for 300 pesos, or $6.00!! Wow! Was it amazing!!! The only thing that would have made it better, would have been if I could have stayed where I was, and slept for another couple hours instead of having to walk back home!!!

Afterwards, we decided to stop by McDo and get an icecream and water....you sure get dehydrated with them!!

WHAT I LEARNED:

- God is always there in the worst of the situations.....we prayed hard when we had IV complications, and God answered our prayer...

- It is not often I see a truly heart-wrenching situation (in my mind), but this transport was one of them....seeing all of her hopes and dreams for this delivery wash away, as well as the stability and assistance she would of had here at Mercy disappear...especially as we had so both hoped that I'd deliver her baby... but God knew best.

- It is the most wonderful thing to have wonderful supervisors....ones who truly love the Lord....
- It is wonderful to be able to communicate with your patients...it opens up so many doors, and so many ways and thing to share about.
- Massages are "grabeah!" Just come to the Phils to find out!!!

Day 61: Goodbyes, Babies, Etc.

As I said in the last post, Night Shift was dead, so out of a 16 hr. work day, I got to sleep around 9 of those hours: 12am-5am, I slept deep, with no awakenings. Then, at 5am, Lydia, Annie, and Stephanie woke me up---per my request---to say goodbye to me.

I'm going to miss these girls.....what dear friends: Annie, Lydia, and Stephanie

They have worked long and hard these last two months, and though they have learned a lot, delivered many babies, and really enjoyed their stay, they were all eager to get home....especially the Barnett girls. And no wonder either!!! Lydia is getting married in 3 weeks!!!!

Her selflessness and cheerfulness during these past couple months, as well as her amazing and beautiful testimony of her and Loren's meeting, courtship, and engagement has been such a blessing and encouragement to so many of the girls here. Personally, it has inspired me to a higher standard of living and another example of how the "pre-marriage period" can be.

This morning (after shift), I talked to my mom for 1.5 hrs, as well as my many siblings, both those at home, and the older men who are in the Midwest at an AirShow, etc.

Guess what I found out??? My alpaca-Hadassah had her baby on July 26th!!!! Her first girl (3rd baby...or G3P3L2 :D), and a dark one too!!! I'm so excited!!!

Hours old

As many of you know, one of my 'hobbies', or semi-passions, is genealogy/names. I love naming things, and pretty much everything I name (which is quite numerous now :D), has a story behind it. I love looking on BLB, and searching the Hebrew and Greek root words and definitions of words, as is evident by even my blog name!!

Anyway, I instantly decided to follow her mother's line, in something Biblically minded. Just like they did in Bible Times (and in many places in the world they still do this), I enjoy naming things after what God is teaching me. This is one of those times. I decided to name her Tekhinah Chayil:

Tekhinah is my version of 'techinnah', which literally means 'favor, supplication, supplication for favor', from the root word which means grace and mercy.
Chayil is the word used for 'virtuous' in the Bible.

In the past few weeks, especially, God has been drawing me ever closer to Him, and I am learning so much about how Amazing He is, and how we are but little ants that He loves; how Sovereign He is--All-Knowing, All-Powerful, All-Infinite, and yet, He takes time every day to spend with me!!! To talk to me, to listen to me, to chasten me, to bow me before His throne...

These verses sum up a lot of what has happened in the last few weeks and months.

Yet have Thou respect unto the prayer of Thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which Thy servant prayeth before Thee today.

~ 1 Kings 8:28 ~

And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou has made before ME: I have hallowed this house, which thou has bulit, to put My Name there for ever; and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually.

~ 1 Kings 9:3 ~

Funny story: At 5:30pm, I received a phonecall from 'Jordan's Cell', and there was a Filipina on the other end, and then it was transferred to a Filipino!! They spoke 'gamay' english (little), so I went over to the Clinic, and had the guards (specifically John) talk to them, to try to figure out why they had Jordan's phone in G-Mall, and how we could get it back.

Ends up that Jordan and Chantal went window/shopping in G-Mall today, and at some point Jordan left her phone next to a Jewelry Shop. So, when they got back at 6:15pm, I told her about the situation, and we went to G-Mall together. After a good long walk from Victoria to G-Mall, more than a few spins around the 2nd floor trying to find the meeting place, a half dozen texts/phonecalls to the security guard who had it in possession, and a miracle from God, we got the phone, and headed home. Salamat Genoo!!! (Thank you Lord!) What an adventure!!!

I have Night Shift again tonight...what fun!!!

Day 60: Going Normal Again...

We got back to Davao at 3 am, from which, Sylvette and I took a taxi back to the Clinic to freshen up, while the guys went to Bong's parent's home and slept. The plan was to reconvene after both parties had gotten some sleep.
I got up at 9am and got around, finding that my 'stomach' problem much subsided (praise the Lord!!), though I still had a fever of 99.8. The guys had some work to do at the car shop, so meanwhile, Sylvette and I went downtown to the Cinnamon Roll Shop, and got a box of assorted cinnamon rolls for them.

We then met them at Abreeza Mall, where we walked around and then sat down and ate lunch at a nice Grill. Jordan was pretty overwhelmed and struck with culture shock (for maybe the first time)...he was not expecting parts of Davao City to be so 'cityish'....and Abreeza....well, that would be the epitome of 'cityish'...Abreeza is a mall you'd find in New York or Europe...the styles, the prices (though much more moderate) etc. Some of the stores' tags were in 'pounds', not 'dollars' or 'pesos'!!

Since I wasn't supposed to be back until the late afternoon/evening, I had both my shifts covered (Clinic/Swing), but since I got back 'early', my swing shift coverer decided to withdraw and only told me about it 5 minutes before I would need to be on shift--right after we had ordered our food... It was more than a little disappointing, because we had the whole day planned, especially since I knew that if we hadn't gone back to the clinic to freshen up, our day still would have been perfect, but I knew God must have something in it.....

So, after my food came, I walked the 5 minute walk back to Mercy, changed out of my 'city clothes' (as the guys called them...and they wore 'Taga Bukid' with their backpacks lol), and went on Swing Shift, which happened to be totally dead.

My dear friend, Selah sent me a really good book about persecuted people in foreign nations for my birthday, which I found laying on my bed when I got back, and so I read that, while waiting for a labor (As I was first up)... About 45 minutes later, the guys and Sylvette came to the clinic to see what it looked like, and Bong got a Tetanus shot taga Sylvette, because he got a nasty cut on his foot from yesterday's adventures...

Premonitions of SAKIT!!! lol

Ahhhhhh!!

Cleaning it up....

After spending almost an hour at Mercy, they and Jordan Ruseler left with Matt McNeil to go to the Jennings home (they are the directors/instigators of Nehemiah Teams...very good friends of the McNeils), and then went and spent the evening at Bong's parents' home.

My 3rd Handle...the complete family....

Meanwhile, I worked both Swing Shift and Night Shift...but it was pretty dead...there was a baby born right before Swing Endorsements (before I got there), and another one born at 2:44pm (but the positions were already covered by the time I got there), but since I didn't get there until around 2:15, I occupied myself with other things. I was up next, and so when later in the evening, a gal walked in--who 21 hours before, had a Premature Rupture of Membranes (P-ROM)--I got to transport her with one of the other girls.

WHAT I LEARNED:

Even if I don't know why God allows a situation to happen, God knows best, and He has a reason for everything, regardless if he tells me or not, so I should not be bitter or mad about it...otherwise, I'll reap the consequences!! ;)

Texts from the Bukid:
"A simple life in the fear of the God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches. Proverbs 15:16

7/27 Casiklan...or Bust!!

We decided to leave at 5:30 am to get to Casiklan by 8 am, but we really didn't leave until 5:45am...good thing we left as early as we did, because the '2 hour trip', turned into almost 4 hours.....

ASCENDING THE MOUNTAINS TOWARDS CASIKLAN

muddy, muddy, muddy...get off and walk up the mountain!!

Sylvette's sandal broke, so she went barefoot all the way to Casiklan...

A much better way to travel....sometimes

Struggling up the mountain through the clay-filled mud

What you don't know...is that Bong and Sylvette fell into the water right before this picture was taken.....

Struggling to pull the bike through the muddy waters

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them who bring good tidings...

Jordan's turn to ford the mighty stream (Jordan is an excellent driver...he overcame the mountain even though he had almost 0...zip...nil traction on his tires, and his bike was in bad condition, praise the Lord!!)

A flock of kids gathered to watch the proceedings...

D'lyn!! Just start please!!!

Unfortunately, because "D'lyn" (Bong's bike) fell into the water, on the exhaust pipe's side, the engine wouldn't start...... SO, here we are, about 2 hours into the drive, with only 45 minutes left on a good day, and we can't get the bike started!!!

After working on it for 20 minutes, a few bikes came by, stopped, and helped us!! 2 of the bikes were full of pastors, headed for a pastor's meeting. They stayed with us for over half an hour...and when they REALLY needed to get going, a few of them stayed back to still help until we got the bike got started. They used different techniques, including rolling the bike up the road, and then 3-4 guys trying to get the engine to start, before it hit the 'stream'....it was pretty funny to watch. Pretty funny because every time a bike came by, all actions stopped, and we watched as they tried to get across. Many did, a couple turned back, when they saw how bad the roads were on the other side, and a few fell in.

It got to the point, at 45 minutes past, that we thought about just going on ahead, and leaving Bong with the bike....it was a ridiculous thought....3 people on the bike, with our gear, on the terrible roads....we'd practically walk the whole way....OR...turning back, because maybe God just didn't want us to go...

It was at this point that I feel was the breaking point with me and God...yes, I had surrendered seeing Casiklan to God, but I figured we would probably end up getting there at one point or another...but now, we might not see it either way.... Knowing we couldn't take 3 people, I volunteered to stay behind with Bong, because Jordan and Sylvette had much more experience with Tuli than I had, and would be much more needed....

Only 15 minutes after that, we decided to use the rusty, old spare spark plug from Gina (Jordan's bike), and see if that was the problem, and voila! D'lyn started!!! And we headed off to Casiklan once again.

Until this point, Jordan and I had only fallen once, towards the beginning of the trip, due to the terrible traction on his bike, when going through complete muddy clay...Unfortunately, we met both extremes.....both mud/clay and rock......

A little kid went into this tree....

See the kid in the top of the tree???? And he climbed it by himself

After moderate conditions, we turn a corner, and there we are, on the brink or a steep slope of pure rock. On a Jeepney, it's not a problem....they do much better on rock than mud, but for motor bikes, rock is much worse. Jordan prepared me for what to expect and how to position myself, and then we followed Bong's bike down the mountain. Half way down, the rocks gave way, the bike slipped, and we fell pretty hard to the left. Not really hurt, we got back on, and kept going, and within 15 minutes, we were in Casiklan, with only 2 more little incidents, due to bad traction....one, we partially fell, and the other, we all but fell....it was precarious and hilarious!!!

Sometimes, this is the better way to ride....

During our ride to Casiklan, I reflected on the D'lyn's bike problems, and realized that one of the reasons God allowed it to happen, was to make me completely trust in him, and make me surrender my will to Him fully. He was testing me to see what and where my priorities were. He also taught me that no matter what He allows to happen, He is in control, and yes, things worked out well this time, but it might not next time, and I know I can still trust Him!!
 

 CASIKLAN TULI

 I did not tell the Casiklan team I was coming or that I was even in Butuan, because we kept not going to Casiklan, and I didn't want to get their hopes up....they eventually found out that Sylvette and I had made it to Butuan, last Sunday, and were quite shocked.... Anyway, when we got off the bikes in Casiklan, they were completely shocked and excited!!

After 'trying' to wash our shoes in the back, and relaxing/catching up for a bit, 5 boys showed up for Tuli. After then preparing everything, we started.... I knew at least 2 of the little boys who had it done--they were brothers, and so precious....5 and 8 years old. Their dad was a great support. Since there were so few to be done, I didn't actually do one or assist any, but rather put together pill packages, wrote out instructions, took pictures, and took a nap...per the team's instructions...

Preparing

Tuli!!

Jordan, Hannah, Katie, Etienne, Balong, Jillian, and Bong

Sylvette signing the Trio's shoes (they bought blank shoes to be signed by everyone in the Mall)

Yeah....so this was before the team sent me to bed....Thanks Bong for snapping this picture with my camera.....lol

This picture was originally just the 3 girls....but, um....lol
Sylvette, Jilian, Bong, Hannah, Balong, and Katie

Oh Jordan.....(Sakit means "pain")...yes, seriously, that is what he wore all day....it was hilarious, and the Filipinos loved it.

It was so funny because after we ate lunch, and were almost done putting everything away, 3 more kids walked in the door, wanting Tuli done!! (making 8 total)... So, we got our stuff back out, and did 3 more!! lol

Signing the shoes.....("gotta sign the shoes!!")

It's normal here, but I just found it funny that this little girl (whether they are related or not, I don't know) was the one to help this little boy put his pants on.....

Leaving....sakit indeed!! But, I'm so glad I was able to come....

Last view of the H/C / beloved Barangay Hall

We ended going back after we picked up gas at the Sari-Sari store, to pick up a few items we left, as well as have Sylvette sign the shoes....lol

After we left Casiklan, we stopped at the Purok that Lauralen lives in to give her the pictures of baby Kylie's birth, check up on them, and get more pictures of the baby and us...and boy, is she a sweetie!!!

 DESCENDING THE MOUNTAINS

Though the roads had definitely improved with the sunshine, and the 'stream' had been emptied some, conditions were still not good, and it took about 3 hours to get home, after we left at 2 pm.

Entering the terrible hill of clay

Always the optimist....thanks Bong for your smile!!

As usual, there was a jeepney struggling to get up the hill.

Slowly and carefully descending

In line with 5 other drivers, waiting for the first driver to get unstuck.

A closer look...

Stuck, and waiting...

Cleaning up after the big hill, so our bikes will actually go without lugging, and spitting mud clots

Using his precious water supply

Shortly after the big hill, we got to one of the worst spots coming down than we have the whole trip....and that was the un-evadable pit of mud...Easy going up, because you have the whole road, but coming down, there is only one spot you can go down, and you get stuck no matter what...guaranteed...

Bong had the worst of it, because there was some board way down that  had it's clutches on his bike...it took 15 minutes to get D'lyn unstuck...

Working.....trying....to get it unstuck....

A Closer Look

Yes, that's mud..... 

Jordan's turn to get stuck...(notice the guy up the hill prepping for his turn, and the guy going up the hill, who is waiting to help...lol)

Cleaning up at the real stream

Water felt sooo good!!! Especially when your shoes are FILLED with mud!!

Washing up... 

What a stick to clean the bikes out with!!! 

Oops!! I almost hit Sylvette!!! :) 

Sylvie and the stick...

Monday night, Bong and Jordan got permission from the "top dog" to go to Butuan with us, so that Jordan would be able to see Davao City, before settling down for the next 4+ years with Medical School. When they got permission, it was a blast watching their expressions...we all went ballistic....

The plan was that we would leave early (instead of sometime on the 28th), on the 27th, and then spend the day of the 28th together exploring Davao City. Originally, we had planned to leave Butuan on the 5 o'clock bus, but with getting home past 5pm, needing to shower, pack our stuff, and wash the bikes off, we didn't leave until past 6:30pm.

We had just gotten into town, when Jordan's bike started acting up...we stopped and checked it, and found that the engine wasn't completely put together tightly, and with all the rattling of today's adventures, some parts had come a bit loose. So, we went to plan B--Sylvette and I went to "McDo" and got dinner and then rode a Tricee to the Bus Terminal, while Bong and Jordan took the bikes their drop-off point, and texted the BOOST, asking them to get the bikes to the Bike Shop on the next day.

We ended up taking the 8 o'clock Bust to Davao, and spread out to sleep. My stomach had started to feel funny on the way back from Casiklan, and now it felt a lot worse... I was really hungry, and so ate some dinner and tried to sleep... I hardly ever get car sick, but an hour out after a few big bumps, I knew I was going to loose my dinner, so I nudged Bong, who was sitting in the seat diagonally in front of me, and asked him to give me a bag or something.... At first, he wasn't sure what I was asking for, and then it happened....he pretty quick realized what happened and got me a bag, and the next time he turned around, everything was back to normal...it was quite funny actually....

Normally (and I'm not boasting, just stating facts :D), the seats next to us white girls are ALWAYS full, and I had 2 empty ones next to me... For the first time, I sat in the outside seat, and besides the lady who sat next to me for the first 1/2 hour, the seats were completely empty!! I was quite shocked actually, and it was such a nice break...especially as my stomach never went completely normal, and I got a 100+ fever 1/2 way through the ride.

I was very glad I'm short, because I was able to curl up perfectly on the seats, with my stuff next to me...

Funny story: At one of the Bus Stops, we took a CR break. I decided to go a little bit later, and bumped into Sylvette coming back. When I got out of the CR, I boarded the bus marked Davao, and quickly realized it was the wrong bus!! Of course, the windows are see through, and (as I figured) Bong and Sylvette were having a good time watching me...good thing I found my error as quick as I did, otherwise Bong would have come and gotten me....anyways, we had a very good laugh about it...

We had the shortest ride ever this time, with the usually 7.5-8 hour drive getting shortened to 6.5 hours!! WOW!!!

WHAT I LEARNED:
- God is always in control...you just need to trust Him
- Today was a good day
- There is almost nothing better--transportation-wise--than a motor bike....next best, is the top of a jeepney....

Texts from the Bukid:
You know what's the sweetest time of the day? It's when you pray....Why??..Because you're talking to the One who loves you most. Great day!! :)

Our love must not be a thing of words and fine talk. It must be a thing of action and sincerity. 1 John 3:18

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

~Isaiah 52:7 ~