I FORGOT MY CAMERA!

Greetings! Yes, it is true...I got to go back to work in the birth room for the day shift (6am - 2pm) and I forgot my camera!

This shift was truly eventful, too. I just felt sick about forgetting the very instrument used to document my time here! However, while I was pouting that my camera was sitting in my desk and not in Mercy Maternity, Tim was shooting pictures of our neighborhood! I'll get to that, but first, I must tell you about the birth room today!

Medea, Ate Elsa, Ate Susan, and Abigail were my team this morning. Ate Elsa and Ate Susan are wonderful Filipina midwives that have incredible senses of humor. I was in stitches (not literally...we refer to that as "sutures") half my shift as they offered to teach and help me learn the ins and outs of baby check-ups and preparing things for labor and birth. I was humbled just being around them!

But the first half of my shift, Medea spent teaching me how to take the patient's blood pressure and then she ran around like a chicken with its head cut off delivering a baby and doing mass quantities of baby check-ups! She's a trained nurse, but not a midwife, yet! She is supposed to be in my class and she's already delivering babies! She really is incredible.

Normally we wouldn't have so many baby check-ups, but because we're short-staffed due to many of the midwives being on furlough and interns leaving next month, we had an overwhelming number of women coming in to have their week-old babies poked and prodded to make sure they were growing and doing well. I really loved getting to know the women and learning little bits of the language along the way....

And then.....I saw two births! The first was a baby boy whose momma was such a fighter....stubborn and feisty. Though she had many complications, she wanted to give birth at Mercy and that is just what she did. She was supposed to be taken to the local hospital, but Ate Susan saw how much she wanted her baby born in the clinic that she had to try birthing Christopher John here....and VOILA! Baby boy Christopher is well and has an amazing set of lungs! His momma just kept saying, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!" I don't blame her! God is so faithful.

Then there was Cecelia....she had already had 4 children and 2 miscarriages. She was in so much pain....and tried to stay smiling. Medea kept watch over her and it was not long before Cecelia's bag of waters gushed out all over Medea! She was drenched....and laughing....and less than a minute later, Cecelia gave birth to a baby girl...healthy and strong. No name for her, yet. Medea quickly got changed and then came back to chart some more and do more baby check-ups. It was a wild shift. But good for me, too, as I was able to start charting some things and Ate Elsa and Ate Susan even let me do some of the baby check-ups! I am learning so much that it makes my brain hurt....I came home so tired!

Next time I am in the birth room, I promise to take detailed pictures of the facility, the staff and the beautiful buntas! I am hoping that I will learn some more Cebuano by then, too. It is so hard not knowing very much of the language!

And Tim had a great morning, too. He ventured out into our neighborhood meeting people and taking pictures. He said that kids would follow him wanting him to take their picture and grown men would shout, "Hey JO!" wanting their picture taken, too! He had a GAS and can't wait to go back to take more pictures and get to know the people better. He really desires to build relationships with the people of our neighborhood and it is tricky when we know so little Cebuano. I am looking forward to seeing more of his journeys through the lens of his camera!

Thank you again for all your prayers. I am almost completely better from the mysterious sinus/fever infection cold...God is so good. Please continue to pray for God's mercy and grace for us. We have a busy week ahead of us! Be blessed!