Hi Friends!
My blog might be a little descriptive when I talk about the deliveries (seriously, I try not to get too detailed, so don't worry), but consider this your warning : )
The good news is that I stayed awake through my first day here (not an easy feat since it was night back home), and I was able to sleep relatively well through the unbearable heat that doesn't let up even in the dark. My bed is rock hard due to the leather that binds the foam mattress to keep out fleas and lice, but at least I have a fan I can leave on high all night to try to stay a little cooler. It is quite a contrast from cold nights in Oregon where I prefer to sleep with about 6 heavy blankets...
Not surprisingly, there is a lot here that contrasts with home. Where to begin? Well for starters, the neighborhood we are in would basically be considered a shanty town. Think scenes from Slumdog Millionaire when the kids are running away from the police... Fortunately our tiny apt is very comfortable (considering the surrounding area), and the clinic has guards here 24/7 to let us in and make sure everyone else stays out! I actually really like my room with it's burgundy walls, deep wood floors and an armoire with just enough space to keep the little clothing I packed for the trip. Most of our time here will be spent in the clinic anyway (which is conveniently next door), with mismatched scrubs as our "uniform".
We were introduction to the clinic yesterday, Hilary gave us a tour and explained our duties... she is blond hair, blue eyed American who stands out worse than Lo and I except for her impressive Cebuano, which indicates she has been living here for some time - 9 years in fact. (Lo and I are such a spectacle that we get stared at everywhere we go and everyone is waving and saying hello and when we walk down the streets the children take our hands and press them to their heads -so that we bless them). The clinic is incredible primarily because they do so much there with so little. The facilities are reflective of the area in which the clinic is located and sterilization takes on an entirely new meaning here. In fact, the nurses and midwives wear flip flops around the clinic, and during delivery slip into "sterile" flip flops hanging behind the delivery room door.
Saw my first delivery yesterday and all I have to say is that is was AWESOME!! Lo has seen lots before having worked at a maternity clinic in El Salvador, so this was nothing new to her, but I found it extraordinary! This little Filipino mother was kept active (walking around and moving) up until moments before the birth. They like to keep the mothers exercising and upright because it speeds the labor process. They also prefer that the mothers wait as long as possible before they begin pushing - it prevents the mother from getting too exhausted from pushing too early. Their strategy undeniably works well. This mother tolerated her contractions in silence from a standing or squatting position, the only indication of her agony was her face, which would scrunch up uncomfortably for a few seconds then returned to relaxed exhaustion in between contractions... Finally, they put her on the bed and the midwives (in their sterile flops and christmas and valentine's day scrubs with the scrub pants rolled up like capris), delivered a perfect 6lb baby girl in a matter of seconds. Seriously, one moment there was the head, the next the whole deep purple body and only minutes later the placenta (which I would like to describe because it was awesome : ) but I'll do you the favor of skipping that part).
Even better than the remarkably fast delivery was that Lo and I had the responsibility of washing the little newborn!! Bath time is going to be a fun treat of our time here, bathing the babies is unreal! They are so alien looking and pissed off, it's pretty funny!! But despite the... ok, wait, hang on, I'm in the internet cafe down the street right now, we came really early to avoid the afterschool crowd of kids that come to myspace and play warcraft, and the only other person in here is the son of the woman who owns the cafe and he's sitting at his computer with headphones on singing REALLY loudly to whatever is on the computer and it is hilarious!! Now back to what I was saying... delivery = cool... and I'm so excited for when we get more responsibilities and are able to participate in the process. I have a feeling we are going to learn so much in our time here! And the stories Hilary has to tell about the public health care system and the experiences she's had at the hospital are enough to drop your jaw. She told us last night of a recent trip to the ER for a high risk delivery. The doctor never showed and the ER was no help so Hilary ended up having to try to save the mom and baby in the waiting room. They had all of the surgical tools with them because if you need a surgery in Cebu you are responsible for purchasing the necessary equipment (remarkable healthcare system... remarkably inefficient that is). Hil said she tried her best but the baby came out not breathing and they weren't able to save it, the mother did make it but while Hilary was trying to get the placenta out and stop the bleeding she said there was a rat (yes a RAT in the HOSPITAL!) that kept jumping in the placenta bucket. No words...
More stories.... well, we ate dinner in the clinic, tuna sandwiches, which is sounds like we might be living off of along with pb&j. While we ate dinner Hilary told us about the redlight district she visits on Fridays (Lo and I were unfortunately too tired to go last night but very excited for next weeks opportunity to go spend time with the girls there). It sounds like there are two levels of prostitutes: those who stand on the streets and those who are in the back buildings... but the more public aspect of the redlight district (those girls who stand on the streets) is declining because text message has taken over as the primary means of communication between prostitute, pimp and client... Father Heinz is a friend of Hilary's who visits the redlight district daily and hands out condoms and medicine. It sounds like everyone there loves him and it is safe for him to be there because the pimps are appreciative of his help too. I can hardly anticipate what it will be like to go there... the magnitude of it (hundreds of girls out on any given night...), and they are all very young... I'm guessing this will be one of the most difficult things for Lo and I to deal with.
Well, that is probably enough for one blog... Lo has been chatting on the computer next to me and it is so wild that we can see and talk to her mom while we sit here thousands of miles from home. I have also been able to gchat with people who are on right now, so if you want to be able to talk live with me just sign on to Gmail and my email is Linds.wenger@gmail.com and we can gchat.
Ok, last thing, gotta talk about the animals because I'm already sad about the two dogs caged up outside of the internet cafe... On our ride to the clinic from the airport we were in an open air jeep thing, it's like a long, short minivan type vehicle with bench seats on either side and no window (the exhaust from the other cars is suffocating and it puts crazy driving in mexico to shame - sorry mari!). These seem to be a main form of transportation along with old motorbikes (no joke, saw a family of five on a since bike... this is how it worked: littlest kid on the front in dad's lap, dad driving, two little girls between dad and mom and mom on the back... just a normal tiny motorbike, what?!). My point of all of this, besides our authentic ride to the clinic, was that I saw very few stray dogs, which is a good thing because you know i'd fall in love with one and want to bring it home. I'm already debating how to save the pitbull looking dogs in the cages outside and Lo thinks im crazy : ) And also, we have three little (when I say little I mean they look more like mice than kittens), living in the apt with us. They are trouble makers and you want to get mad at them but then they look at you with their freakishly big ears and all you want to do is take pictures of them (and for not really being a cat person I already have wayyy too many pictures of the kittens).
That's all f0r now, more to come soon!! This place is awesome and I'm loving it already! I particularly love never being cold, though the heat can be a bit on the unbearable side at times I'd take it over being cold any day : ) All the best!
~Linds
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