3RD birthroom shift - from 10pm to 6am

It's becoming real.
Last night was INsane. When my shift started there were 4 beds occupied..and another jUST coming in. (we have six beds in the labour room, and 3 more in recovery) SO, we were taking vitals and assessing things with the woman who'd JUSt come in, when ANOTHER girl came in hEAving, and in lOAds of pain. Ate May (my supervisor) asked the first woman if she could get UP so that the new girl could lie down (there weren't any other beds made up yet) No kidding, after 2 minutes, Ate May said 'Jenna, you PORbably don't want to be standing there' (i was at the end of the bed) as this shiny, grey 'bubble' starting coming out of her puerta.. SROM (spontaneous rupture of membranes, her water broke) and WITH it slid a precious (and disgustingly grey) pre-mature girl. Weighing less than 5 lbs. Ate May ordered for the baby to be transported to DMC immediately. Normally, we do not deliver pre-mature babies, but in THIS case, we had no choice! MEANwhile, Carmen, another midwife, was coaxing another, quite vocal, woman to push. This lady was 26 and had never given birth..so the baby came out sUPEr slow.. I was 'observing' and as the baby crowned, then turned to the side (as they normally do when coming out) I felt like I was watching something out of a scary movie!...PRObably NOT the best description, but it's true. I've never seen one come out that sLOW before! and THEN Sarah, another midwife, calls out 'ahh, guys, mine's coming out aswell!', but EVERYone was bUSy so I went to her rescue! haha, she BASically delivered it all by herself, but I helped, following vERY specific instructions! :S It went fast, this girl had three children already.
I was somewhat discouraged as all the new moms sEEMed to be very passive about the whole situation, whereas i'm like 'CONGRATulations! WICKed! You have a new BABY!' ...they weren't even looking at their newborns, and it was difficult to even get them to hold the child up on their stomach while we waited for the placenta!...but i gUEss i really have NO idea about what they just went through, and in time, they came to life and were excited about what they had just brought into the world. But the last woman (26, 3 kids), cOUldn't think of a name! [Here in the Philippines, they're quite partial to naming their children after famous people, and royalty. There are lots of "princess something or other" and "prince charles"...names like that. (it's really funny!)] but THIS couple asked ME what MY name was. and ya, i WISH i could blog that they named it after ME, but i wouldn't let them...instead I suggested 'Vennice' (pronounced VennIECE, going along with their accents here) and she LIKEd it! I almost cried. I NAMED A BABY! That's INsane. That baby will walk around with the name I suggested! EVen though it is FAIRly common here to have a nickname. I couldn't believe it.
Later on I got to bathe Vennice, and also give her the eye meds we give all babies here, basically just squeezing some goop in their eyes, AND i got to give her the vit.k shot we give every baby (in her little newborn thigh!) I lOVE talking with the new moms, trying to get into their heads, and understand what they're thinking through broken english. The people here are just indescribingly KIND.

jUSt to let eveyone know...october has 300 mothers scheduled to give birth. Normally, numbers don't usually go over 150/month, so this is everyday life for me now. And I'm lOVing it!

becoming a midwife..

Lots has happened within the past couple of days that I haven't blogged about. SO this miGHt be hard to follow!
On tuesday, I had my second pre-natal day. MayFlor, my filipina supervisor, had me observe the first half of women that came through (we had 5 beds/rooms set up, and NINEty women to get through, between 5 midwives!) and THEN she was just like "ok, you do the next one." ....and I was...very hesitant!
I grabbed the next chart, called a name...hahah (I feel like sUCH a doctor! it's awesome) I introduced myself in Cebuano (the language most commonly spoken around these parts) "Ako si Jenna", as I looked over her chart. :)
I felt RIdiculous that first time, asking questions and such...i felt like I didn't know whAt I was doing, but the mORE i did (ya, i did the REST, except for the special case where the lady had TWINS inside!...i just assisted that one!) the more confident I got. It's AMAZing!...this is why I first got into midwifery, for the relational part of getting to kNOW women.
After I spend some time talking with them (sometimes MayFlor has to translate, sometimes they understand english) I ask them to lie down (legs flat) so that I can measure their 'fundal height' (how big their bElly is) then I get them to raise their knees, to make it easier for me to 'palpate' the baby! I'm prEtty sure the bESt thing in the world is to feel a baby inside a womb. It's INCredible! You need to palpate (feel around) for the baby's position, from that you can tell where best to listen for the fetal heart tones...again, an incredible experience!
Because there are so many women waiting for pre-natals, we can not spend as MUCH time as I would like with them...if I could I would let them listen to their babies heartbeat and take time explaining why certain positions are better than others, but that's just not the way it goes here. I can not wAIt when I'm an actual midwife, and can take time to make pre-natals more fun and personal!
Also, we got our assignments back today! (ya ya, i pASsed :P) and tonite i have my first night shift (from 10-6am) with my first TEST tomorrow @ 2pm, sooo, thAt cOUld be interesting...but I'm confident that all will go well. ALSO, we get our next assignment tomorrow as well!

. an ode. to apples .

The 'girls' and I...ya, ya I have a new group. The girls i'm referring to are the new students who started the program the same time that I did. Here: Lois and I are showing off our cute little white laptops. Macs are the best. You should GET one...then we could iChat and we could sEE eachother!

man. i feel like a woman

so KIND of an awkward subject to blog. but you SAID you want to know what's going on over here, so, here it is. YESterday we all handed in our assignments. and TOday we feel like we have a 'day off' (even though the tests on friday, and we PRObably should be studying.) Another thing about the Philippines is that hardly anyone shaves their legs (armpits, yes, thats a must, but its common to have hairy legs). Therefore, I have stopped shaving :) sweet huh. Lois and I went to get our legs WAXed! and i will now show you a couple of pics so you can get an idea of how the 2 hours of torture really went!


I also got my tourist visa renewed today, and am allowed to stay in the country until Nov.09th...I'm waiting for the process of my missionary visa to go through, which mIght take a while, until then, I just have to remember to go to the immigration office to renew the one I have.

OOoo. i ALso made a few calls to Canada!..

"...Naah kai sakit sa puerta?!"

Yesterday, I took an extra birthroom swing (from 2-10) shift...and, yes, I observed a MiRACle. :D
There were 2 labours in progress when I started. I began observing the younger one (who's 'bana', boyfriend/husband, was helping too!...holding her head, being a literal support when she was pushing...it was quite amazing to see the interaction between them. I can't imAgine what his racing through his head at the time! - both were 21 years old) but she wasn't progressing so after 2 hours we transported her to DMC (Davao Medical Center) because she was just tOO small, and the baby was stuck :S. Our clinic has this sweet little blue ambulance, and I got the hold the IV pouch while they transported her to the hospital. The guard on duty is in charge of driving...aaaand the ride was nUts! The absense of stop signs makes for an already chaotic drive, but WE were driving on the wRONg side of the road...mer, i can't explain it. The siren was whirling, dust was flying!, it was GREAT! After making sure she was admitted and taken care of in hospital, we went back to the clinic JUSt in time to catch the other women giving birth to a beauitful baby boy.
My reactions/response? It was mUCH different than I imagined. I gUESS I'm somewhat of a control-freak because I ASSumed the midwife would have alot more control over how fast the baby comes out. But she doesn't. have ANY! The little slippery, blueish-gray creature just slIdes out whenever it can fit! then is hoisted UP onto the mother's chest with the umbilical cord STILL ATTACHED! again, i thought the normal procedure was to clamp the umbilical cord right away, but you have to wait until it stops pulsing. -- My first assignment, which i jUST completed and will hand in tonite at student group, was all about fetal development and the placenta. It's cool how we're learning the stuff IN the books, and also getting to EXperience what we read in the birthroom. -- I then saw the placenta come out, along with a whole lot of blood, and other bodily fluids. I was a bit nervous about all of the aromas floating around the delivery room, but they didn't bother me too badly, although I wasn't the midwife right THERE, catching the thing either, so...I'll keep you updated on thAt when I'm the midwife in charge!

guess whAt ;)

ahhaha. what a FUN game! This is actually one example of the mULTitude of new FRUIT i eat! It's called rambutan and, as you can SEE has this crazy exterior, but inside is the smooth, tasty fruit with a fairly large PIT in the middle.

There's this OTHER fruit that they've made us try a few times (because it's a filipino favourite) called Durian. Let me TRY to describe it: a combo of garlic, old, un-ripened cheese, and smelly socks. I'm serious...my EYES WATER whenever its near, and the smell of it (which is everywhere cuz ppl sell it all along the side of the road) makes me cringe! But, other than that, I'm enjoying all of the fruit here..new and old. I eat fresh pineapples everyDAY!

Another one of the ordinary sites at the market...whole chickens, skinned. mmm, fAIRly appetizing! What else, OH, this truck comes, with WHOLE pigs (well, their GUtted, but still) and the poor little (ripped) man heaves them up onto his SHOULDERs to get them inside the market:S...everyone was laughing at me taking pictures, like 'OH, the CHICKens are so PRetty!..take a PIC'

philippines culture SHOCK

was one of the books the students here are encouraged to read. I had jUST finished reading it when I was slAPPEd in the face with the reality of something I am definetly not used to, much less agree with. Here in the Philippines, it is common for men to have MORE THAN ONE family..they marry and then go off with a mistress. This is even smiled upon if the scumbag can support both families. ANd the poor women aren't allowed to complain, or even be SAD!
During clinics this one girl came in, sat down and starting bawling her eyes out, apologizing, explaining that her husband has run off with the neighbours maid, and she can't cry at home because her mom will get mad at her..it was awful. By the end of it, the midwife and I were crying too. It's just so unfair. She gives her heart to this man who can come and go as he pleases, as long as he supports her and his two kids (third on the way). I can't even imAGine what she must be going through inside.

"the decision to have a child, is to forever accept that part of your heart will always be walking around outside your body.."

Yesterday marked my very first birthroom shift at Mercy Maternity Clinic. REporting for duty at 2pm, we did 'endorsements' where the staff from the previous shift inform the fresh staff, so I only had one little newborn that needed an external exam plus a bath before they could be discharged. Around 7pm a labour came in, her name was Michelle, "shell" for short ;). I observed another midwife check her vitals, monitor her contractions, as well as do an IE (internal examine). She was 6cm dilated, but wasn't progressing very quickly, and at 10pm we had to endorse her to the night shift staff. Therefore, i did NOT get to see a baby coming into this world, but I did learn so so much...and I'm confident I'll have another chance to experience God's greatest miracles in action.

< This precious baby boy was the one I got to bathe..just 6 hours old!

and THESE> are the two midwives I was shadowing (yaaa, evEry filipino/a is this short...i'm a GIant here!)

pre-natal clinics

WOW.
it all starts at 7:45 am, we make up the beds and have a devotional with the team. THEN the girls sing a couple of songs, and then they have a devotional, at which point us MIDWIVES schedule our 'baby check-ups' (if you deliver a baby, your responsible for the baby's check-ups). Around 10am the pre-natals start, and you just grab a chart, call the name, read over her chart, ask questions, do an external examine, pray for her and move on to the next client. I felt...so cool...like a doctor! My USUAL pre-natal day will be every tuesday, but girls take turns doing Monday pre-natals because that's when we have new clients come in, from there they are assigned a permanent pre-natal day. Because I worked today (monday) they were all new clients, and they all needed their hematocrit taken! (aaand, for those of you, like me, had no CLUE what that was- it's just a little prick in their finger, then you fill this super skinny tube up with the blood that you squeeze from their finger, then the tube goes into this machine (I forget the name of the machine) thEN from the results, you can tell if they're anemic.) So I spent most of the morning calling out their numbers, asking for their lab. results, and taking hematocrits!! It was wicked.
I also got to observe some of the pre-natal examines, as well as a few baby check-ups. I learned a lot. My head is full. and THEN I had class, not really clAss, but we got our first assignment on fetal development...and now my head is rEAlly spinning. We have a week to complete it, and our first test (because we have a test after every assignment) is next friday. NEEDless to say, I PRObably won't be able to connect with some of you as much as I have been...it's been a sweet vacation, but now I need to concentrate and learn this stuff well.
[DEFinetly check out Lois' blog (on the side there..) it's reeeally good, PLUS she puts way more pictures/details in hers and you'll be able to see what I've been up to!][OH, and my email was being dumg, so I've switched over to GMAIL :) its jmkthemwf@gmail.com] You're all sleeping sounding right now, ready to start another week - I'll be thinking of you*

TRANSportation

okay okay, i wasn't completely happy with that last blog. So, read it again, because I changed it. and I will c-l-e-a-r-l-y explain to you the modes of transportation here. I took pictures JUST for you ;)

- the first is a pedicab
(7 pesos/ride, they all travel within a little circuit)







- and THIS is a tricycab
(again 6-7 p/ride - $0.13 american)








- this is the back of a JEEPney (7 p/ride)







- these are the fairy boats
(10 p/ride across the channel)

Paradise resort/spaa

Our scavenger hunt began this morning at 8AM...we travelled all around the city, in all sorts of vehicles. The game was basically the amazing race, we weren't allowed to use taxis, and at each spot there was a challenge before getting the next clue! Lets see...there was more karoke, some bench pressing action, OH and cutting a pineapple in the market, the way the lady did it. Our final destination was Paradise Resort, which is on the island across from Davao City..













We took this cool ferry boat across and had lunch, went swimming, and floating in the oh-so-clear water. I saw these crazy coloured fish, mmmm, it's been QUITE the day.

mountain outreach

This morning all the new students were ready to go with Mordegai at 4:30am, that meant getting up at 4:25 for me..but i think some were up by 3:45! We crammed into the back of this little ..umm, i don't even know what this kinda truck is called, but it remINds me of those dinky cars we used to play with. A couple hours lAter we were on up in the mountains, and scaling down some muddy hill to visit someone for coffee (pft. i don't even LIKE coffee), after playing with their goats :) we climbed back up to hill and continued on into this village where the pastor had already told the ppl that 'doctors' were coming :S I have a lONG story about this day, but I'd rAther not post it for the world to read.. instead I'll show you some of the aMAZing sights I was blessed with today.
ON THE WAY UP..
playing with the baby goats <3.....
..administering amoxicillin to all the little children!
THIS. is the truck we rode up in..

..playing red rover ;)
Yaa, it lOOks like I did a lot from that one picture, but mostly I just kept the kids occupied while their parents were being treated. The horrible thing IS that I could not think of any games that didn't include violence! The first game I taught them (through an interpreter, of course) was Red Rover..mm, they got prEtty into it. so THEN we played freeze tag, that was a fun time. THEN it started to rain, so we took cover in this gazebo-type structure and played telephone (works wEll when you don't know the language...I start language class on tuesday) and also Stella-Ella-Ola, which was my favourite! It started rAINing just as we were about to leave, but Mordegai was staying the night and had set up for motorcycles to take us back down to the highway so we could catch a bus back into town.. I've been forced into the arms of a filipino alREAdy :S.. let me explain. They're were SEVEN of us girls, and TWO bikes - the larger three rode with one, and the smaller four rode with the Other - and I got the 'front seat' (ON THE TANK, in FRONT of the driver). No helmets, rain, mud, hills, and me clinging onto this stranger for my life! ahahha hokie smokes. it was NUTS!

they call me kEllY ;)

yaaaaa. today was a little NUTS! The girls and I were on our way to some mystery orientation destination whEN our jeepney broke down. The filipinos are sUPEr nice and a few of them starting helping us out. THATs when we noticed their karokE machine across the street! YEEEeeee. I sang American Pie aaand then, got up enough courage to sing Since You've Been Gone (my FAVourite, by Kelly Clarkson!) Things are RIdiculously chEAp here. It was 3 pesos to sing a song, which is $0.06 american dollars, CRAZY huh?! And, we all went out for Thai food yesterday - ELEVEN ppl ate for $40, when what like 2 ppl could eat for that at Sahla Thai. We had our orientation on 'the poor' this morning, which opened my eyes even more to what the heck these people go without. The crazy thing is they're ALways smiling, even if their completely broken inside. We have a long row of squatters just down the street from us, on the canal [picture below, just a couple of homes, taken from across the street]

and there MIGHT possIBLY be an opportunity to go live among them for 1-2 weeks, just for the experience, sleeping where they sleep, eating what they provide...sUper scary, but it would definetly change me...buuuut, i'll let ya know if that'll actually go through. Gary, one of the directors here, threw out some statistic like within some 1.2 square mile area, there are 16, 000 filipinos living. I know that I haven't even been exposed to 1/10th of what it must be like.

19 hOURs on a plane, and no thursday

I was definetly EXhaustEd by the time I arrived in my new city, Davao. FORtunately the guy at the ticket counter seemed to take a special interest in my needs, and therefore I had a window seat ALL 4 plane rides ;) It was pretty sweet. And the longest of them all (13 hours from Seattle to Taiwan) was the easiest of them all - I slept, ate a lot of seafood plane food, and watched a total of 3 movies, none of which were any good excEPt for Over the Hedge. I was totally overwhelmed when I arrived and was separated from my group (4 of the students now live in an apartment, and Tiffany&I live in the house just down the block). It was EASy when we were all new and shy, but moving into a room where ppl are already established, into a house where everyone knows everyone else (I moved in with students from past semesters), and into a ENtire country where I'm SUCH a minority (and, no, this culture doesn't mind stARing) eerrr, I wanted to come home. Saturday I awoke with a whole new perspective on things...sleep always clarifies things! aaand, even though I contact ppl from home as much as possible, I'm adjusting well. Ya, I definetly like it here. All of the 'send offs' were just so grEAt, you guys made me miss home before I even left! [thank you so much for that, by the way]. I still have orientation for the next week, but after that clinics begin along with my first assignment, but I'll try to keep you all posted on what's going on as much as I am able.

Orientation in Oregon

"..watching and waiting, looking above.
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.."

It's been a mere four days since I was introduced to my new friends/roommates/co-workers and we're already super tight! 'Orientation' turned out to be getting treated like rOYalty as we travelled Portland, hiked a mountainside [Nehahkani in Manzinita, OR] that looked over the Pacific [pic above, my classmates], and got just to know one another. I already completely respect and trust my teachers and the midwives I will be working under. I fly across the pond in about 8 hours from now and can not wait to be immersed into the filipino culture [more on thAt later!] I've been told that after a week of orientation in the Phils, my busy life as a midwife/student will commense. I will be assigned to a full day of pre-natal clinics, where the girls come around 7AM for a time of worship, then a devotional, then health class, followed by the one-on-one pre-natals! [cool huh!] I will also have 3 eight hour shifts working in the clinic, assisting whatever deliveries might be happening at that time PLUS be on-call for whenever the patients i see weekly for those pre-natals. I guess the Phils is the land of texting [Brianna, you'd fit right in!] so I will need a cell if I want to stay in the loop! Other than the clinical stuff, I am also expected to read one textbook per month, and do a report about it and also stay on top of my assignments due at different times throughout the semester (all self study). EEk! A whole new life, in a whole new place...this is crazy!

the first

check check 123...this is a first time blog! As of right now, it's t - 16 hours 'til I board the plane in Buffalo for a weeks orientation in Oregon. I will be meeting up with the rest of the students, doing a little bit of team building/some SIGHT-seeing. OH, and I haven't packed yet...the only thing in case as of right now are my scrubs :S