OUtreach to Butay, Paquibato~

The 5am beLL calls the lucky few who might still be sleeping, after a night of confused roosters it's not hard to get uP at the crack of dawn! But who'd want to miss the sunrise in a place like this anyhow?! As the first few beams peek over the tallest mountain on the horizon, the clouds begin to quietly dissipate, revealing underneath a sea of mountaintops easily seen from the village of Butay. THe Manobo tribe might not have many pesos in their pockets, but they are mORE than rich with their surroundings in Creation.
We were fortunate enough to accompany a Foursquare Pastors' Retreat to the mountains 4 hours north of Davao City last week for a total of 5 days. Not only doing prenatals and countless baby, children, and well woman check-ups, our team of 3 nurse-midwives, and myself were able to witness a little of how praise&worship happens in Butay and the surrounding tribes. One word to sum it up: CONstant.

Pictures to the left detail the common way to carry a baby around by tying a malong (like a thin sleeping bag with the bottom open);

Shelling rice by pounding it with an oversized mortar and pestle- ya, they were laughing at me;

Erika, a 6yr old washing her families dishes (like a pro, i might add) at one of the 2 water sources (a black pipe running from a spring higher up) in the village;

More check-ups;

and church pews (one of the only times the church was empty).

There are tOO many pics to post them all. And tOO much more to say about the experience. Just know that I am back in Davao, safe in the orange house and back working at Mercy.

I BOOKED MY FLIGHT HOME! For December 23rd...and would love to recount more of the tale in person in the new year ;p

hOUSE fIRE devastates 1st Opal/Dacudao

It was a normal swing shift (2pm-10pm) that day, one immediate postpartum settled in and stable, and another 2 labouring women- one of which was my responsibility. Nowadays, I give most of my "responsibility" to Brianna, while I oversee her work in the birthroom! She was in with our girL monitoring contractions when I went home quickly to get a pot from our house (to cook our dinner in).

As I'm unlocking the gate to our house I notice some commotion a just down the street, on the corner at Dacudao...as my eyes started to make my brain understand what the heCK is going on, my legs started running toward the screams...and toward the heat. Just two houses down on Dacudao, a house had caught fire and already up in flames at this point. I tried calling 911 but the automated voice operator just kept telling me to dial 117..?! But 117 isn't an emergency number! I was frustrated, to say the leasT. The flames reached the electrical wires, and the power went out. It was around 7pm, and just like that all was dark on 1st Opal, except for the flames that continue to reach higher and higher, as it spread our way to the second floor of another house. It sucks because the houses are primarily made of wood, and they're packed in so tightly...

I always thought that, when faced with a fire like that i'd do what ANYONE in the movies does- run in, save a cat or maybe a baby, come out with smoke and flames behind me looking like I just stepped off the red carpet... (just a little comic relief in the midst of this not-so-nice post). But it didn't exactly work like that. And I was angry. I couldn't do ANYthing. I was helpless. I only watched as the fire consumed more and more of my neighbours homes. SOMEone must have reached 911 because the firefighters did arrive. As you can see in the one pic- in a big coat, shorts, and flip-flops =) I love this country!!

Back at the clinic, our patients had evacuated Mercy, and been transported to another location and Matt and Krys had already been in our house grabbing up laptops and other such valuables, in case the fire couldn't be contained...(funny how NONE of these actions ran through my head as a good idea, i just bolted to the fire, but wasn't really needed there either =S). People were watching in horror, with tears in their eyes as the fire creeped closer to their own homes. Moms were wailing, guys were lugging tvs and other such belongings out of their house just in case. blahhh, it was awfuL to witness. The firefighters worked well and got the fire under control before any done damage was done. Afterwards, people just sat on the adjacent curb staring in disbelief, wondering what to do now, etc. It started pouring rain around 9pm (where was thAT when the fire called?!), i don't know where those people went at that point...hopefully some place dry.

Neonatal Resuscitation Classes

Krys flew in a DR from the states to teach us NRP (neonatal resuscitation procedures) this week. Here, Brianna provides PPV (positive-pressure ventilation) to the baby, as the assist, Beth, stands by for regular heart rate checks, as well as to assist in chest compressions if the heart rate drops below 60 bpm. Another classmate, Sarah, looks on as the examiner gives updates on the status of the baby, answers questions, and corrects procedure.

AND! FOr those of you who've been asking for an updated pic of the currently bUNtis (preggo) supervisor, Ate Estef (hOW beautiful is she?! and bIG! hapit na, ceguro..).

Tomorrow is yet another prenatal outreacH to Samal Island, Penaplata. Beth, Sabrina, and Shelley are accompanying me on the excursion... it should be a good time, as always! And, I'm jealous of everyone at home experiencing true "october" weather. Even though I love the fact that i can still make use of the pool just around the corner from our house! Much love <3

HAPPY Birthday to youuu..

I was able to the wed.sept.24th oFF for the both of us (unknowingly to bk) and we hIT Canibad Beach- a remote resort on the other side of Samal Island. There was only 2 others on the beach at that night, and of course, our night watchman who put a kerosene lantern under a palm near where we slept in our hammocks as a night light (super sweet!). This pic is of us on the ferry, crossing to the island. We just spent a lot of time floatinggg in the water, reminiscing slash remembering certain people (family and friends)...mmm, sUCH a good time!

We arrived just after lunch in time for Brianna's language class, and then went out for dinner at the Swiss Deli. The girls made maNGO FLOat for dessert, and then we were able to connect with ma on skype so she could watch brie open the package she sent in the maIL. YEAH, chocolate! hahaa thEN we hung with some filipino friends, which is ALways a good time. So here is to BRianna- now 21 and aLL grown up teaching gIRLs how to handle pregnancies, labours, and deliveries! WHere does the time go... lOVE ya sis <3

YES! We are alive!! AS always, though, LIFE gets in the way of blogging..

Brianna's actually hard at work right now (in language class) but I'm certain she'll have something to say when she gets home..although, it could be in a different language! So many new and exciting things are happening around here, it's hard to keep up with everything. Not only do I have more than 5 (that I can remember) patients ready to begin their labour at this time, our neonatal resuscitation course is coming up next week. I've been preparing for that one, as well as the class that I will tEACH! Yes! I've been asked to teach the A&P (anatomy and physiology) class to both classes. How exciting is that?! Actually, it'll be pretty easy because the last teacher did such an excellent job on powerpoint presentations, questions/answers, activities, and exams that anyone could teach it. But, i'm throwing in a few things, making it as exciting as learning about our bodies sHOULD be! I'm looking forward to starting classes...they'll start the end of October, for 2 weeks.

The PREnatal OUTreach to Paquibato is fast approaching, also! And preparations are basically finished. THe team from Mercy consists of myself, Medea (2nd yr NISM, RN), Beatrice (1st yr NISM, RN), and Sabrina (intern midwife from the states here for 2 months). We've stocked up on iron supplements for the women out in the mountains, plus have ample paracetamol, cough syrup, and mabendazole (de-wormer) for the children. We head out early morning October 8 and will return Sunday afternoon, October 12, 2008. During this 5-day retreat, we will perform regular prenatal exams, plus routine check-ups for both mother and child/baby. We're are going in association with the Foursquare I work with on thursdays (Agdao Clinic). The church will be having a pastor's conference while we focus on health exams and education. Also, YWAM is sending just under 10 people, some from Davao, and some just here on a missions trip from the states, to help in ministering both the children and the adults of the tribes. THEREfore, a lot (as in a lot) is happening on this outreach...i'm so looking forward to getting out of the city, being able to sleep at 8, wake up at dawn, bathe in the river, etc...and aLSO to meet the families out there! PLease be in prayer for this- for safety, and fun, and the chance to make a difference somehOW.

Let's see...wHAT ELSE?! hahaha, it's BK's 21st BDAY on WED!! YEEEE...more on thaT later, i'm sure there will be a pic or two ;p
Also, there's a cross-channel swim again on Saturday. I've done this twice before, we swim from the mainland of Davao, across the channel, to the island of Samal. Hopefully, there'll be no itchy rashes this time round!!

BK @ work.. BK @ prenatals.. BK & assignmentS!

And this adorable little (17 year old) filipino is my most current continuity, ALmost ready to POP! I'm very excited for her birth- it's her first baby!

And as the AGDAO Prenatal Clinic continues,

the Lord continues to bless the ministry with new patients every thursday, as weLL as some old patients coming back for a visit to the MIDwife! This past thursday was such a great prenatal day in Agdao. One of my past patients bought her son, of which whom I delivered AND named (a tribute to my brother <3), she and Rob came for a visit today because she's friends with one of the patients i'm caring for at the moment. The little 6 month old boy in the pictures below is a living testimony of how Mercy Mat works in the lives of women here in Davao. The newborn baby bOY pictured below (Elijah Micah) is my most recent "catch", born last Sunday, his mom was coming here thursday mornings for prenatals, and is also a member of the Foursquare church we hold the clinic in. His father missed their first child being born at the public hospital, and was mORE than overjoyed when he was able to participate in the birth of their newest son! It was amazing to witness (he cried as the the baby came out)!!
























BRIE: yesterday was my first birth room shift. there was one labour but after she had been there for 10ish hours and nothing was progressing except for the fetal heart tone and the mothers b.p. She was transferred to the hospital.

the firsts continUE!...

I think it's much nicer blogging about others...somehow, their activities are more exciting to write about than my own! Although, today's blog is about both of us (again!). It was bk's first day doing prenatals...she's on our team for prenatals and will therefore be working every wednesday morning with us as we see hundreds of patients for prenatal care. She was shadowing ME today, and caught on real quick! I hardly had to re-check fundal heights and fetal positions/FHTs by the end of the morning she was doing so well!

We saw some needy patients. One with a traumatic c/s experience her first baby, she's 23 and scared to death of needing another c/s this time around. She started crying as I explained we weren't able to deliver her baby at Mercy, but I assured her I'd go w to the hospital and make sure she's taken care of! Another woman started tearing as we talked about her husband (of 7 kids already) and his recent drinking habits. It's sad, but I like encountering these types of situations because it reminds you we're really needed here, and we're making a difference in these women's lives. Brianna also got to meet my 17 yr old continuity, LynLyn - who is so stinkin' sweet it kills me! I'm excited for her very first birth experience, and she's due Oct.4th.

Brianna wOULd have had sOmething to say (i'm sure...char) but ah she just ran outta here late for her language class! So sorry about her absence in this post...maybe next time. Love to you all.

Brianna's class on taking VITALS!

JENNA: Vitally important to health care and assessing a person's status are CHECKING VITAL SIGNS! Here are a few pictures of Brianna's class aLL about pulse, respirations, and blood pressure. I'm working swing this afternoon/evening and i thiNK brianna's going out with my friends while i'm at work! hahaa, that's great. LOIS and I are on today- it should be a good shift, the clinic has been super busy the past couple of days. We expanded slightly, and moved the postpartum area (resting after birth) to another room.

BRIE: i dont know what im supposed to hear (in regards to taking bps)..... i learned on jenna how to prick fingers to test for anemia her blood has a hematocrit of 42% (very healthy)(and thEN she proceeded to prick 15 clients!). and how to type up birth certificates (that was yesterday, shadowing Ate Bebing, the clerk who types up and registers all the birth certificates, huGE job!).

(the phrases in the brackets is me, Jenna) hahaa

A little "formal" affair maRKs the beginning of be-autifuL friendships (as brianna begins to steaL all my friends! ahahaa). Yesterday night we went out to Insular Hotel to a restaurant down the pier and on the water for PGEn's birthday dinner. Brianna's input for this blog would be the following direct quote- "in Canada we call it micky D's oooooor (long pause)... micky D's." HAHAA, we went to McDonalds after the amazing dinner and Brianna was confused not knowing what mc doe was (because that's what they call micky d's hERE). Anyways, the confusion, fun, and laughter grow as each day is fuLL of it's own novelties. And, i'm working on Brie to take over this blog once my time here is done (one sentence will have to suffice for now).

with LOVE from us <3

Brianna's arrivaL!

SHe's HERE!! August 15 at approx. 3:20 BK landed in Davao with 10 of her classmates...and we were all eagerly waiting their arrival at the airporT! She's safe and sound. And we're having sUCh a good time hanging out, introducing her to people and places, and new foods. Thank you aLL so very much for your prayers..AND!
Another cool and exciting thing happened Aug.15 also - my continuity Imelda Revilla (nickname Ting2x) came in and had her baby (GIRL) at 1:14pm. It was a very normal birth...nothing special or exciting happened like an IV or hemorrhage (praise the Lord) but it WAS my HUNDREDTH CATCH! Yes! I've officially caught 100 babies since starting to handle last Dec.7, 2006. What an honour it's been...

The first (tWO) Agdao delIVERIES! -all the in sAME morninG!

I got a miscall from the clinic Tuesday Aug.12 at 4am, because Rubelle Villa (nickname Ling-Ling) a 22 yr. old patient from the Agdao prenatal outreach was in active labour. She was fully! and ready to push...it actually wasn't too hard/long a labour considering it was her first baby. At 5:52am she was deLIGHTed to be holding her very first, baby gIRL! named Shem Villa. Ling2x had to be sutured, and just as i was finishing that up...

Abigail Ladaran (aka Gail) waddles into Mercy in active labour! The second Agdao prenatal patient to grace a Mercy bed. A 25 yr. old single mom, she had her mom there to help with the labour and delivery which, again, wasn't at aLL hard for being her first time! We welcomed Henk Ave Ladaran at 10:04am. She too had a slight tear needing a few stitches. GOODness! I finished all the after care and discharged all by 4:30pm! WHAT a blESSED day =)


These 2 pictures were taken in Agdao, at the Foursquare Church where we do prenatals each week...this is the 2nd day baby check up, and i'm gLAD to report that all is well.

UPdate -

Mercy Maternity CLinic, and all who volunteer/work there, successfully delivered ONE HUNDRED and FORTY-ONE babies for the month of July! Our numbers usually exceed 100 in this area, but an extra baby a day really makes a difference! Personally, I caught 8 of those... and as of right now i'm 1/3 finished the posts-grad requirements laid out by Ryerson (and it's oNLY the beginning of august!!).

Things are also well underway for the new students - the house beside us is empty, and ready for half of the students to move over/in. THe ground floor of the clinic is even being re-vamped to accommodate mORE patients! THings are super exciting. We've got an amazing missionary (Cathy) here right now for a few months as an intern, a PA from the states who has been working for 2 years in Sudan with her husband on medical missions, education, etc. She's teaching us primary health care that is very beneficial. Last weekend's outreach to Penaplata, Samal went very well. There's one girl due in a months time. And Cathy was able to come with me to do regular check-ups for anyone who needed and one of my very best filipino friends came and ended up translating for Cathy (suCH a blessing!). Agdao prenatal clinic is still going strong, and i'm enjoying it more and more as relationships are formed and the atmosphere becomes more comfortable and inviting rather than strange, new, and even a little awkward! The outreach to Talikud is scheduled for august 16 - the day after Brianna arrives!! - I haven't been to that specific one before, I had to miss the first one, so am excited to go meet the pregnant girls on tHAT island, too! It sounds busy, but because I don't have homework/assignments/studying weighing me down, I actually have a lot of free time to read or hang out, etc.

The Agdao "BUNtis" Party!!

"Buntis" means pregnant in Visayan. And thIS morning we organized a party for the patients of the Agdao Clinic - it went SO SO well! Out of the 17 patients I've taken on as continuities, 15 showed up and 3 of them were also able to bring their husbands/bfs. This party was a reason to get these girls together for a morning to really inform them about pregnancy, labour, and delivery, and especially, what this looks like at Mercy Mat. They miss out on the regularly scheduled health teachings done at Mercy, so we invited guest speakers (supervisors and students alike from Mercy) to come and share their knowledge of family planning, nutrition, labour and delivery, postpartum, and what to expect when they actually come to deliver at Mercy. We were able to serve pancit bihon (a fav fil party food) and rice, compliments of Krys and Mercy's cook Ate Lori. Also, the YWAMmers that help out every thursday brought and grilled fish.. the whole morning was just amazing. My favourite part was afterwards though, when - after a morning of conjured up awkwardness - they all flOOD to where Lois and I are sitting with smiles of recognition to ask personal questions about their pregnancy or hand in their required labworks and the chaos of it all and the girls calling me miss jenna or ate jenna or maam and Lois doing most of the work while i just sit there and marvEL at it all... ahhh man. It's just great!

mga cONTinuities.. =S

Since July 3rd I've had not one, not tWO, not thREE, but fOUR continuities deliver!! THe latter three have actually been in the past 3 days!! CRAZINESS.

The first delivered July 3 @ 12:30am - taken on as a continuity because I had already done a random 4 prenatals on her, and thought it must be fate (char). THIS one took the longest, and tested my patience...although her vitals were always so good and normal, she was only progressing at about 1cm every 3 hours. GOOdness! I spent over 20 hours straight with her at the clinic, starting at 8:45am in the morning, seeing 2 shifts of midwives come and go, and fINally on nightshift, and with a little encouragement and mORE than a little help from CS, her second baby boy came out at 2:30am very normally. Her last birth ended in an episiotomy, which split open this time, but other than that, a very normal, uncomplicated birth!

The second delivered July 19 @ 3:05pm - taken on as a continuity at 9 months because her husband, who happened to be my motorcycle driver that day asked if she could deliver at Mercy. She'd been prenatal care elsewhere, but was so thankful to be allowed to deliver her baby girl at Mercy! It was a thE best birth I've seen for a primigravida - so smooth, and fast, and easy.

THe third delivered July 21 @ 12:36pm - taken on as a continuity because she was Allison's cont last pregnancy, plus was scheduled for EPO (something to naturally stimulate labour) on July 22 because she was postdates. BUT, praise the Lord, EPO wasn't needed, labour started spontaneously, and went as fast as the last time (hahaa, supposedly AR had mentioned something about not being sutured the first time, and therefore her pwerta was big enough to facilitate a very fast birth! She was very proud of this fact and told me upon admission). Her third baby boy was born a fighter, with great APGAR scores and whatnot.

The fOURth delivered July 22 @ 2:42am - taken on as a continuity because she dazzled me early on in prenatals (and she has the same name as one particularly dear to my heart, aND the last name of a friend here in the phils - I wanted to ask if it was a relative of some sort (it wasn't)). Michelle delivered her first baby girl after a night of praying she wouldn't need to be transported due to fetal tachycardia and borderline high bp. She opened at a rate of 2cm per hour - twice as fast as normal - and pushed like a champ. So much so, that she had a third degree tear, and we ALmost transported the suturing, but dear Ate Susan came on shift jUST in time to stitch her up. What a great night!! Michelle (pictured above) is such a sweetheart!

The right words...

can never be adequately expressed thru words spoken or words written. How can one ever say goodbye to a lifE so unknown at first and yet created and sustained merely through the relationships of strangers turned frienD? I can't really think about it, without a dark shadow settling over my head with, dare i say, a few rain clouds in and amongst. These girlS have shared this experience with me- together w the uncertainties and fears, lumps and bumps, hurdles as well as successes...2 years is more than enough time to get to know a person, especially when you're living together. But now they're gone (well, 3 out of the 6) and life in the philippines will never be the same again. These girls are now, and will forever be my friends slash co-workers slash sisters. To the above mentioned, please grasp the true amount of bonding bonding that has happened here, and always remember NISM'08 (hOW could you nOt, right ;p). And to enD- one thing you'll nEVER miss about the pilipines, the inevitability of public urination!! haahaha char. i love you aLL.

HAPPIEST EVER 1st birthday dear Alexis Joy Patricia Konkle~~

there's NO good way to celebrate your life thus far when I'm thIS far away... anything and everything I come up with to send you pales in comparison to the actual tIME I wish I could give you - time spent just hanging out, getting to know each other, building relationship [blahh, i'm going to make myself cRY!] I didn't even feel like calling, like I can do with so many other ppl's birthdays, because you can't hardly speak! Just know that I'm thinking of you, and love you.

FIL Supervisor Appreciation Night!

Last night we prepared tortillas plus all the toppings for burritos, and served the supervisors that have welcomed us, put UP with us, taught us, and affirmed what we know in the BIRTHroom over the past two years. There is really NO adequate way to repay them, or express to them just how much they've given us - not including their laughs and friendship that has made it all that much more special.

After dinner we let them relax and watch a slideshow of all the pics accumulated over the past couple of years (it was a loooong slideshow, and a gREAT conversation piece ;p) WHILE we gave them foot masssages, did a foot spa and pedicures for them! hahaaa, they lOVEd it! It was so fun to watch their faces, and hear their expressions as we worked! If I were leaving soon, i DEFinitely would have cried...gOOD thing I'm staying on for a few more months, which will probably only make it harder to leave but..

ESTILLES, Amelita

- 41 year old
- G11P10L7 (this is now her 11th pregnancy, she's given birth to 10 children (aka no miscarriages), 7 children are still living)
- Due date is toDAY! (the baby is now 40 weeks)
- She has zero labwork completed (a requirement to delivery at Mercy)
- She has a 27 HCT (dangerously low, and indicates anemia)
- She's been experiencing false labour already...promises to bring her lab results in tomorrow and will take the iron supplements I gave her this morning. She hasn't come for prenatals since her first visit, and nOW she's in danger of not being sufficiently prepared, being too unhealthy, and/or being transported for any of the above! She needs prayer!

Someone who has had thIS many babies is already at risk for so much in labour and delivery, including hemorrhage, which can be controlled, but the ramifications of such blood loss with her already depleted system - goodness. I'll admit I'm scared to be called-in for her delivery..

OTHerwise, she's SUCh an amazing lady - the kind who demands the attention of an entire room because she's had so much life experience and is exploding with joy to tell someone (and everyone) about it! She speaks visayan a million miles a minute, even though she knows i'll understand her more thoroughly if she speaks slower...she's just too excited, and has sO much to say she has trouble getting it all out at once!

Please remember her today and in the near future, and hopefully there won't be any complication in labour and delivery and postpartum.

The week AFter graduation:

Just to give you a little TASte of why I haven't been updating blogs, or answering emails, or writing letters (LIKE I have ever sent much snail mail before but) thIS week was nUTS! I don't think I spent more than an hour at a time at home this entire week =(
MONday - Grad
TUESday - newborn screening training and "appts" in the afternoon
WEDnesday - prenatal clinic, plUS had a continuity in labour (pictured above)(w her for 18 hrs at the clinic- starting at 8:45 through dayshift and swingshift and she FINally delivered at 2:30am- we're into THURSday now).. slept for 3 hours and then had
THURSday - Agdao prenatal clinic, shopping, goodbye dinner/evening for Kuki (going back to Singapore)
FRIday - dayshift, caught another baby, cooked for a goodbye party for kAYE (going to Japan), hAD the goodbye party
SATurday - Samal PREnatal OUTreach (a new venture I'm more than a little excited about), went paintballing, thEN had nightshift
SUNday - caught another baby (end of nightshift - that makes 3 babies in 4 days..), met ppl at the mall for lunch, hung out, bought a wATCh (yes, mom!! I found one!), and just got home around 9. I should go to bed...