Monday, June 25, 2012


Hello friends and family!
I guess by now you are realizing I am becoming less reliable for updating my blog. I usually complete my blog on Sunday if all else fails, but yesterday I spent my free time talking to my parents on the phone! :) I really enjoyed talking to them, and our hour went fast. I spent my Sunday at Lake Volta. The day started out with downpours much of the two hour journey there, and when we arrived it was sprinkling. I experienced the first moment I ever have wanted a jacket in Ghana. Yes, I wanted a jacket! We took a few pictures, hopped in our car, and then looked for a resturaunt. We ended up finding a resturaunt, but it didn’t serve fresh tilapia and banku, so after our Malta we boarded the ferry across the lake. We didn’t realize that the ferry, which included large trucks full of yams and other produce and travelers, was going to travel so slowly. There were a couple of times I felt the urge to jump in and swim to shore because it would have been faster. One and a half hours later, we reached the other side. By then the sun was coming out so we got off, bought some boiled peanuts, and got right back on the other direction. It was kind of refreshing, and I am pretty sure I sang as many songs as I could think of in my head on the way back. After arriving back at the port, we went and had peanut soup with rice balls, goat, and salmon—it was extremely tasty! Then we ended the day on the shore of Lake Volta in search of fresh tilapia. Since the presence of obrunees leads to an increase in price we stayed behind from the incoming boat. The sunset was beautiful, and since it was market day we had a huge crowd of people staring at us. So Gretchen and I just kind of sat there and tried to communicate a little, but soon found they did not speak a lot of Twi, but rather another tribal language. The day was very nice, and I snapped some gorgeous pictures on the shore.
Now for my week—maternity!!!!!!!!! I would like to say that I witnessed plenty of births, but I only witnessed one live birth! Apparently babies don’t like showing up in the morning shift which is from 8 to 2 pm. They all come in the evening and during the night! In spite of this, the birth of a baby boy on June 19 was truly remarkable to watch. Women in Ghana do not get pain killers of any sort during labor, and she wasn’t really yelling either. She just would lay on the table and snap her fingers. I talked to her a little, but I had no words of wisdom besides reassurance that today was the day she would get to meet her little baby. Besides sitting in the consultations with the midwives, I would often assist Dr. Anim or Dr. Opuni with scans. Once I had made sure they paid the cashier their 7 GHCED I would write them in the log book, and input their data into the ultrasound machine for the doctor. Besides the usual of looking at position of the baby, heartbeat, and position of the placenta, we would measure the femurs and crown to get an estimated date of delivery. Then we would try our best to get a good look between the two femurs at the sex of the baby. In one scan, we found TWO heartbeats!! J I was excited, but the poor lady was in her first pregnancy, and I felt a little sorrow thinking of all of the extra work this would mean for first. We also had a scan in which we no longer saw anything in the uterus. Thankfully, we don’t tell the women these things, but send them to the midwives to explain the results. As for consultation, I took a lot of blood pressures and weights. In one instance I had a lady with a BP of 180/100, which is not necessarily a good thing. I thought I was mistaken to be having such a high BP, but the other nurses confirmed it, and she was treated for her condition. It also was a shocker to witness some of the young pregnancy cases. In one case, a teacher brought in a 15 year old junior high student, and we found she was two months pregnant. There were also a few more girls in their late teens, and some in their second pregnancy! The sad thing is that the unwanted pregnancies are often terminated by the mothers using a concoction of African herbs. The midwives said a great deal of the problem is the youth are not educated well on sex in school. Since they are not taught about it in school, some girls enter into it blindly only to find themselves pregnant at a young age. I came into work to find a 20 year old on the table. She had just aborted her five month old baby, and even though she claimed it to be spontaneous, the doctor was not convinced as he was having issues removing the placenta. In the end she confessed that she had taken some herbs, as the man who impregnated her was married, and he did not want the child. She said she was not ready to be a mother. As the doctor was attempting to manually remove the placenta, she reached for my hand (She had no anesthesia.). I was told I could not touch it, as it was covered in blood. I ended up holding her arm, and talking to her. My heart went out for this girl, but it was hard to see how she could abort the beautiful little baby now laying limp next to her. In spite of all of these things, I still love maternity. I cannot help but praise God when I think of how intricate each little baby is. I held onto the little babies whenever I had the chance, and before I leave I plan on taking lots of pictures with the little babies in the maternity ward.
This week I am in theatre. Today I witnessed a caesarean section, and I held the mom’s hand and brushed her head as I watched. I do not want one. Ever. The amount of tugging, and ripping did not look enjoyable. Theatre will be really interesting this week, but I won’t spoil my next blog by telling you about it now. :) 
Today five people from Pioneers came to the hospital. They were all students from Wheaton College, and they are teammates with my friend Janet, a fellow SOS member! It was fun to talk with them, and I was told I will probably see Janet soon too! Gretchen and I gave them a little tour, and they watched surgeries with us. They plan on coming tomorrow, too, so it should be fun. Today was market day, and I am really tired. I was going to tutor tonight, but no one was there so I headed back. Gretchen came back and told me they were coming now, but I think I am going to have to go to bed and come tomorrow night. Life is busy here, but prayers would be that I accomplish what God has in plan for me while I am here, and I continue to push myself out of my comfort zone. I hope you are all doing well, and that you are enjoying time with friends and family this summer.
Abby

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