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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