The Miraculous Power of God

Dec. 28, 2008
Part of my reason for this trip to the Philippines was to volunteer for a week at a birthing clinic for the poorest of the poor. It is run by a British midwife and four Filipina midwives who are all superheroes in my book! I didn't have internet access there, so I'll spread these posts out, but I wrote them while at the clinic...They are detailed, but a very certain someone told me to make them as detailed as I could. ;-)

Day 1, 2, & 3 at birthing clinic (Shalom Christian Bahay Pa-anakan)It’s a known fact for all doctors, nurses, and midwives: when the day is slow, the night will be chaotic. Yesterday I had lots of opportunities to nap, read, study, and laze around. We had one delivery at 7am, about 15 post-natal check-ups with absolutely adorable kiddos, but for the most part things were quiet. We did have one 24 year-old (let’s call her Marilou), who started true labor at 1:30pm. She was here with her boyfriend. Her story is so very sad. She is the mistress of a 40 year-old construction worker and lives with his wife and their five kids. She is pregnant with her first. We knew this would be a very long labor.

Then it all broke loose. The day midwife left at 5pm and the night midwife arrived at 7pm. Immediately 4 women showed up at the door. One was in active labor, two had urinary tract infections (UTIs), which can cause contraction-like pain, and one was in very early labor. We sent the two suspected patients w/ UTIs to the lab to verify our suspicions, we sent the early laboring mom home, and admitted the active laborer. As soon as we got her situated on a cot on the floor, we had two more show up in active labor. They were also admitted and placed on two more cots. This was all before 8pm. The night midwife and I placed our guesses on the time of deliveries and we prepared ourselves for a very busy night ahead. Good thing I’d had my naps!

The two UTIs came back positive so they were given meds and sent home. I went into our room to take a nap while I still could. Right around 10pm, I was awakened by the midwife yelling for me. I ran out just in time to see the baby slip out and grabbed the bulb to begin suctioning the goop out of its mouth. I placed the baby on the mom’s skin to keep the temp steady (we call this skin-to-skin) and continued to monitor the baby and assist the midwife with the placenta removal and inspection. While the midwife was cleaning up the mom, I took the baby, replaced the Kelly clamps with the umbilical clamp, gave it a bath, and dressed and bundled it up. We got the Mom and baby settled back on the cot on the floor. Both the midwife and I went back to bed. (picture to left is of a new family. Lady in orange is another of the midwives)

At 11:30 I heard a frantic, “Ma’am! Ma’am!” I woke up the midwife and she ran out to see what was up. Minutes later I heard my name again. The mom was up in the stirrups and a baby was slipping out. We didn’t even have our instruments yet. I ran and got them out of the sterile water and did the same thing all over again with Mom #2. I started giving the baby a bath while the midwife gave Baby #1 it’s Vitamin K shot. Right as I was lathering up Baby #2’s hair, the Mom #3 and dad on the cot less than two feet from me started yelping. I looked down and saw the dad pulling down the underwear with the baby slipping out. This was her second kid…but she had been 2cm just 2 hours before!!! The baby had the cord TIGHTLY wrapped around its neck two times. I placed Baby #1 in his dad’s arms and called the midwife urgently and she came over. The baby was very, very blue and not breathing at all because of asphyxiation. I grabbed the sterile suction, clamps, and scissors and we went to work. After 60 seconds the baby took a breath but held it. I grabbed the ambu-bag and we started manually breathing for it, but we couldn’t get the mouth open. After three minutes we called the head midwife (a British midwife who runs the clinic) from her bed. We grabbed the oxygen tank and transferred the baby to the counter under a lamp. I knew there were enough people working on the kid and the most important thing I could do was pray. I sat on my bed, bowed my head, and just started pleading. Seven minutes passed with no breaths – the longest a baby can go with no brain damage. Finally after ten minutes I heard the sweetest sound I have ever heard…the tiniest little squeak. I got up and went out to help if I could. I took over for the midwife and held the little simple mask with 7L oxygen flowing over the nose and mouth while rubbing the baby’s back. Slowly, the baby pinked up. After 20 minutes it gave it’s first real cry. PRAISE GOD! (picture of me above is with the baby and parents)

If the mom hadn’t delivered the baby so fast, the baby would have been stillborn. The baby was supposedly overdue and had an extremely small amount of amniotic fluid. Even still, it only weighed 4lbs 10oz.! Later when the two midwives and I talked about it, we all agreed that we had thought the baby wouldn’t make it. We were already thinking how to deal with a dead baby. Without a doubt this was a miracle of God! Here we are, at a rather primitive birthing clinic for the poor…we don’t have a crash cart, means to intubate the baby and such, but it still lived. The baby didn’t breath for at least 10 minutes! Please pray with me that this little boy does not have any lasting brain damage. We didn’t see any signs of it when we sent the family home today, but sometimes it takes a while to manifest. (Picture to right is with the baby, midwife on left, older sister of baby on right)

We had one more normal delivery at around 4am and had two more laboring women. Remember Marilou? It’s now 12:30pm the next day and she’s just started pushing… (to the left)

Merry Christmas!

When you get older, Christmas is always different. One sibling might be with his wife's family, my parents are probably overseas, and if I go overseas, NO siblings are there... Traditions are just memories and giving really becomes more blessed than receiving. But this is a good thing...it's a phase of life.I had a wonderful 2008 Christmas! It was Mom, Dad, Adam (short-termer working on video productions), and me. I was so excited for everyone else's gifts! The family and I got my folks a brand-spanking new digital camera, something they asked for. Adam's parents had sent over his childhood stocking with me (see vid), as well as some cards and other goodies while my parents loaded him with inside joke gifts. I got a lovely wooden salad bowl set (which I asked for) and some kids books by one of my favorite authors. Love it.


In about an hour I'm heading out for 6 days to the midwife's clinic. I'm absolutely stoked! It will be fun to help out now that I'm a nurse! (nearly.) I'm not sure what my internet connection will be (probably nil), so I will blog off-line and post a ton when I have access again.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, full of God's peace that passes all understanding. May your hearts be filled with joy and delight no matter where you are.

Merry Christmas!

I am a nurse!

Last Saturday was the Pinning Ceremony for my school...which means that according to the school, I am now a nurse! All I need is the "registered" part in front of my title, which means taking that lovely little test.
The ceremony was beautiful. I had been voted by my class to be one of the two student speakers, which was a huge honor. I woke up early Saturday morning and wrote my speech while lying on the couch with a cup of coffee. I reread it and thought, "It's ok, but it's the best I can do under the circumstances." Well, to my utter shock and surprise, I started weeping during the speech! How embarrassing!!! I had no idea I'd get so emotional. I felt better when I finished and looked at my class behind me and a good number of them were also weepy and wiping tears off their faces. Whew!
Afterwards my family and friends took me out to a lovely Mexican restaurant to celebrate. Then it was a race to get home and pack for my flight in less than 12 hours! I managed to finish and get 6 hours of sleep... Next morning we took off for the airport.
As soon as I arrived I was asked if I was going to Tokyo and was then herded into a long line. THREE HOURS later I was finally at the ticket desk. I have never seen such appalling human behavior than I did during those three hours. There were people literally yelling at each other. A man in business class was irate that he had to wait 45 minutes in line. "I PAID more money than these people so that I could skip the line and wait for my flight in the lounge! I am going to sue!" The problem was that because the flight to Japan was delayed for 3 hours, we were all going to miss our connecting flights in Tokyo, so the agents were having to rebook every single passenger with a continuing flight. I thought I wouldn't have a problem because my flight continued on to Manila, the flight number and aircraft were the same. Think again. They were switching planes in Tokyo and they were not holding our flight. So I was told I would be put up in a hotel in Tokyo and fly to Manila the next day. My luggage was labeled and marked.
When we got to Tokyo, they HAD held our flight so we rushed to the next gate. I talked with the agent because my ticket had already been rebooked and I did not have a seat on the flight. After much confusion, they got me on the flight and I asked many, many time for them to make sure my luggage followed. When I got to Manila, it wasn't there. So I'm still waiting for my luggage that was on the next flight. Hopefully they'll deliver it today! It has everything in it!
It has been so lovely being back here. I walked into one of my favorite malls after 4 years and while some stores have changed or been remodeled, it's still the same. I automatically switched into this language. When I approach a Filipino, I don't even think to speak English, even though they most likely understand it. I am so excited to be spending a month here. God is good.
So, please pray I'll get my luggage today. I'd really like to be able to wear more than just my pajamas and flight clothes...not to mention all the Christmas presents that are in the suitcases...and Christmas is tomorrow!

Lift-Off!

I'm DONE!!! Now all that is left is the formality of the Pinning Ceremony (...oops, I still need to write my speech for that). But all the papers, exams, projects, etc..., are turned in and done with. I've washed my hands of them. I have survived nursing school!

To be honest, it felt weird to be going through finals. Here I am, 3 years out of undergrad, and I'm STILL taking finals. Everyone else who is taking finals is on average 5 years younger than me. I should be done...oh well, embrace the "young" feeling while I can. I'm sure that someday soon I'll be begging for this feeling!

All that stands between me and that title of Registered Nurse is a pesky little test called (Jaw soundtrack, please) the National Certification and Licensure Examination, aka: the Boards. I've heard that it's actually not that bad and the school has paid for all of us to go through a review course. Luckily, I will be doing mine online in shorts, a tank top, flip-flops, while munching on fresh mangoes.

The next two days are going to be crazy busy: buying all the items on my folks' wishlist (which involves going to 3-4 stores), picking up items from church for missionaries, last minute shopping for stuff I can't get over there, getting my TB test read, packing as lightly as possible, celebrating our graduations with Melissa, Prayer Brunch, Pinning Ceremony, and take-off. Oh, and I have to sleep somewhere in that mix.

Thank you all for your prayers to get me through thus far! WE did it!

(for this season) "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Tim 4:7

What I Love About Christmas

I made this list a long time ago...and it still holds true.What I love about Christmas:

100. trimming our tree
99. drinking hot cocoa (even when sweating in the Philippines)
98. Typhoon Season
97. No school
96. Candlelight 11pm communion service on Christmas Eve
95. then coming home and eating eggnog pie with friends
94. sleeping in
93. ham
92. scalloped potatos
91. crazy uncles
90. crazy brothers
89. unbuttoning pants after the meal
88. decorating hundreds of cookies with paintbrushes
87. giving them away
86. eating the leftovers
85. eating the raw dough
84. making the other 100 types of cookies
83. the fact you're still reading this
82. candy canes that I never eat but always admire
81. Christmas concerts
80. Christmas music
79. Handel's Messiah
78. a time when everyone loves classical music
77. mom's candy cane bread
76. vacations at the beach on Puerto Galera
75. advent on Sunday nights as a family
74. dad reading the Christmas story
73. are you still reading this?
72. singing "All I Want For Christmas Is You" with the roommies at the top of our lungs
71. Christmas parties with 'the gang'
70. shopping for others
69. watching people open carefully thought-out gifts
68. secret santas
67. hiding presents before Christmas
66. trying to find where mom hid mine
65. While You Were Sleeping
64. White Christmas
63. bending pine needles and breathing the scent in
62. hugs
61. wrapping presents
60. lighting candles
59. untangleing twinkle lights
58. stringing garland on the banisters
57. stockings hung with care
56. opening the stocking on Christmas morning
55. laughing at last year's christmas morning bed-head pix
54. laughing at any pictures from the past
53. crazy malls with the decorations
52. driving around looking at all the lights
51. hearing the fireworks start going off on Dec. 1st by the neighborhood drunks
50. then realizing it was a coup attempt by the rebels to overthrow the government
49. which meant no school for a week
48. nativity scenes
47. 4 hours of daylight in Sweden
46. fika in Sweden
45. crazy cousins in Sweden
44. those occassional Christmases spent with Mom and Dad now that I'm grown
43. realizing I'm over half-way done with this list!!
42. Why-oh-why did I start at 100?
41. snuggling up in blankets
40. making snow angels
39. playing in the mounds of wrapping paper after opening our gifts
38. realizing that was more fun that half the presents I got
37. but still loving what I got
36. unwrapping the melted gum balls GrandE sent me from the US
35. finding that the ants beat me to the gum balls
34. learning how to braid on My Little Ponies
33. getting my pet mice from my brothers
32. learning how to torture the poor things
31. then saying, "But they LIKE it, mom!"
30. going around to other people in our mission and carolling as a family
29. those awkward mission Christmas parties
28. Uncle Doug terrifying me by saying all little girls grow up to be boys and vice versa
27. watching Dad break his tail bone while showing us how to REALLY sled
26. yup, we didn't try it after that...
25. freezing by the fireplace while my cousins tried to convince me that skiing is fun
24. fruitcake...I know, I'm weird
23. getting sick from all the sugar
22. singing Christmas hymns in church with the organ
21. I'm almost done!
20. shouting so my grandparents can hear me
19. babysitting my cousins
18. hearing my grandfather ask when I'll ever get a boyfriend
17. and promising to introduce him when I find 'the one'
16. the smell of grandma's house before they moved
15. city decorations up in September
14. down in August
13. coming home from church at midnight on Cmas Eve and realizing it really does only take 15 minutes to get home when there's no traffic...instead of the usual hour and a half
12. tying bells around the poor dog's neck
11. and throw on that santa hat, too
10. tasting snowflakes
9. stepping into a warm house from the cold
8. fireplaces that roar
7. and burning my butt from standing too close
6. peppermint mochas at Starbucks
5. homemade gingerbread cake
4. gingerbread houses that never get built because we eat it first
3. Christmas ornaments
2. laughing out loud
1. you...because you read the whole thing!

Rain and Christmas Parties

Today I am stuck at home...I got all ready to go to the hospital: iced the Christmas bread for my preceptor, printed out the final evaluation forms, the paper, dug through the closet to find my umbrella, and bundled up for the cold wetness. But see, here's the thing - I grew up driving in rain...Southern Californians do not! I don't understand it!!! Slow down, keep a light hand on the wheel, keep a good distance between you and the car in front, and you'll be fine. But NOOOOO...there were three accidents before the halfway point to my destination! I turned around and came back home. It took 20 tries to close the stupid garage door. Really? When it rains, there's a short in the system? Oh well...I'll just stay home and listen to more Christmas music and start studying for my finals. I could think of worse places to be stuck. :-)

Every year, my nearest and dearest friends get together for a Christmas gift exchange. We started in 2001 during our freshman year at Biola and haven't missed a year since! We decided to change things up a bit this year and exchange board games... Kristi was EXTREMELY proud of her game!

Bobby came this year!...and ruined my picture, again. Shocking, I know. And here's the group in 2001... ...and 8 years later! I don't know where I would be right now without you all. Life hasn't been easy, but it's never been boring! I LOVE you!

The Final Stretch...

The paper is DONE! Now it just has to be edited, and edited, and edited so it resembles nothing like the first rough draft... :-) Ahhhh, this is why I'm not a researcher.

Last night I went to Disneyland with Sara to get a bit of relaxation before the final paper writing. A great idea...but wrong night. There were 80,000 people in the park! On a normal summer day, during a very busy time of year, there are about 60,000 people in the park...so 80K is insane. After the fireworks, during the mass exodus, they were herding people out of the park "backstage"...a BIG no-no because it destroys the "magic". We weren't allowed to take pictures during Candlelight because they didn't want other people to see what "backstage" looks like.

But the fireworks were pretty, a Christmas version of "It's a Small World" was fun, and "Indiana Jones" was as jerky as normal. :-)

One week left!

Candlelight 2008!

Ever since starting nursing school, I've had very little opportunity to use my BA in music...all that changed last night. When the opportunity presented itself to sing in Disneyland's Candlelight choir, I couldn't refuse...even at the risk of getting a "B" in my classes.

Candlelight has been a tradition at Disneyland, started by Walt Disney, since the second year of opening. This was Candlelight's 50th year. It consists of an 800 voice choir, orchestra, and narrator. What makes it especially significant is that it tells the story of Christmas...the TRUE story of Christmas. The narrator (John Stamos this year) reads the account of Luke in between traditional Christmas carols such as Joy to the World, First Noel, Angels We Have Heard On High, and the Hallelujah Chorus.

Here are a few of the pictures I took from the night. Unfortunately I don't have one of the whole choir because we technically weren't supposed to take any pictures "Backstage". Clearly I didn't follow the rule to closely... :-)

Let the fun begin!

Here I am getting ready to process into the park from Toons Town to Town Square...and yes, that is an electric candle. boo.

The roommies with our choir conductor...the REAL celebrity of the night!

In between performances...we were pretty exhausted. It was a lot of singing!

This is where we performed in Towns' Square. You can't see it very well, but it sure was beautiful!

And lastly, some kind soul uploaded a video of us singing the Hallelujah Chorus onto Youtube...

A Birthday!

Today we celebrated my nephew's birthday at the park with the required pizza. I seriously have the cutest nephew ever...and I'm not a bit biased. Here are some pictures from the fun afternoon. (PS - did I mention I LOVE SoCal winters?? It wouldn't have been an outside party in North Dakota!)

Boy and dog, like iron and a magnet

Playing on the Swings

This is my model pose...There's a grin!Playing with my auntieOpening Presents!Oops, bigger and better things to doBirthday Pie!And last, but not least, a fun birthday video. :-)

Christmas Trees, Candles, and Nostalgia

I love Christmas. One of my favorite memories as a kid is of driving down Roxas Blvd on Christmas Eve and "ohhhing" and "ahhhing" at all the pretty lights. (...while Mom and Dad were thankful they didn't have to pay for the electric bills!) So it comes as no surprise that I LOVE attending the Christmas tree lighting at my alma mater every year. There is this huge pine tree in front of the music building (my second home for three and a half years) and every year on the first Friday of December the student body, alumni, and surrounding neighborhoods come together and listen to Luke's account of Christ's birth, sing traditional carols, light candles, and light the enormous tree.
So this year we all bundled up (as much as necessary for SoCal) and sang to our hearts' content. While there we ran into our beloved retired chaplain, Ron Hafer and took this shot...just for you, Mom!

T-18!

After a lovely week off, I have just three weeks left of nursing school. I can't wait for it to be over. But then I've said that before...it's not a new concept. The good news is all my careplans are finished. The bad news is I still have my 10-15page paper to write and my group project to finish. But it's all do-able within three weeks.

On a side note, at twilight we had the alignment of the sliver of moon with Jupiter and Venus. I was running around outside with my socks on trying to find the best view away from the city lights. (yeah, these socks will be having some bleach join them for the next round in the washing machine!) It's mind-boggling to think of how much bigger Jupiter is than Earth. 1,317 Earths could fit inside Jupiter. When viewed from our perspective, however, it's tiny.

This is how my huge, looming paper is. Right now it seems like this unattainable, horrible thing hanging over my head. But when viewed 20 years from now, way back in the distance of nursing school, it will merely be a tiny speck in the road. Perspective is everything, isn't it?

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?"
Ps. 8:3-4