Going back in time

I have not blogged in four days not because there has not been anything to blog about, I just haven't done it.
Today is Thursday and right now it is 9:00 pm. I have worked the swing shift with Beth and I am happy to report she got her first catch! I was in the next cubical with my delivery (a boy named Harold) so I did not get to see it but heard everything. Of course being Beth, she cried! So it has been a really nice shift with three babies born all with in two hours of each other. It was enough activity to keep us busy but not crazy.

Yesterday ( Wednesday) I was off because I worked Tuesday night shift. We ran to the mall to get some groceries. Beth and I wanted to treat the girls in the house to dinner because they have been so wonderful to us. WE ordered pizza and made a big veggie salad and bought ice cream. We ate upstairs on the balcony. I was great fun. The nights here cool off and the neighborhood streets become filled with children and adults playing basket ball or just hanging out.
After dinner Beth and I went with Laura (a student) to DMC to check on a patient that I had labor sat Tuesday night and Laura had cared for after shift change. They ended up transporting her because of fetal distress. I knew the baby was in a poster position but the lady would not cooperate with anything we asked her to do to help the baby rotate. Laura said she continued to act that way after shift change. We got to DMC and went into the postpartum ward. This is where it becomes difficult to write. How to give words to a sight so disturbing. One hundred and fifty beds pushed together. No dividers not even curtains. Evey women brought her own sheet and the family was responsible for her food. The mattresses looked very old and worn out. There were fans running but it was stifling hot in there.
We began looking through the sea of women for Joanna. If a women was transported from Mercy she will usually raise her eyebrows at us and give a little nod with her head. Filipinos talk with their facial expressions, and you learn to read them well. I saw Ana, the young women I transferred because of hypertension. She was happy to see me and was very proud of her baby boy. I would love to have had more information about her birth but with the language barrier it is not easy.
We continued to look for Joanna but could not find her. Found another women who had been transferred from Mercy. It is like a refuge camp, that is what that room reminds me of. We gave up the search, but thought we would try up stars in Pediatrics to see the 'shoulder dystocia baby'
The Peds ward was no better. There were cots lining the hall with children with out even a mat to lay on. We peeked into one small room and there on the floor was our boy with his mother and father. We were ecstatic to see he had survived and looked really good. They were happy to see us (their eyes said so). We only stayed for a short chat, again language barrier. It was a very small room. with three other families, all with their sick child on a mat on the floor.
Going into DMC is a very sobering experience.

Tuesday We went to the beach. Taxi ride to the Pier, then a ferry boat ride to the island. Enjoyed being out of town for awhile, swimming, food and.. a sunburn, oh well. Worked Tuesday night. I do not remember Monday. LOL I am sure I worked.

It is now Friday 11:30am. I just came in from a 'sorry' run, nothing to be proud of but it felt good to get out. The heat is hard for this Colorado girl.

I am about done with this 'race' and the last stretch is the most difficult. I want to run this race that is set before me. I know that my Lord gave all for me, so can I not give all of me for his service? To be His hands and show his compassion is what moves me one step forward at a time. I am inspired by the group Third Day's song 'Love Song' What love has been shown to us, He gave us all. So this mountain I can climb, I will finish the race. Praise be to God.