This was a rough day

Today was a crazy day...

Community clinic is a time where two students get to go out in rural satellite clinics to help the doctors there and see what they do. So Gabby and I (Anna), rode up and down the most rocky and hilly terrain you could imagine. I've never gotten car sick, but I think that has changed today! Once we get there we split up and I went to the delivery service. At these clinics the doctors mostly evaluate the clinic staff on how well they medically manage patients, but today was a little different.

A young 17 yo girl was in labor with her first pregnacy. I listened to the baby's heartbeat with the horn and it was fine, but I felt that the baby's head was up, not in the pelvis. So, next the midwife checked to see how dilated she was and when she placed her finger in "there", pop, out rushed a gush of GREEN fluid. Oh crap, is the first thing that came to my mind. When the doctor asked the girl how along she was, we got that she was 34 weeks!

So next we are getting the transfer papers ready, so she can go to a facility with a NICU, when all of a sudden mom starts laboring and out pops a foot! (Oh crap, oh crap! I said in my head...) At this, the doctor says, "well, we must deliver baby, no time now" since the the nearest NICU is an hour away! I said to that "ok, but first, pray to Yesu?", meaning we need some prayer for this one, so we did...then WE GOT IN THERE!

I was in the most extreme delivery I've ever seen... A breeched birth! They pulled and pulled. Mom being so young, and since she never had a baby before, was freaking out (rightfully so). Finally, after some maneuvers and holding mom down, we got baby free, however, he was blue and floppy (not good). We took baby to the warmer, and started to dry and suction. I ran around looking for an ambu bag to breath some air into baby's lungs. FOUND IT! I ran back and gave some breaths and stimulation. Finally, after some stressful minutes, we heard a loud gasp, and then "WAAAAA!" I've never been more happy to hear a baby cry! Baby (which is what I named him, since they don't name baby's until weeks after they get home) went from Blue and floppy, to pink and flexed! (Not even retractions were noted for those medical minds in the audience!) We concluded that the mom's estimated gestational age was way off, and baby was a term infant.

When I got back, I heard that a child was next to a fire, had a seizure and fell into the fire pit. This apparently is not a rare occurrence here, since many children with epilepsy seem to be triggered by different events (such as flickering lights). She is a 10 YR old girl and she has 3rd degree burns over 30% of her body. Mainly her face, torso, and arms are affected. Her airway began to swell and close so an emergency tracheostomy had to be done. She is currently breathing on her own with the help of O2 and her trach. We will be taking shifts to keep an eye on her tonight. Please prayer warriors, PRAY FOR THIS GIRL, HER FAMILY, HER HEALING, AND PRAY FOR HER MEDICAL TEAMS SKILLS!

THANK YOU FROM KIBOGORA.