hospital

Hey....so much has happened.
On Thursday I was able to jump in the van with Rachel, speed around downtown Jinja going in and out of stores searching frantically for birthing supplies. Christine one of Suubi's women, was in labor at Jinja Hospital and Kate and Rachel were dropping by her house to visit and they soon came to find she was about to pop....so of course, we all deligated jobs. Kate's location was by Christine's side so that she could get awesome footage and be support, while Rachel and I were on a mad dash to find everything Christine needed on her list of things to supply the doctor and nurses in order for the birth to be clean and comfortable (because in 3rd world countries you supply everything needed for the birth. Fom a trashbag to deliver on, gloves for DOCTOR (cause there is only one.) and nurses, shot for the pain, and of course you bring your own baisin for all the blood.) It was quite a culture shock that is for sure. And that is only 1/4 of the list. I don't want to bore however so I will continue.

We got everything we needed off the list. Took us a while, but we suceeded. Raced to the hospital and walked into the small 10x12 room that had two other women besides Christine who were in labor, one of which, was going to be giving birth to a dead baby due to a miscarraige. The room held awful smells, unclean walls and floors, a sink full of bugs, a bucket with bloody paper and trash, and Christine, a lovely lady with a bubbly personality and a great smile. Christine was not happy and not doing well. Her "paining was great". (as they would say.)
She had no energy to muster a hello, a smile, or even a look. She was "in a tug-of-war" with her child. Kate was strong and was able to keep herself under composure, as for myself, I felt faint, and knew that if I did not make my way outside I would vomit because of the horrible smells.
Rachel and I sat outside and talked. She experienced the same thing last year with another Suubi women. She said that she almost passed out a couple times and that she had to leave during the birth because there was so much blood and the smells were the same as I described. It was nice to know that I was not alone in that.

I would try to go back into the room every once in a while, thinking that I would be able to muster the strength and that maybe I would be able to watch a lady give birth...nope. Too much. Each time my stomach was screaming at me, confused as to why I kept trying to tough it out. It was obvious to everypart of my body except my mind that I would be unable to bare the conditions. This being a main reason why the medical field is not the practice that I wish to pursue, incase you were wondering.

I feel like my blog is already getting too long, Ah! I feared this (they would say this too, "i fear" "i pain", sorry i tend to write and talk like this now lol)

After 4 hours maybe longer, Christine finally gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She named him Randy after the Randy that is staffing and married to Rachel down here. I love that about the people here. If they know you, and they think you are neat, their next child is called by your name. I got to hold baby Randy. Oh my goodness, I will never ever forget feeling his tiny little heartbeat all the way from the back of his little body. His whole body was a heartbeat. He was so adorable and precious. His eyes were very much alert. He was looking all over the room, moving and staring right up at me. I loved it. Christine had won the battle. She is the strongest lady ever. Betty her best friend was also strong. She was by her side the whole time. Cleaning everything that was messy (no details needed here), encouraging Christine, helping with the doctor and nurses, helping with you name it, everything. So basically the main person that helps you, really throughout all of this, is the person you bring with you. Best-friend, mother, neighbor, anyone but who the hospital provides. It is so SO BACKWARDS from the states.

We left, wished her well, saw her the next day and brought her breakfast.
She was in a room of about 40 women who all had just given birth. As we were visiting a lady who had just had a c-section was wheeled through the room on a metal lift. They had her laying on her stomach and they were not moving her with caution at all. I am still upset when I think back on her face. I remember them bringing the lift over a devit on the floor and how the whole table that she was on julted. I remember her expressing a look of pain as her mouth formed a shape as if she had just said " Oo". Why were people not caring? Why was there no pad, something soft for her to be laying on? Why was the hospital only employing ONE doctor? Why did all of these women have to cunger up their own supplies? Everything was a reality check the last couple of days. I felt like I had actually experienced one of the main cries of Africa. A more improved medical EVERYTHING. Doctor's, nurses, supplies, facilities, sponsor's, everything needed to be different. There is so much to fix, it is too overwhelming. Too much to take on and feel responsible for, it is too far away to grasp. Only small things are going to happen while I am down here, I realized. And unfortunately those changes will not be for the men, women, and children of Uganda, but instead, for me. My perspective of poverty is being changed, my heart is being molded and squished differently by God, and my least favorite, I am seeing that somethings can't be changed.

Well that is a bit of my week. some other highlights.

I drove for the first time on the opposite side of the road to the Suubi meeting. Oh man that was exhilerating :)
Rolled my first 20 something beads. Took me 6 tries the first bead. Ha ha.
Went to my first Catholic service this morning. Loved it.
Had great internet luck everytime I went to flavours. Praise the Lord!
Absolutely love reading "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne.
Having a hard time not missing home. Really miss Scott, my brother, and my mom.
God is teaching....He always does.

love you all everyone. Thank-You So Much for prayers and support.
you rock!

Becca