Paradise

Thursday

Thursday morning I got off night shift and walked back to our house. Casey was awake and did not have to work till 10pm and I had the day off. We quickly decided we should check out Paradise Island that many people have suggested to us. I jumped in the shower and Casey made some pancakes before we left. We took to a taxi to the other side of town where the dock is to cross to Samal. Paradise Island is a small resort in Samal that opens its beach to the public for those who just want to come for a day. When we arrived at the dock we saw a dreamy water taxi waiting for us. We got on very excited for the day ahead! The water taxi only cost $1 USD and the fee to enter the beach was only 3-4$. They also gave you 50 pesos toward food or rentals which is about 1$ but goes a long ways. Casey and I sat down at the restaurant on the beach to have some lunch and watch the acrobatic show. The acrobatic show was mostly just juggling and jumping through hoops. Next we decided to test out the water which was very warm. We had to wear our flip flops because the bottom was filled with shells and coral. We wondered out a ways looking for fish when I found a huge starfish! Casey kept saying she was going to pick it up but I told her we needed to ask someone first if it was safe. I yelled at a guard sitting near us on the dock and asked if it was safe to touch. He said it was and so Casey reached down and grabbed it! It was very cool! Soon the tide went out and we found several small shells with crabs in them. Before we left we decided to check out how much the jet ski rental was. It was extremely cheap compared to home so we decided to do it. Casey had never drove a jet ski before but I really enjoyed her driving! The man who was renting the jet ski rode on it with us so when our time was up we asked him to drive and throw us off. He threw us off alright! We lost our sandals, hairbands, and a bracelet! It was a great day though! We loved every minute of it!

Friday

Friday I worked the morning shift. We started the day with no patients but that did not last long. They all came in at once and we had all five beds full with labors! I was following a student and we had two patients. I was doing the charting for both of them hoping they would have their babies so my charting would count towards my requirements! Six to seven hours of our shift had gone by when we finally sent one mother home for failure to progress. We instructed her to come back when her water broke or her contractions were lasting longer and were closer together. She had come in in the morning because she was worried it was going to be a fast labor. Her last baby came quickly without any labor at all. She also lived far away. Our second mother was also not dilating. Towards the end of the shift we were taking vitals again when we noticed the mother's pulse was higher than we wanted. We got the doppler out to count the fetal heart rate and that too was high. Before I knew it there was about four midwifes in the room with us. One was counting the fetal heart rate again and again. Another midwife started an IV while the student began filling out transfer papers for the hospital. I put oxygen on the patient and continued to chart what was going on. We walked the patient and her husband to the ambulance with the IV and oxygen in hand. The ambulance took off speeding down the road. Our ambulance has no lights so our driver just drove down the middle of the road and continued to honk. The situation became more real to me and I was scared for the patient and her baby. The patient and her husband were calm and did not say a word. I'm not sure they grasped why they were going to the hospital. We prayed for them as we snaked through traffic. When we walked into the hospital we had the patient sit in a waiting chair. Her IV was hung on an IV pole that looked like a home-made coat rack. The doctor sitting at the desk behind us continued to finish his charting. We probably stood there for 10 minutes until another doctor came and took our transfer papers. We left the mother in the waiting chair and went out side where family is suppose to wait. We talked to the woman's husband and gave him our number before heading back to the clinic. I do not know how everything turned out but hopefully I will get some news today.

While all of this chaos was going on we were also moving things out of the clinic. The missionaries are going to paint the clinic so we are temporarily moving it next door for a few days. Next door is the two large houses that the girls use to live in. They moved out about two weeks ago because the owner is going to sell the homes. We apparently still have the key so we transformed the first floor into a clinic. In about two hours we had every item, bed, cabinet, curtain and patients transferred and settled into the house next door. It was awesome to see all the midwifes, students on shift, guards, and some of the staff's children working together to move and organize everything. About half way through we had transferred two labors into their new birth room and brought two more babies into the world. What a crazy day! I ended the night hanging with my roommates and talking about all the funny stuff they have seen and experienced at clinic.

I work this afternoon so I will get pictures of our temporary clinic!