OB fun!

Well life at Tenwek in the OB department has been hectic. There is a nursing strike for the whole country so many ofnthe Kenyan government hospitals are not working right now so women from all over are coming to Tenwek to have their babies. We are so overloaded that we have 2 to 3 women in a bed.

There are women everywhere in the halls, on benchs, in corners huddled up trying to make it through another contraction. It takes our OB service 4 hours every morning to round on all of the patients because we have about 60-75 inpatients everyday. These women have major complications like post partum hemorrhage, renail failure, full blown eclampsia, and many c sections. It is a madhouse in the OB ward right now but somehow we make it. The administration has stopped us from doing any elective surgies due to the high capacity, only emergencies right now.

Christina and I are really loving the people we work with, both the Americans and the Kenyans. We all learn a lot from each other. I was able to scrub in with a Kenyan physician on a c section and it is the most I have ever felt respected by a physician. He treated me like I was another physician routinely scrubbing in with him. He had me jump right in and get my hands in there. He said, "pay attentiom, you are doing most of this next time". As a PA student, it is not often that we get that kind of trust and respect with procedures. It felt great afterwards feeling like I was really doing something.

I finished the day with suturing a patient back together after her c section incision became infected and opened back up. I think Dr. AJ, my surgical preceptor in Lexington would be proud. I feel that at the end of the rotation, I will be utterly exhausted but really familiar with a lot of OB complications.

I feel like it makes such a difference working in an environment where God is such a focus. Before surgery everyone gathers to pray over the patient, and when we all sit around the table at night, we discuss the way God has either affected us or affected one of our patients. It is so amazing to be able to share your faith so freely with coworkers and patients and it's even better to work with people who have the same beliefs and purpose.

I pray that God will continue to be with Christina, Stefanie, and I as we are halfway through with our time in Kenya. I pray that He will move within our hearts and lead us to be blessings to those we interact with during our time here.

Also, update! Peter (our adopted Samburu boy that us girls have fallen in love with) has had both of his surgeries and he is doing well. He will be going home next week and hopefully the eye team at Tenwek has kept him from growing blind. Stefanie, Christina and I gave him a Bible today that we all wrote messages inside for him.

Well I hope everyone has an awesome weekend. Christina and I are off in the morning to head to Maasai Mara game park to stay until Sunday. We will be going on several safaris and we are moooore than excited!

PS- I love you Barny and miss you like crazy!