Prepared

I am coming to the end of my second month here in Arusha. So many thoughts, feelings, emotions and much to reflect on. The setting of Selian hospital is so lovely. Wards are all set around a large open square of grass and beautiful big trees are scattered around bringing shade. So for me even driving to work feels like a blessing compared to the dramatic drive I took each day in Freetown to PCMH. I must admit at the moment it is actually quite cool, so the open hospital is pretty chilly, but I am sure in the heat of summer it will be a real blessing.

Like any old cowboy, it I so good to be back in the saddle. After 4 months at home with no mummies or babies to care for, it is so wonderful to be back on the ward. I feel again just the privilege of being able to care for these women. I know many woman in the world work hard and are ill-treated but I have a sense the burden on the Massai woman is very great indeed. You get the feeling that there is not a lot of joy in their lives. So be able to just sit there and rub their back, hold their hand , offer them care, is such a privilege for me. You can see  their hard work in their hands and feet. They work hard, they walk far, and life is hard!

Dorah, the head Midwife at Selian was very welcoming. It is always that tentative thing in the beginning about forming the friendships. Trying to make the staff realise you are there to help and be on their side rather than swooping in and changing all.

So many times in my life I have been amazed how God always prepares you for what he asks you to do. I am so mindful as I arrive here that what has happened in the preceding years both in South Africa and Sierra Leone has all been preparation for this next part of the journey.

On my second day in the hospital there was a lady who very sadly lost her baby at 18 weeks. It was a challenge to get the placenta out as it was so small and friable but also the extra challenge was that her Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) really was quite extensive. As I was working away, I realised how great God is, that I had worked in Sierra Leone where this too was common practice and therefore I felt more confident dealing with it here. If this had been my first experience of caring for a woman with FGM I think I would have been totally freaked out. I thanked Him for his graciousness to me at that moment.

A few weeks ago we had a woman who had had a C/S with her first baby and now was in labour with the second. The midwife who was on duty with me was very doubtful that she would be able to have a vaginal birth. The midwife gave the Mum about a 5% chance of succeeding. Well, after a day of careful monitoring, and lots of questions along the way, the Mum finally had a fully dilated cervix. Andrew needed to help us with an assisted birth at the end, but the midwife was so surprised and delighted that the labour process had actually worked. She arrived at work 2 days later, still bubbling over with reflections of that day and the way the woman had laboured.

As with everything in Africa it is small small. No great giant steps taken in a hurry. Rather little by little, working alongside, supporting, teaching and mentoring we hope to make Selian the very best place in all of Tanzania to birth a baby!