Ups and Downs

I was able to send home the mother with the breech twins this morning!  Both babies weigh about 4.5 lbs and are probably some of the cutest things I have ever seen.  Everyone is doing well.  Praise God!  When I was talking to this mom yesterday she said that she had no idea she was having twins until she delivered.  What a surprise!  I have asked them to come back in a couple of weeks to monitor how these two little ones are growing.  I so hope I get to see them again before I leave. 

Today was a slower day at the hospital for me which was nice as it has provided some much needed rest.  There have been a couple of hard cases over the last few days which have been sort of draining.  Abortions are fairly common in Togo and I seem to see a lot of people coming to the hospital a week or so after having an abortion performed by some medicine man infected and in need of treatment.  Two nights ago I got called to the hospital to help with just such a case.  I am not sure that we ever really get the complete story, but this pt had an abortion about a week prior and was now complaining of pain and fevers.  Ultrasound showed that tissue was still remaining inside her uterus and needed to come out.  Whoever had performed the original procedure had left some of the tissue inside and then to add injury to insult poked a hole in the uterus so that infection from their dirty instruments seeped into her abdomen.  Very few things make my blood boil like this.  I have seen many pts come to clinic with a history similar to this one who years later are married and desire to get pregnant, but are no longer able to.  It is both frustrating and sad.  They often beg me to do this test or that surgery in hopes that they will be able to conceive, but in reality there is very little I can do to help them.  Both of our hearts end up broken. 

Yesterday, we had several successful deliveries which are always wonderful.  There is no sound quite like that first cry of a newborn child.  It makes me smile every time.  Rhonda and I got to work together with several of the mothers. It is always so much more fun to do things as a team.  We did have one difficult case though of a mother who came in at term, in labor, with a stillbirth.  No matter how many times I have done this my stomach still drops when I place the ultrasound on the mother and see that lifeless body staring back at me.  The delivery was hard and it took almost 20 minutes to deliver the body of this baby.  I cannot imagine the torment of that poor mother.  There are no epidurals here in Togo, there is nothing we can do to dull the pain.  Like many of these cases there was no obvious reason for the death of this little one which just serves to make the situation harder by leaving a lot of unanswered questions.  Rhonda and I both prayed for this mother, there was nothing more we could do.

I have been so blessed to have Rhonda here.  When I was coming to Togo no one told me that I would be working with an American trained midwife.  I was under the impression that I would be working on L&D alone.  I realized this morning that I was praying for Rhonda even before I left the States.  I prayed that the Lord would send someone to help me, someone that I could talk with, discuss cases with and share my joys and sorrows with.  I prayed that this person would also be female and here by herself.  I really was just praying for a friend.  I love the work that I am doing, but I knew that if I was here and felt truly isolated the work here would become much more difficult.  I love that He provided long before I even asked.  Rhonda has been here for months!  We have made such a great team, both learning from each other, wanting to explore the country and understand the Togolese people as well as having a deep desire to serve the Lord.  God is so faithful.  He has provided for my every need even before I knew I had one.