What a whirlwind!

Hi everyone!

I hope that things are going well there, it has been one heck of a whirlwind of activity here for me! I will do my best to be accurate in my accounts as chronologically appropriate but as a forewarning I may fail. Thank you all for understanding!

I believe I left off last time saying that I would post pictures of our house, so I suppose that is the most appropriate place to start.

 There are beds for nine in our place but currently only four six of us are sleeping here regularly (Kelsey, Tilly, and I) and two other missionaries. Two of the other girls are on a month long break from their two year commitment here and another is house sitting at another missionary's home while they are away. With everyone's clinic schedules, it is rare that the house is full. Kelsey, Tilly, and I never have shifts together which is super awesome because then we can meet the other missionaries and learn from stories from each other. I am thankful that the schedule worked out that way.

We do live in a gated community with a guard station at the entrance. Taxis must give their driver's license to the guard if they are dropping someone off and the guard takes their information just in case we leave something in the cab and to keep tabs on who is in the community. The other house that houses missionaries is in another subdivision that is gated as well. Both are very safe, and it is common to see people out walking in the mornings (before it becomes too hot- by 7am).

I went for a nice walk this morning, about 40 minutes long. It was peaceful and beautiful. The homes in our subdivision are very pretty, and every one is so unique! I was surprised to see random chickens, roosters, and ducks roaming the streets.

It is very common for us to be stared at here, and we were stared at while we were running today. It is a curious kind of stare, nothing bad. Everyone is so friendly and helpful here, it is part of the Filipino culture! I have been called "beautiful" as I walk by some of them which is certainly an adjustment. They generally know who we are when we go out together because we are the only white people in the area, they associate us with our clinic. Again, they are helpful as we blunder through transportation and being directionally handicapped.


My first day at the clinic was yesterday on 'swing shift' aka 2-10pm. I met another missionary at the other house, which is just a short walk from our house and we took a jeepney to the clinic. I may have mentioned that they are old jeeps used in the war several years ago converted into taxi/bus combos. It was good to have someone with me for my first experience. She knew just which one we were looking for, they are labeled with locations on them and she helped me to recognize which one to take. Did I mention how everyone is so helpful here? There is no such thing as a full jeepney. People pile and pack in pretty tight. I got to ride shotgun which was an experience in and of itself. I didn't realize that the front of our jeepney was flat and so, as I eluded to in an earlier post, when traffic got crazy and we got really close to another jeepney I about had a heart attack. My eyes got very big and I got a little nervous. When you arrive where you want to go, you clink your coin on the bar in the back or smack your lips at the driver and then they stop. It is 8 pesos to take a jeepney which is $0.19USD one way. Very cheap and very nice to avoid long walks and sweating before changing at the clinic into scrubs.


When we got on shift, there was one woman who needed to be seen in the postpartum room. She delivered at 9:30 am and it was time for her baby's bath. They wait six hours here, minimum and check the baby's temp to make sure that it is holding where they want it to be and then they give it the first bath. We had to boil the water on the stove to have hot water to give the bath. I took vitals on a few babies and moms while we waited for our postpartum check at 3:30pm. After the bath, we wait 15-30 minutes to recheck the baby's temp and if they are holding where we want it, they are able to go home. That  my friends is a minimum of six-seven hours from delivery to discharge. How crazy is that? Kelsey got to see this labor, which I hear was pretty quick. It was her third baby and she was walking around like she had never been pregnant or just delivered a baby. it was INSANE to me! Granted this is only if there are no complications, dizziness or extra blood loss. The woman's bonna (husband or partner) washed the tub for us after we were finished. The bonna or their bontay (with is a helper they bring with them) brings them meals, towels, blankets, baby diapers, and anything that you could need while there. The bonna or bontay are also responsible for washing the plastics that the woman delivers on to prevent contamination. They get them a sugary drink after delivery too. We got to pray with this woman and then send her on her merry way.
They walked out of the clinic and will be back in three days for newborn screening which involves a heel stick to collect blood to send away for testing for genetic defects.


A labor patient came in around 6:00pm, but did not appear to be very active in labor. She came to have the heart rhythm checked because at an earlier appointment they found an irregular rhythm. She went to an OB at 1:00pm per referral from the clinic on Friday and had been told she was 4 cm dilated.   Because she had a check at one, we waited until 7:00pm to check her again. She was still 4cm and so we had her walk and sway her hips to speed up the process. The clinic admits women once they reach 4cm, but not normally if they are less than that. When we doppled the heart rate, it was still irregular and we continued to monitor it. The missionaries were not worried about the heart rate though because typically they resolve after birth. Her labor did not process much more while I was at the clinic. It was very nice to see the admit process for a labor.

At 8:30pm the clinic guards came in telling us that there was another labor patient. I was so excited! I said a few Hail Mary's that the baby was okay and that I would get to see the birth, even though it was nearing the end of my shift. God was listening because the baby was okay and I DID get to see the entire birth! She came in with visible signs of contractions. I am still pretty rusty with palpating for contractions but I was able to feel that they were strong and there was not much time between them. I observed her birth and process after I did vitals on her a few times. The baby came out at 9:07 with very little pushing and very little fuss. This woman, NormaJane was good. She was able to listen to the midwives to help position herself to deliver quickly. Also, she was very far along when she arrived. She did not scream or whine really but grunted a few times and then baby was out! She did loose more blood than they like like to see, 550cc so they did start an IV to replace fluids. Baby was a girl with good APGAR scores! I got to 40minutes of postpartum checks on mom and baby.

This is where they keep supplies at the clinic

The birthing room. There are 5 beds, all separated by curtains.

The birthing cart. Pretty basic.

Public health poster to test your baby for genetic diseases.

Baby girl and proud mama! First birth I saw here!

The clinic ambulance took us home after our shift at 1015pm because that's what they do at night because it is safest. Once home, I changed and fell asleep really quickly, as I had woken up at 2AM unable to fall back asleep.

Missing you all! Love,

Casey