New Life

After Juliet left with Renee, Melanie and I were able to observe a c-section birth. The team used Ether to sedate the mom. We watched through the window of a swinging door, inhaling plenty of Ether ourselves. While the team prepped for the surgery and the mom was still awake, she was left on an operating table in the center of the room, completely nude and all alone. She appeared remarkably calm in spite of the circumstances.

The c-section was amazing and a beautiful baby boy was welcomed into the world right in front of our eyes! We cheered at the sound of that first cry.

We then went back to the maternity ward where we met Nora. She was in labor. She was from Kampala, the capital city, but had traveled many hours to this village to visit her sick mother. Her husband was in Kampala and her mother was too sick to be with her. So she was in labor with her first child and was essentially alone. When we met her, she was 6 cm dilated and contracting every 5 minutes. She was also experiencing excruciating back labor. Sandra and I ministered to her the best we could. Of course, there was no pain medication. She didn’t even have a bed to rest in but was told to walk until time to deliver. We wiped her brow and neck with a cool cloth. I let her squeeze my hand during contractions and exams (and, boy did she squeeze!!). At times she would squeeze so hard that I had to brace myself to keep from being pulled over. We walked and breathed and prayed. We took long, deep breaths together. I rubbed her lower back during contractions. It was a hard but sweet time. She was so appreciative and once said “Thank you so much, I appreciate your company” in her sweet African accent. It was so hard to leave her at nearly 8 cm. We stayed until the very last minute that we could. We prayed over her and I continued to pray all through the night that God would comfort and protect her.

We visited families in the village the next morning and by the time we made it back to the clinic, Nora had already gone home. She had delivered a healthy baby girl during the night. Praise the Lord! The midwife told Sandra that Nora had named the baby Celeste. It means celestial and was in honor of “the angels” God sent to help her the day before. Wow.