Last Saturday the 18th of June we were invited to see and share in the baptisms of four young men in our church. We travelled about 1.5 hours into the rural area outside of Monrovia, to Kakata where we met some new Liberian friends and enjoyed their great spirits. Then we all trekked over to the nearby River Du to see the baptisms occur in this river. Kim and the girls drove in the trucks with the two senior missionary couples to the riverside location where these men and boys would enter the water. Lawrence and I walked about 3/4 of a mile with our new friends over hill and dale to the same spot (I preferred the walk) and enjoyed the conversation and company with Nathan, who is a teacher and just completed his studies to be an elementary teacher.
When we arrived - some local villagers were doing their laundry at this riverside spot, but they cheerfully made room for our group to proceed. Eddy, who was the father of 3 of the boys, and friends with the 4th, then took each one and performed the baptism for each. This was a very cool, and very intimate experience - one I will not forget for a long time.
Later that day when we arrived home - we just kicked back and relaxed. This felt good, because we all had a busy week. I rounded each day at the NICU, JFK Hospital, often with Kim and the kids accompanying me back to the unit after lunch, to help in any way they could (starting new records, dismantling old records; helping mothers breast-feeding their babies, etc.).
My time in the NICU has been very busy for me, trying to model good care and good practices, I love joking with the nurses and all of the staff in the hospital: the housekeeping staff, the lab staff, the security folks, the midwifes and Labor staff, administrators, even visiting families. An interesting observation - I do not often see fathers, until they arrive to take Mom and baby home. Sometimes they arrive and demand to take the baby home. Then the nurses and I take turns talking them out of it, until a stern, seasoned Liberian nurse tells them to shape up! That usually takes care of it.
On the Friday of last week - arrived to find I had 24 to 25 weeks gestation twin brothers, both very small at 430 grams and 490 grams (less than a pound, right at one pound). We did what we could, which was a little oxygen, some warmth, some IV fluids but it was not enough and they could not survive being so immature. I found that I was at peace with this, since these tiny ones are tough to manage in the best North American or European neonatal units, but almost none of the needed resources were available here in Liberia. I see a composed acceptance of the serious limitations, and then we all move on to the next set of tough clinical battles, and there are many. I still enjoy going in to the hospital each day - glad to find that it is still a passion even in a new and strange land, a new medical culture.
~John
No comments:
Post a Comment