3.23.10 – Where’s Juana?

Juana has not come yet.  I am thinking about her.  Early this morning a woman came knocking on the door to our house and I thought for sure it was Juana.  I sat up in bed and began untangling myself from my mosquito net expecting to see Juana ready to push out her babe.  Alas, it was a woman who had come to pay Anita for a previous clinic visit.  Where’s Juana?

Anita wants to start a sex ed program at the school house.  What a great idea!  We walked down to the bright blue building where school is held in about 6 classrooms to look for the director.  He wasn’t available but we will continue to work on that idea.  Anyone have materials in Spanish or experience with teen sex ed programs?  I would love any ideas or suggestions.

Spent the day doing more well woman exams and paps until the lights went out.  Having electricity does not mean that we ALWAYS have electricity.  My computer still had some power left so Anita and I hung out in our respective single frame beds that are stuffed into our tiny little room and listened to my favorite banjo music (Thanks for the GREAT banjo music Luc!) until we heard a tap tap on our door.  Guess who?  Juan, Juana’s husband J. 

Juana arrived contracting lightly but dilated to 4 cm.  We showed her family to the casa de espera where her 2 little girls went to sleep soundfully.  Juan, Anita, and I returned to the health post where I massaged Juana’s back by candlelight until she felt the urge to push.  She wanted to birth horizontally, but liked the idea of pushing in a comfortable bed instead of the hard exam table of which most women that deliver in health posts are accustomed.  Anita and I had prepared everything for any type of birth (any position and any complication) and bought a huge piece of plastic to cover a comfortable mattress on a 70s like bed frame.  The bed frame must be an old medical model because the head inclines, which worked out well for pushing.  Electricity returned just in time to dar a luz (give birth) and big beautiful baby Pedro Daniel was born at 23:43 under the bright fluorescent lights of the health post.  I passed Pedro directly to his mama with cord intact and his mom and dad rejoiced!  Just after I sutured a small tear, the lights went out and we enjoyed a post partum recovery by candlelight and free of complications.  Juan and Juana asked that I name their new little babe and so together we came up with Pedro Daniel.  Pedro after Juana's brother and Daniel for my best man friend in Denver.  Juana, Juan and their beautiful family lived and loved in the casa de espera for 2 full days.

As Juana and family packed up, Cherlita and Riker packed in and for 1 day the casa de espera was occupied by 2 families!  One of the local boys, Jean Carlos, who is 9 years-old planted a garden in front of the casa de espera upon his own volition.  He planted it smack in the middle of the entrance J and as the casa de espera blooms, so will bloom its beautiful welcoming garden, literally, at its front door.