Although clinical practice that includes antenatal care and prenatal education may often become routine, clinical practice with an international flair may be spiced up in some unusual ways. Several months ago, Dr. Deliana and I were deep in discussion, when the clinic receptionist posed a question that initially had us giggling. A woman had walked in off the street and asked the theoretical question, “Can someone tell me when my baby will be born? ” Most mothers know that children rarely pay attention to their due dates, so we told the receptionist to make an appointment for the next clinic, only to hear groaning from the waiting room. As much as I would have enjoyed “catching” a baby, our clinic is not set up for emergency deliveries, and after a quick assessment and a few questions, we realized that birth could be imminent…and I grabbed sterile gloves two sizes bigger than my hands, a dirty bulb syringe, and some linens in case the inevitable happened only to plod down the bumpy, pothole-laden road, behind numerous garbage trucks and buses hoping to reach the public hospital in time. I whispered words of comfort (yes, in Spanish) into this young teen’s ear, while lifting silent prayers for a safe and timely birth of a healthy infant anywhere but in the uncomfortable backseat of that car! She wasn’t under the clinic’s care for this pregnancy, but I pray that our desire to share the love of Christ in such a situation will bring her back to clinic-offered health education and parenting classes, and eventually to a Bible study planned for the mothers of La Carpio.
Pray for those involved in providing care for the people of La Carpio, for opportunities such as these, caravans to the jungle(next update), and opportunities for Reachglobal staff and healthy partnerships to reach 100 million people for Christ in the next decade.
No comments:
Post a Comment