I will be the first to tell you that I could never be a nurse. I don’t really mind the blood but it’s the needles that get to me. I’ve actually fainted in the hospital before after seeing an IV.
But lately, I seem to be an ambulance driver or something like that! You see we live by several villages which are are 26 miles from the city of Sumbawanga. There are limited local clinics nearby but the nearest hospital is in Sumbawanga. There are certain types of emergencies which need hospital attention. When a woman goes into labor, she has three options here. Delivery at home with the help of local ‘grandmothers’ as midwives, delivery at the local clinic with a trained nurse and maybe doctor nearby, or delivery in town with more doctors, nurses, surgeons, and equipment available. Often the clinic doctors advise women ahead of time to go to town to deliver their babies for various reasons such as C-sections, a young mother with her first pregnancy, etc…
Unfortunately, sometimes they don’t listen and so they end up at the clinic in labor and there is no way to perform the C-section. Then the clinic will have to get them to town as fast as possible. They do have a land cruiser ambulance but it is not usually here. So then the doctors write a note and send the father or grandma across the river to find help from the ‘wazungu’ (white people). This type of call happens at all hours of the day. We know that it is an emergency, so we jump out of bed, or put our work aside and get ready for a trip to town.
If the mother is able to sit up the trip can take nearly 1 hr on very rough roads. If she has to lie down, then the trip goes much slower.
Over the past month, I have been asked to help in various situations. The first was a young mother who had been told since her first checkup that she needed a C-section because her first child was born that way. But she didn’t listen so they ended up coming to my door with a note from the doctor. The clinic sent one of their doctors along with me in case she delivered along the way. We anxiously watched the car clock as her contractions came every 5 minutes.
I dropped them all off at the hospital and then went to the market. The doctor was going to get the paperwork done and meet me there so we could head home. As they wheeled her into the theatre, she gave birth naturally. That means that has I driven any slower over those rough roads we would have had our hands full!
The next, was the niece of some of my friends. She had been in labor Friday evening until Sunday morning. They came again to ask for help. No church for me that day! Her water was not broken but her contractions were close. This time they were able to deliver the baby in town by C-section.
Loading the mother into the car, in the midst of labor.
The most recent was today. I was in the village at the monthly market. A man came to me and asked for help. I couldn’t understand everything but I did get enough information. We drove down the street to their home where his wife was in labor. The baby was breech and halfway out. The local midwives could do no more. We carried her to the back of the truck and drove quickly and carefully to the local clinic. It is only 1 mile or so away. I figured this was a short trip, but upon arrival the doctor didn’t want to move her again in her condition. So they pulled out a curtained frame to hid the back of the truck and the nurse climbed in with her apron and gloves. The doctor stood nearby. I asked him if the baby could survive this knowing that it had been over 1 hour since the midwives started looking for help. He said it was almost possible, they were taking their time, focusing on the mother’s health. After 15 – 20 minutes the nurse came out from the back of the cab and said they could move her now. So they got everyone to lift her onto the hospital’s bed and wheeled her into the maternity ward.
The back of the truck is a make-shift delivery room.
I didn’t see the baby but they had so many blankets and things there. I didn’t ask because I know this was painful enough. I said good-bye and drove back to the market to pick up the rest of my group. It was a first for me though, as I’ve never had the doctors and nurses work on anyone in my car.
Such is life here, we are often called upon to help in life and death situations. Being ready and available are important elements of ministry.
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