Badjao Medical Clinic ~

Today I got to join some missionary friends who were doing a medical outreach in the Badjao village called Isla Verde. They had a team of 20 people who have come from Seattle to assist in minor surgeries and do street evangelism.
I didn't bring my camera so I'm including some pictures I took of this village from a few weeks back.

I got to see a woman have knee surgery on the church pulpit platform, watch how a doctor debraided and dressed a young boy's neck which was swollen to the size of his head from a lymph node infection and see how they organize health workers, translators and patients.

I'm hoping to join them on an outreach in July to a Muslim village a few hours from here.

I also got to see one of my continuities who is about 5 months pregnant. She is due in October. She works in a medical clinic in a Badjao Muslim village and helps with all the medical outreaches. Her name is Nanang.

These are my missionary friends, Sherry and her husband Patrick.

Cockroaches and Root Canals!

This morning two things happened that were out of the norm! First I got up at 2:30 am and actually stayed up!!! (But I'll get to that later ;-) and second, I killed the largest cockroach I've ever seen in my life!

It was so big that when i killed it (toilet paper in hand!) I heard it crunch several times before I was convinced it was dead! I had to keep checking!!!

Now, I'm a seasoned veteran when it comes to cockroach killing. I have crunched more than my fair share! But today was different.... today was scary! I'm still shaking from the experience!

I googled this nasty little creature to see what kind of roach they grow here in the Philippines and all I've learned is that they bite! One site recommends biting back and even give a few recipes! Yum! I can see why someone might want to eat these snap-crackling crunchies- They are big enough to feed a family of eight!

How "big" is big, you ask? Well, put it this way.... If this guy had gone up against the big 'ol nasty ally cat that lives on my street, I'd have my money on the roach!

Why was I up at 2:30 am? Well... believe it or not, I was asleep by 8pm last night. Yep, hard to believe but it is actually true. I've been moping and dealing with some major molar pain. I'm in the process of a root canal and the pain wakes me up at night and harasses me all day. I'm popping pain killers like skittles and feeling as whiny as a teething toddler!

Please pray for me.... I realize now that I am a lousy patient.


For laughs, check out this u-tube site....
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/920119/eating_cockroaches_catch_of_the_day/

Althea Bianca #42

I came on shift early and discovered that there was a labor pushing. I was first up so i got on some gloves and my colleague endorsed her to me. This was her first baby so she was still trying to figure out how to push but was making progress. I had to do some serious perineal pressure to help the baby's head descend. My supervisor helped. Her baby was born quickly at that point but there was a ragged tear in the process which i had to suture later on. The placenta had a battledore insertion. This is a picture of her, the father, her mother and her little brother... and of course little Althea!

Jerry Jr. Baby #41

Honk! Honk! HONK!!!!!
We were all in deep sleep when the taxi started honking!!! We flew out of the clinic to find a little young lady waddling to the clinic. She had just enough time to lie down. I got the pad under her. she looked at me and asked if she could push and i told her 'Sige, otong!' She had SROM with thick meconium on my hand, and pushed her baby out in one single push! He was covered in meconium stained vernix but started crying well immediately. We deep suctioned and gave oxygen but he was doing great already! It was over before I had a chance to find out her name!

Badjao Church

I joined some missionary friends a week or so back at the Badjao village called Isla Verde. I had a wonderful time. I was asked to give my testimony and was then conscripted into doing a skit. I spent a half an hour on the floor of their church as part of a modified Good Samaritan Story.
Afterwards we had lunch with the Pastor and his family. It was a wonderful day.

Trisha Mae Nova - My 40th Catch

This couple really captured my heart. They were so excited to be having their baby but they are babies themselves. She is only 17 and he just barely turned 18. They are high school sweethearts.

During labor, she tried pushing at 8 cm. I tried to get her to stop but she wouldn't listen. She just kept pushing. All it did was make things worse, her cervix became swollen and a caput started forming on little trisha's head. By the time she was fully dilated she then had an hour of pushing ahead of her. Little Trisha was born with very thick meconium staining and we deep suctioned a lot but she was not responding well. Her APGAR score was 4 and 4. We gave her oxygen, did PPV and rushed her off to the hospital where she stayed for over a week!

They had to do gastric lavage and put her on antibiotics in the NICU. But on the fourth day, she started improving drastically and was even able to breastfeed for the first time!

This is her at four days at the hospital. She still has oxygen on.

This is a picture of her father holding her for the very first time ever.