Long beautiful day

Independence park- locals playing either soccer or rugby (sorry I didn't stop to investigate which sport)

The Ministry of Health



Walked to hospital this afternoon, as it was gorgeous out. Did very good wondering through the town and then up the hills and through the village. Then I missed my turn and took a long way around to the hospital. It was a nice healthy walk and I did make it in time for shift change, I just needed to sit down and catch my breathe in the air conditioned delivery room.


Hospital from above- as I approached



Then went on to catch a sweet little boy, repair a 2nd degree tear with 1-0 vicryl (thick nasty suture- Note to self bring suture packets for next visit) , it stayed together well but looked horrible due to the inability to stitch well with clothesline sized suture. I also must admit that it wasn't a kindly job, the mama's are so strong here but she did not handle the repair well- which made me a bit queasy by the end of it. We then had a short break, enough to grab a bite to eat from the food offered by the lovely staff midwives. Then we were summoned for another lady who was at 7cm dilated with her 2nd baby. It took her a bit longer than average to completely dilate and unlike the norm, she needed a lot more encouragement and direction with her pushing, but out came another baby boy into the NZ students waiting hands. She also needed to be sutured but was lucky enough to get 4-0 Vircyl, unfortunately the needle was smaller than norm- so her repair was challenging for the NZ SM, I ended up closing for her and the needle kept bending with each stitich. As we were finishing up with her another lady delivered in the LDR 2 across the way with the staff midwives. We then got our mama #2 and baby settled into her postpartum bed, and were told another mama was close to pushing, both of us students declined the opportunity for a third birth, as our feet were tired and I had plans to be in at 7am tomorrow.

So on that note- to bed with me. Good night & good morning to you.





Mama's line up for Baby checks- weight, measurements, and BCG (tb) immunizations before they get discharged home

Me giving a baby it's first bath (baby go swim-swim) after birth- not one I caught. I try to delay the first bath if I can.

First day at the Maternity Ward

I arrived a little before shift change, met with one of the midwives as I came in. I unloaded the supplies that I brought with me across town- Gloves,disposable speculum, syringes, gauze, and some goodies for the midwives. As I'm unloading I can tell she's hoping to see something- Chux pads, the disposable blue under-pads that we take for granted in the US and other developed countries. I brought some but wasn't able to fit them in my bag today to bring them to the hospital. Then after I did the first birth without one I understood. Honestly beside the gloves I wish I had brought only chux pads, because that is obviously what they want. There is one other New Zealand student midwife volunteering, and her school doesn't have the relationship with the hospital that mine does, so she wasn't as prepared with supplies to donate. Then at the same time it's much closer to Vanuatu, so she may have many more opportunities to bring supplies over. The afternoon was relatively quiet, there was one baby boy born about 2 hours after I arrived. He was healthy 3740gm, baby #3 for his mama who had a longer than average 3rd stage (delivery of placenta), even with active management (pitocin) it took 40 minutes and a lot of controlled cord traction to deliver the placenta. It was hard to watch the very sweet Ni-Vanuatu OB work with force to encourage the placenta to detach. The mama was not having any contractions (or not strong enough ones) to detach the placenta. In the states, we would have had her nurse the baby which encourages the physiological separation of the placenta, and clamping off the blood vessels to prevent PPH (excessive bleeding). The Ni-Vanuatu women really are strong, she barely made a peep about the whole birth process, and soon was moved to postpartum recovery and left be. later when i was reviewing her chart, I noted that she had quite high blood pressure (I wasn't managing her birth so didn't get a look at her earlier), i have no idea if it was checked again after the birth. The rest of the night was spent chatting with the other student midwife, prepping supplies (folding gauze swabs, rolling cotton balls- then soaking them in alcohol) for the ward, checking charts, keeping an eye on the 3 mama's that were barely laboring, and admitting 4 ladies just before the 11pm shift change. The staff midwives were nice enough to have me driven home by their family member/friend who picked them up. I am thinking about changing hotels closer to the hospital- it's not as private but much closer walking distance, and a bit cheaper overall.

Now time to head over to the hospital again.

Rain & Butterflies

Well I made it half way to the hospital and realized I'd forgotten my paperwork, ugh.
Sat down to enjoy the harbor view, from what seems to be my spot when a few errant drops of water landed on my shoulders. Now random drops happened all day yesterday but these were different, I got up and wandered back towards the cover of the produce market, and the sky opened up. Unfortunately I needed to get back to my hotel and then on to the hospital with papers in hand. So after waiting for a break in the rain I made a run for it. I ducked in and out of shops, trying to stay to the covered areas of the streets, but it was a futile hope, I was soon drenched along with everyone else. Oh the joys of the tropic rain.
I then get back into my room realizing I'm hungry and that I might as well make some leftovers for lunch. Change into dry clothes, and write another blog entry. Opened my window to enjoy the breeze and the rain fresh air, and in comes a black and orange butterfly. Quicker than my camera it fluttered back out. Now to finish my lunch and this time I'll take a bus to the hospital with all the supplies I brought for donation.

Market exploration

Yesterday was a nice day where I explored the wonderful produce market, and Au Bon Marche (the Grocery store). I stocked up on some of the essentials to prepare meals back at my hotel. then sat and enjoyed the harbor view, where by I met a British man whom had shared the plane from Auckland with me, then subsequently had some good conversation, which has been absent with me being a solitary traveler.

I then wondered back to my hotel to prepare a meal with my market finds and contemplate why I didn't make any real plans to meet any of the random folks I have spoken with so far on the island. I must admit it's been a bit lonely. I also discovered my first mosquito bite. I then discovered I am still bad at cooking rice, but It was at least edible, I topped it off with sauteed greens (which remind me of bok choi- but I really have no idea what they are), avocado & some very yummy mushroom soy sauce. i then had a whole papaya for dessert.

Well today I plan to rectify the loneliness by going to the hospital this afternoon (I had planned on going early but the time got away from me, even though i woke at 615am).
I still need to stop in and buy some hair bands to help tame my fly-aways prior to the maternity ward adventures.

Time zone change

So I decided to change the time zone of the blog to reflect where I am, which is + 18 hours from home in Southern California.
I also checked the weather and it is 77 degrees with 94% humidity and not raining.

Now out for my money changing and market shopping.

Just about 24hours in Vila

So I've been here just about 24 hours. Slept pretty well last night, woke up off and on, and with the fan running kept slapping for the mosquitoes that were thankfully not there. I also keep looking for my cat when I catch movement of things blowing in the wind of the fan. I woke at 6am shortly after the sun came up. I feel much more refreshed. My hotel seems almost unoccupied, except for me, though the house girls (Ni-vanuatu) are out back doing laundry so it must just be that I have kept different hours than other residents.

I have yet to do much exploring as I took a nap yesterday after my arrival and then proceeded to finish my research about how the town is laid out. I took a nice long walk last night before the sun went down, which did help me get my bearing. I sat for a bit by the harbor, watching local boys jumping off of the dock, playing kickball, and cavorting. There were very few women about, and few other tourist, but it was Sunday which is a day of rest as it has deep missionary roots. The town setup is divided by it's history of French and British occupation, the west side (where I am staying) streets are french named, and the east side where the hospital is are British. Not that the streets have signs that I've noticed, but in exploring the maps you have a main street named for General Charles De Gaulle that turns into Winston Churchill, and so on. Turns out my hotel is on Rue Bougainville

The next bill of business is to go to "goodies" and exchange some money, then get a few things that I missed packing (hair bands, a small lock for the cabinet/closet in my room), then to the produce market. I think I will head to the hospital tomorrow morning. I may head to one of the resorts in order to do meet some people and swim because yes it is hot & humid so much so that I feel a bit swollen with the moisture.

Forever on a Plane...but I'm here.

It's sticky humid but not too hot today. My hotel is every bit as unglamorous as i could expect. They are trying to upgrade, but alas are still an Island hole in the wall.

The staff are sweet so far. I have a kitchenette, private bath, fan and it is at the back of the property so it should be quiet enough. The hotel forgot to send the airport transportation, and the bus took me to the City "Lodge" instead of City "Motel"- so it cost me an additional 500Vt, as the buses don't like to take people with baggage to go back across town to my Motel. I took a quick cold shower - changed my clothes and will likely take a short nap as I'm exhausted and it's only a quarter of 11am here.

Making a list and checking it twice

Ok I'm checking it and rechecking it. Trying to get all the last minute purchases made. Tomorrow I head in to donate blood, and then get a tetanus shot. I may start the packing tomorrow as well but need to head to my storage unit as most of my clothes are still packed from my recent move back from Seattle.

I'm excited and a little nervous, reading stories from others helps me with both planning and working through the nerves.

My newest find in the web reading is Vanuatu A-Z visitor guide.
http://www.vanuatuatoz.com/

Count down continues.

So I am up in Seattle, I had class on Friday, and I return to California on Monday. I am catching up with friends,working on writing my paper. I have been reading & researching and making my final list of items to pack & gather for my trip. I found and reread another blog from another student and her experience in Vanuatu.

http://welbornbaby.blogspot.com/2008/06/so-much-generosity.html

Quiet Day

Today was a nice quiet day which began with some great laughs at prenatal visits. Then home to work on my senior paper which is due on Friday. It's getting close to finished. Made a great Irish American dinner of corned beef & cabbage with wheat soda bread. Now for a little relaxation & trip planning before getting back to the paper.

I'm touched to say that I have even gotten a few donations from friends of friends or others in the community. Thanks again to all of you who have donated for my trip, I really appreciate it.

Daily frustrations

I really am getting excited to get on the plane and start my journey.
Yesterday I confirmed my hotel, decided with City Motel.
Today was a challenging day, started out with the mild 4.4 earthquake which jolted me upright in bed, and made me go - yep I've been a way from California for a while.
Then went on to start my day of prenatal visits, unfortunately when I stopped to grab a coffee and pressed the window down button to get my parking ticket- when ugh my car window goes slamming into the door. Fortunately I didn't panic as I had been the unfortunate recipient of this VW torture in past years with other cars of mine. So I drove straight through the garage without said cup of coffee on to the dealership to drop the car off for repair. Then I arranged for my sweet preceptor to pick me up on her way into town an on to our prenatals. Unbeknown to me the part i though was recalled was not, VW had just extended the warranty- which my current car was no longer under, so out goes $310 to repair my car.
Ugh...
I hope the rest of my stateside time is less financially trying, as I really need all my extra to help out in Vanuatu.

Thank you

Thanks everyone who has made donations to help with my travel expenses. I am so blessed to have wonderful friends & family who understand how important this trip is to my education and ultimately how important it is to the hospital where I will be serving.

If you are curious and want to know more about the island check out these links

Vanuatu tourist info
http://vanuatu.travel/

My schoolmates blog from when she went to the island last year.
http://farawaybabies.blogspot.com/

and her photos from the trip
http://picasaweb.google.com/Tinatsb/VanuatuAllPictures?feat=directlink#

and one more schoolmates blog
http://lifeatnikis.blogspot.com/search/label/Vanuatu

Hotel Options narrowed

So I had a few responses from the many hotels and apartment rentals I contacted yesterday and have narrowed it down to 2 choices.

The one in the lead is City Hotel.
http://www.travelmaxia.com/extended.cfm?Memberid=666
Which is a brand new property that has yet to have much opportunity to degrade. It doesn't include a pool or resort, but most of the ritzier resorts welcome others to come and buy drinks and use their pools or beach side bathing areas. They offered me a room for the 3wks at $1095 or $ 1248 with air conditioning, which is really good when you look at the fact that it includes a kitchenette and wireless internet.

2nd runner up is the old Kaviti Village with an offer of $1000 for the stay w/o air conditioning. It's a studio apartment with internet. Pro- I know of other midwives who have stayed here, and it's cheaper than the above. Cons it's known for being old and run down.

Either way I am looking at around $1000.00 for my lodging.

I'm getting excited, as I at least have an idea of where I am going to stay for my trip now. Your love & donations are appreciated.

I leave in 13 days, and need your help!

I booked my flight but have yet to figure out how to pay for my room & board...

To make the story short, I have been living on loans for the past 2.5 years while pursuing my midwifery education, scraping by. I had planned this trip at the end of my training, to cement all of my hours of studies and polish my skills before heading off into the land of the newly licensed and practicing home-birth midwife. Unfortunately due to the necessary end of my last relationship and the lies surrounding my gifted airline tickets for this trip never appearing, I had to reallocate the money I had set aside for lodging to purchase my ticket.
Which leaves me now with less than 2 weeks to scrape up the money to pay my room & board, as well as supplies to take to the maternity ward.

If you can help at all I would so appreciate it as will the lovely mothers & babies in Vanuatu. Everything helps

List of most needed items:
Small chux pads
Blood pressure cuffs
Digital thermometers
Non-sterile gloves
Disposable gowns
Ultrasound gel
Glucometer
Electronic Fetal Monitor Probes

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