Last week was really hard, school-wise, and incredibly exhausting. Case in point, I slept in til 2pm today, and 12pm yesterday. That isn't usual for me, as I am a morning person. But I saw the most amazing thing last week which was a ray of light to me and a reminder of why I'm doing this.
I have been in my OB-Gyn rotation these past few weeks. I am working at a hospital in an area of town that is predominantly Spanish-speaking, and of Dominican heritage. I love these people, and am loving this population more and more each day. And I have been blessed to witness two additions to their community this past week.
I came into the Labor and Delivery portion of the hospital on Wednesday morning, not really sure what to expect, but excited for anything. Because I used to work in the NICU, I had always seen the babies after they were out, but had never seen the process leading up to that. Well, I was paired with a nurse who was caring for a first-time mom who had come into the hospital the previous afternoon, and had been in labor for over 12hrs. She wasn't dilating, and they thought they'd have to do a C-section. But then she started to progress, and they decided to try a vaginal birth. I got to see it all, from when she was dilated to 8 cm to when the baby came out. After she was fully dilated to 10cm, they had her start pushing with the contractions, and it was so amazing to see that little head suddenly appear with a push, and then go back in. With each successive push, it came further out, until mom was ready to give birth. About an hour into pushing, the baby's head crowned, and the OB was called in to deliver. They had the mom sit up, broke apart the bed, and had the mom give a few more pushes. By this time, she was completely exhausted, and almost couldn't do it. Her mother and husband were in the room with her, encouraging her on, and as she looked into her husband's eyes, I think she found the strength she needed to keep going. 'Empuje! Empuje! Empuje!' 'Push! Push! Push!' The mom cried out in pain as the head came, and then the rest of the body slipped effortlessly through. I started crying; I couldn't help it. Even now, thinking about it, I get choked up. The mom was crying, and the dad was beaming. It was a beautiful, healthy baby girl.
Life is truly a miracle, in every form. From the miracle of physical birth to the amazing grace-filled miracle of spiritual birth, it made my heart sing praises to the Lord for this new little person that He had brought into the world. The joy on the faces of her parents; her grandmother beaming with pride as her little girl brought another little girl into this world. The lusty, beautiful sound of a healthy pair of lungs protesting about being out of the warm, cozy environment of the womb into the harsh reality of the world. There is nothing more beautiful to me than the sound of a heartily crying baby. You know that they are healthy then. They can breathe. They can live. Working in the NICU gave me a greater appreciation for that; our kids were so often so premature or so sick that they couldn't or wouldn't do more than make little baby whimpers, or grunts. A healthy set of lungs is such a blessing!
I also saw a C-section; equally amazing, equally tear-enducing. The mother, with tears streaming down her face, whispers "Hola, bonita.." as the baby is placed by her face. Her abdomen is open and exposed, and I'm sure she and her husband feel nothing but the joy of their new little daughter. "Felicidades!" we all say to them. I'm sure the L&D nurses, who have seen a million births, think that this never gets old. All of the promise and potential in this new little person. All of the joy and love and life before it. Its precious innocence, the beautiful gift of its uniqueness will be given first to its family, and then to the world.
Childbirth is such a miracle, and after I saw these this week, I felt a deep and gripping appreciation for my mom in a way I never had before. To think of everything she went through to give me life, and to think of the awful ways I have sometimes treated her. My heart overflowed with deep deep love for her and her and my dad's sacrifices for me for all of my life, and I consider myself so truly blessed to be their daughter.
What a hard, hard week, but what a sweet, sweet miracle. Praise the Lord!
No comments:
Post a Comment