So, we have a few more weeks in Kenya. We have been slowly making the transition from I-never-want-to-leave-Kenya to I-think-I’m-ready-to-go-home. I really do love it here. Someone told us that we would not be satisfied, living in a place like Kenya, because we would not have the things that we have at home. He was probably right, however there are things about Kenya that I really admire and I am really going to miss. People are incredibly resilient and very relaxed. I like that. We were warned, before we came, about a thing called “Kenyan time.” People here don’t value the idea of being on time the way we Canadians do. It can be a bit frustrating, but I think it might be a bit difficult being back in Canada and having to be on time again. Here, people either have to walk long distances or have to wait for a matatu, so when someone says “10:00” that usually means that they will try to leave around 10:00 but might not show up until 12:00. Which reminds me… I lost my watch the other day.
On Monday, I ventured back to the maternity unit. There was a woman in labour and I was getting excited to conduct my first birth. The woman was sent for cesarean… Then another woman came in and I thought that she would be the one. I stood with her for a few hours and held her hand and rubbed her back. I was all prepared to help with the birth of her baby. But all of a sudden, a woman burst through the door, ripped her dress off and jumped up on one of the beds. (It probably wasn’t quite that dramatic). Josephine asked me if I was ready, which I kind of wasn’t. Lynet threw a pair of gloves at me and told me to put them on. FAST. The patient and I both assumed our positions and all of the nurses started yelling “Scouma! Scouma capisa!” (Push! Push with all your might!). I said that I conducted the birth, but I really didn’t do a whole lot- the baby kinda just slid right out. I wiped the baby and clamped and cut the umbilical cord. One of the nurses and I assessed the mother, who seemed to be fine. This seriously happened: the mother, no more than 2 minutes after giving birth, got off of the bed, walked over to the baby warmer, picked up her baby and walked to their room. It was crazy! It was seriously about 15 minutes in total that she was in the labour ward. Not long after, the woman who I had been standing with all morning was ready to push. Allison conducted and I received the baby. She was a beautiful baby girl. The mother took a liking to Stephanie and named the baby after her. Yesterday, Allison and I went to see the mom, and she immediately asked: “Where is Stephanie?” When the mom and baby were discharged, the family made Steph carry the baby out to the car! So sweet!
And a quick little update on my little friend. She has been much more vocal and much less shy the last few weeks. I handed her a Werther’s Original the other day and she said in this loud, confident voice (and in perfect English): “Thank you!” She said all of our names and locked Amy out of the building. Yesterday, I tickled her neck and she grabbed my fingers and bit them! She is a funny little girl.
So we all went to a salon in Meru last week to get our hair braided. At first, I thought I looked hilarious, but it kinda grew on me. For a few days. I was the first to want to rip the ten pounds of extra hair out of my head. The girls helped me take it out on Tuesday… didn’t last long. I had a pretty big afro after the braids came out. Pretty hilarious. Amy’s came out yesterday, and Steph made an appointment to have hers out today. Christina is probably going to keep hers in until she goes home. It looks best on her anyway.
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