Three years later

 December 9^th was the third anniversary of the opening of the hospital. We still remember how unsure we were about how the hospital would develop, would anybody choose to come to our small hospital off the beaten track on the edge of the city. Even the staff were complaining about the distance and they were being paid to come!

Three years later we are able to celebrate the fact that the hospital continues to grow and we are able to serve them in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  In honour of his birth and the hospital anniversary we had a sandwich supper behind our house last Saturday evening attended by about 50 people.  Malc and Sue went into town to get the sandwiches , thankfully the wheel didn’t fall off their car this week. I got 2 crates of soft drinks, they were warm so I got a motor bike taxi to get me some ice, he came back with 2 blocks ( 90X30X15cm each) strapped behind him on the bike. I needed a pick axe to break them up. The presents had been wrapped already with all the BMS team pitching in.  

So we gave thanks for the 1830 babies born and 35000 new outpatients treated  since the hospital opened and prayed for Gods blessing on the future and then we settled to  watch a  BBC version of the Nativity story dubbed into French. As night fell it was projected on to the perimeter wall.  It made everyone laugh, especially when a pregnant  Mary returns to Nazareth and tries to explain to Joseph that things are not quite what they seem. So you’ve hidden a watermelon up your dress as a joke then? exclaimed her  incredulous husband to be.  Pastor Djibrine gave a running translation in Arabic to some visitors from the village who being Muslim were less well versed in the story and two midwives tried to calm their crying babies and the moon rose overhead.

As the Christmas party was finishing there was a cold wind from the desert, temperatures are falling as low as 13C overnight at present so everyone was keen to get home, as is traditional during the festive season, a minibus taking people home got stuck in a drift on the road and needed pushing out but being Chad it was a sand rather than a snow.

 The miracle of Christmas, God with us, and he certainly has been this month. Half way though  there have been 53 deliveries , more than 3 a day, and two caesareans really stand out.

The first a woman who had 2 previous caesareans but no living baby was due to have an elective caesarean at term before going into labour and avoid a third dead baby. Despite lots of explanation  the mother failed  to come for the appointment and arrived 4 days late on a Sunday afternoon , in advanced labour but   unable to deliver. Speed was required to save the baby and a caesarean was quickly performed but on opening the abdomen the scar on the uterus was found to have ruptured and the baby was lying lifeless among the intestines. No spontaneous breathing and a very slow heartbeat. A third dead baby looked very likely and a seriously sick mother. Somehow, read more in Rebecca North’s blog an amazing turnaround took place, with resuscitation the babies heart started to beat faster, the woman’s uterus was repaired, and mother and baby made an uneventful recovery leaving hospital at 5 days. Praise God for his mercies.

The second lady also needed a caesarean as her baby would not deliver but just as she was to be put to sleep she had an unexpected eclamptic fit. That was rapidly controlled but now we could not put her to sleep as her blood pressure was dangerously high and our anaesthetic (ketamine) makes it go higher and can itself cause fits. The woman was restless and semiconscious and could not be transferred to the hospital in town as it was one o' clock in the morning and any delay may cause her and the baby serious problems. So she was gently sedated and with trepidation the operation was performed with local anaesthetic injection, similar to that used for a minor operation or at the dentist. Amazingly the mother was calm throughout, her baby cried as it was delivered through the scar and she made a full and rapid recovery. Thank God that even in very basic conditions lives can be saved, we are sure his presence with us helps.

Let’s thank God for these births and trust Him to be with as we plan the next phase for the maternity services with our newly funded Program of Community outreach, in-service training and subsidised maternity care.  We have drawn plans and are starting to seek funds for a much needed Maternity building as we are often full to overflowing. If not we may soon have women delivering babies in the entrance lobby,

NO ROOM IN THE WARD, 

 which has more than a faint echo of the Christmas  story.