Well I hope to be more active on my blog posting. It has been a steady start to our mission here in Santa Clotilde. We have adjusted to life as parents and physicians.  We are lucky to have a wonderful “nanny” named Zulma who is a mother of 5 herself, helping to take care of Charlie while we work.   Work is steady, our internet is not. One of our biggest challenges apart from medical work in a resource lacking setting is lack of internet. I know our family and friends back home feel the same. 

We continue to be blessed. Today at mass, Padre Roberto a Peruvian Oblate priest had a nice homily focusing on ministry and service of the leity, especially mentioning education and healthcare. We also welcomed 14 young Peruvian professionals to our river. These 14 people are doing their year of service in our health clinic and outposts for the next year and include: 2 doctors, 6 nurses, 2 midwives, 2 dentists, a psychologist, and pharmacist.  This will help provide access to care for our population in extreme poverty along 400km of the Napo river.

I would like to share the story of a recent family who came to Centro de Salud Santa Clotilde. This young family from the indigenous community Angoteros, which is 6 hours in a motor boat upriver, were referred for the delivery of their twins. A prior ultrasound recognized the babies in a transverse and breech position. They came and she received her dexamethasone to help develop the babies’ lungs in case of premature delivery. She waited patiently and finally the day came when contractions started. We entered the operating room; Toni did a c-section as I awaited with 2 of our nurses to accept the babies. The uterus was huge and then the incision….bag #1, then we identified bag #2,  bag #1 open and baby #1 a girl, crying and with good tone. Next bag #2 and baby #2 another girl……..however cyanotic and not crying. We started the rescesitation, the newborn baby girl needed oxygen to bring pink to her skin, next an IV and bolus of fluid to help with circulation. Heart sounds were normal but not much movement in the lungs. We admitted her for respiratory distress and possible pneumonia.  Started antibiotics and she maintained her oxygen levels. On day 3 still not improving much, when a new nurse to our staff, not even working 48 hours with us,  “MacGyvered” (80s TV show reference) a CPAP machine. With this the baby was more comfortable and stable, but still not improving the way we hoped. She had one tough day with several desaturations and cyanotic episodes. We decided to transfer to the hospital in Iquitos for likely intubation and prolonged ICU stay. We prepared our boat and oxygen tank and the CPAP “machine” and off went one of our doctors and nurse. After a 6 hour trip they arrived at the hospital and were greeted by Elita our nurse who receives and helps all our transfers to Iquitos. The baby was admitted and continued on CPAP, an x ray revealed a congenital defect in her diaphragm muscle with the intestines entering the area where the lung should be. Two days ago the patient, mom ,dad and sister all flew to Lima as there is no pediatric surgeon in Iquitos to operate the defect. In Lima the family was met by our patient coordinator Manuel who assists all of our patients that need higher level of care in Lima and he also manages the patient house.  The baby is in the hospital and I will find out tomorrow the plans for surgery. 

God is good and as I sat in mass this morning, it dawned on me the courage that this family has and the teamwork needed to provide care in this remote region. This family comes from a community where the majority of people walk barefoot ,speak their native Kichwas, drink their traditional drink Masato, and hold on to beautiful cultural customs. My experience here as a generalization this community tends to not want to leave their community. For them to come to Santa Cloltidle is a very BIG deal; now they find themselves in Lima a capital of 10 million people with a sick baby needing a surgery.  They have come along way, but prayers are still needed as she has a long road ahead of her. 

Brian Medernach

After being here for two months, I decided to take a call. Brian and I were here without other doctors for three days, and instead of him working non-stop, I covered. The knock on my window came at 1am. Blanca, the midwife who covers all low risk deliveries came to discuss a patient. Doctor Juan, who’s house is connected to ours, heard the knock and came to see what the commotion was about. The three of us sat on benches outside our front door as Blanca recounted that the 25 year old woman, pregnant with her first baby and a week overdue, arrived with contractions and bleeding. There were blood clots on her exam, and the baby’s heart was beating faster than normal. We all agreed that a cesarean would be the safest thing, since the patient was not yet dilated. 

At 11pm, the town power goes out, so in the pitch black, the night watchman Lenorio went to inform the nurse Lily that she was needed. We communicated by phone to the nurse Yoly who would assist in the surgery and her husband Frank who works in the lab and would check the patients platelet count before I did her spinal. 

Lenorio returned with Lily, and then went to turn on the hospital’s diesel powered motor for the surgery. It takes usually an hour to prepare the patient and operating room and to mobilize everyone, which in this case was fine because the baby’s heart rate had normalized. 

Dr. Juan and I delivered a beautiful baby boy, waited a minute before clamping the cord, and the baby was nursing within a few minutes… after his vitamin K injection and eye antibiotics. By 3am, she was back in her hospital bed with the baby lying at her side.

Helping bring new lives into the world is just miraculous! With Charlie in our life now, I relate to patients and parents with a bit of a different perspective, having experienced the joy of watching a baby grow and develop. There are so many little significant moments! 

Just today actually, Charlie was jumping up and down like he’s been doing recently in his Pack’n’Play. I watched him for 15 minutes and he tried to move from one side to the other, barely able to reach the higher curved rail. After almost falling a few times, leaning forward and catching himself with his belly on the netting, it dawned on him to take a step toward the other side. Patiently, with the wheels turning in his head, he made it all the way around the Pack’n’Play. 

On this Mother’s Day, I am filled with love and connectedness and humility. My love and prayers go out to my own wonderful mother and father and family, who carried me and cared for me and continue to care for me with the same love and concern I have for Charlie. I also keep in mind mothers here in our own community of Santa Clotilde. Although they live in poverty, fighting to feed their children, some living in fear of drunken husbands, they are blessed with the strength and love and perseverance to care for their children the best they can with the few resources they have. I remember my grandmothers, who paved the way for me and my parents. They lived through joys and struggles and though them, in some miraculous way, are the reason I am here in the Amazon today. I thank Zulma, Charlie’s nanny who cares for Charlie like he is her own, who provides him constant play and stimulation and offers us cultural and baby advice that has been invaluable.

I celebrate this day with my wonderful husband, who never tires caring for Charlie and I, who’s heart is so big that it gracefully fulfills not only his family role, but the role of Padres Jack and Moe who were mentors and inspirations to so many here in Santa Clotilde! 

Wish list: Help with a grant to build and maintain a woman’s shelter to help temper the abuses that are so common in our community