Triplets

So, as it turns out, having 3 babies is hard! About a week ago I started helping with a set of triplets born to a mom from one of the outlying villages. Three little girls! Aside from the fact that triplets survived, were born relatively close to term, and were delivered via normal delivery without any prenatal care, mom had no idea she was having triplets. Can you imagine? Going to deliver your baby and having not one, not two, but THREE babies come out? I'm thinking I wouldn't be so happy about that one.

Mom and babies are doing so well though! They seem as though they are slowly gaining weight. They generally feed pretty well, except for the biggest which is a total pain in the butt and refuses to suck her bottle with any vigor, but overall they are thriving.

The first couple nights I stayed there with them, sleeping my teeniest girl on my chest. I use the word "sleeping" loosely as it turns out that trying to fall asleep while you have a tiny human life tied to your body is a bit difficult. I also got about 30 mosquito bites that night, so if I end up with malaria next week we'll know why. The second night that I was with them there were a total of 3 Ugandan women sleeping in the room with me. I'm not sure if you knew this, but Ugandan women are loud! Actually, this entire country is loud. They talk and laugh and cough and do everything you can imagine to make sleeping in the same room incredibly unpleasant... this, of course being, because they can sleep through anything! Boy how I wish I'd managed to develop that trait.

But mama is doing well. Feeding her babies, cuddling them, and helping them to grow big and strong.

It's been such a blessing to be apart of these small ones lives. Hopefully a redemptive story, a second chance after Lokute. A chance to help 3 little ones thrive and grow. 

I love how God redeems what was once lost, how he makes new what I thought was beyond repair. He is a God of redemption, and for that I am thankful!

A visit to the doctor...

Sometimes Uganda makes me want to scream. Or bash my head up against the wall. Like when I walk into a clinic with a patient and the receptionist gives me a script and lets me write out the doctor's orders. Because my skin is white I can do that. There are times when this is an advantage, but it also just goes to show how corrupt and ridiculous things can be in this country. On monday it meant that the girl I brought to the clinic was seen quicker. It meant that she got the tests that I knew she needed. But really!? I can't find a doctor that knows on their own what sort of tests should be done! And was the diagnosis because the doctor knew or because it was what I wrote on order sheet?

Today I was back in the clinic with another girl and for 1 1/2 hours I sat in the exam room waiting for the OB who was supposedly coming from the other hospital sometime that day. Over 3 hours of waiting occurred before we finally gave up and left. For my OB friends... 3 hours of sitting and waiting for a specialist for a partial placental abruption at 20 weeks only to leave without being seen. And then I had to send the patient home on the back of a motorcycle out into the village in hopes that she heeds my warnings about bed rest. Those are the things that make my heart ache and make me long for a place here where women get proper treatment.

Did you know that it only costs 5,000 ugx to see the doctor? That's $2. And for an ultrasound... 20,000 ugx ($8).

Eclipse

This Sunday there was a hybrid solar eclipse. I happen to be in one of the best places on earth to see this awesome sight.

So we ended church a little early and gathered around a few old x-rays with some of my favorite friends and watched as the sun disappeared. 

So cool to be able to see this once in a lifetime sight!