Wednesday, 1 week left
Today 4 of us went to the Negombo hospital. I did some breathing exercises and hand holding in the labor and delivery with a 1st time mom. I supported the head of a woman and she pulled her own legs and feet up, there is no family or dads to help the moms. The nurse did an episiotomy (it was not pretty). A baby girl was born. They have no bed sheets just a piece of plastic to deliver on. The mother has her street clothes on, a skirt and blouse. Her skirt is pulled up around her waist. No drugs are given. Baby appears to be healthy, wiped off with a cloth and put in the crib with the 5 other babies.
The staff is so very appreciative and accommodating to us. They serve us tea, just a half cup each. They are poor. But the nurses find great satisfaction in their jobs. They really enjoy what they do for others. They asked if we could help them. I said what exactly can we do? They asked if we could get them a washing machine. We discussed it among ourselves and decided we would like to do that for them. So our van driver took us to an appliance store, Abans and we bought a semi automatic washer. Just like the one they showed us the operating theater had. We are very gratified for having the opportunity to do that. 4 of us bought it with our own money. When they brought me to the OR to show me the washer I had to put sterile(?) clothes on,the flip flops I had to wear were broken and didn't match.
So this was another good day.
I also did some haircuts for 3 of the boys in the orphanage. I only had a scissor to work with, no clipper, they didn't turn out too bad. Hopefully this helps get rid of some of the head lice.
Did I ever mention that we only have cold water at the farm. But I still stayed in the shower for a long time this evening. I washed my clothes in the sink and hung them out to dry. Nothing seems clean.
