So Friday was my first day of being on call for this rotation. Typically "on call" makes you think of people living their normal lives until their beeper or cell phone goes off. In OBGYN, you don't have that kind of time, so you stay at the hospital....for 24 hours...
I got to the hospital around 6:20 to make sure I was in the right place to meet my Doc at 7am. We reviewed the patients that were there from the night before with the doctor from the night before, and then we were off to see them. The patient list wasn't too bad, but there were some crazy cases...I'll tell you about my two favorites!
1) There was a very kind lady who was there to have her first child. She had come in the night before and was induced, but wasn't having much luck progressing. She ended up with some other complications, which led to her having a cessarian section. My doc told me to scrub in for the procedure...which meant that I would be pretty close to the action, but that was all I thought. Little did I know, I was about to be all in the action! I had never seen a C-section before, or a baby be born for that matter, so I was incredibly excited!!! Before I knew it, we were starting...with my doc on one side of her abdomen, me on the other, with one nurse beside me. Doc cut her abdomen, one layer at a time to avoid damage. I manned the suction. At one point, both the doc and I put two fingers in the abdomen on each side...and pulled! Seems kind of brutal, but we had to get a baby out of there! Next, doc pointed out the uterus and asked me if I could see what he was pointed at..."Is that the baby's hair!" I said...and I was right! I couldn't believe it! We were seconds away from bringing this baby into the world! I couple snips later, and the uterus was open. Doc asked me to put my hand on the mom's stomach, and then kindly reminded me that because of her spinal anesthesia, she couldn't push the baby out. So doc looks me dead in the eye and says..."ok, you're going to push this baby out....and you have to like, for real push!" Before I knew it, he was holding the baby's neck while I pushed her out! 3 big pushes later...our patient was a first time mommy to a beautiful baby girl!! The umbilical cord was clamped and I cut it. Not too long later, the placenta was delivered, and then it was time to suture this lady back together. The suturing took as long if not longer than the delivery. Then, doc put her outer skin layer back together as I placed staples across her abdomen....and that was it! I had helped deliver my first baby!
2) Baby number two for the evening came rather quickly. We knew that the mom was getting close, but being her first child, it would generally be a slow progression. I was in my call room on the 4th floor when my phone rang. It was doc...saying "Hey! Get down to L&D now!" which is on the second floor. There weren't steps near there, so I had to wait for the elevator. I got to the room right as doc was gowning and getting set to start. You could tell mom was ready to go. She was already saying had to push...she just had to get it out of her! :) Being my first vaginal delivery and not as much involvement as the c-section, I stood behind doc and watched this one. Mom and dad were super excited! The grin on dad's faced when he realized his baby was almost here was priceless. Labor is supposed to take a while when it is your first pregnacy...but this lady set a new standard for first time deliveries! Within 10 minutes, their baby girl was there, screaming, and ready for some loving! I must admit, I got a little teary-eyed with this one. Just seeing the look of first time parents, and seeing them cry got to me.
I think I was emotional after seeing the parents cry and hold their new baby girl for lots of reasons. Partly, I've just become a big softy, so them crying was enough. Partly, the idea of what the mom must have felt...carrying this baby for 9 months and in a matter of minutes, there she was, in her arms...it was just beautiful. Mostly though, I was amazed at the things God is allowing me to see and do in my life. I most definitely don't deserve any of the great and wonderful things He lets me be a part of, but I'm so thankful that he does!
Well, those were the high points of the on call night for me. I've seen a lot thus far, and that's just the first week!!!
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