Dr. Mzungu, Surgeon!

I know I owe a million blog posts, but I have no time after yesterday's 14 hour day. It was our last real clinical day so we wanted to do everything, so we did!

Beyond seeing a million ridiculous cases in maternity like usual, a horrible preteen sexual assault case, watching two vaginal births, and watching two C-sections, we got to assist in surgery!

I was the first assist (and ONLY assistant for Dr. K) on an emergency Caesar that got much more complicated and tricky than had been planned, but despite the sweat rolling down my back the entire time apparently I did wonderfully! Both mom and baby survived, despite lots of bleeding and a long struggle to start breathing (respectively). I was responsible for basically everything during the surgery but cutting and suturing, which is a lot of crazy juggling. I even got to clamp off and cut the cord. It was so so awesome.

Shalina caught the baby on the first surgery, so she got to assist on the second one while I caught the baby. She of course got a nice quick clean case after my messy one, but that meant the baby was super healthy, which was more fun for me!

I held the wiggly screaming baby while they cut the cord, then took her over to the midwife and got to suck out all the goo and tie off the cord neatly, and weigh and APGAR score her. She was chubby and super healthy, but fussy and cold during the rest of the surgery despite the warming lamp. The midwife told me the baby's name was Maren now, so I should hold my namesake while I watched the rest of the surgery. So of course I did. And observing surgeries late at night is made more enjoyable by simultaneously snuggling newborn infants, in case you didn't know.

After the surgeries we were starving and ready to drop, but maternity was blowing up downstairs so we saw some crazy cases for another hour and a half before we escaped (leaving Dr. K still there) and got home at midnight.

A wonderful last clinical day!!