Home Sweet Home

I had the pleasure of being able to take this family home this past week and boy were they ever happy to be home. We have it pretty easy in Canada, where we have easy access to basic and life giving attention in our hospitals and medical clinics. Out here in the jungle, women who are pregnant do not have the access that women back in Canada have and if there is any difficulties they may have to walk several hours and possibly days to get access to any medical attention. Fortunately this family lives in a village that has Community Health Care Workers, a radio and an airstrip.

When this woman started to have some complications with her pregnancy she was able to see a Community Health Care Workers right away. When the Health Care Workers realized that this was something more than what they could handle, they went to their HF radio and made a call to the Dr's here in Rumginae, who in turn advised that she should come to Rumginae to deliver.

This is not the end of the story, she then had to pack up herself and her little daughter and then fly to Rumginae. You maybe wondering why the husband did not go with her, but he had good reason. She was not expected to deliver for another month and her husband is a teacher, the only teacher in the community, so he was not able to leave then. Not only was she going to be in Rumginae without her husband she was also responsible to feed herself and her daughter as well as doing all their own laundry. The hospital here does not have the staff to do these things.  Patients here often come to hospital with a guardian to help out with these things.

A few days before she was to give birth I was able to bring her husband to Rumginae so he would be able to help out with their daughter when mom was delivering. A week later they were very excited  to be returning to their home where they would have the support of family and community.

 Home Sweet Home!!!

Jay for the Marshes