"Come back tomorrow for an ultrasound."
I was frustrated this week. I realized that most people in the world don't have easy access to medical care. I met a family that opened up a whole new perspective for me.
There is a little boy that lives on the property named Anderson.
Anderson is seven years old and has three sisters:
Kayce (8 years)
Michelle (4 years)
Marisol (21 months)
Anderson's mom, Marlin, is pregnant with her fifth child. And is twenty-three years old.
I spent the week in Los Pinos with Marlin and her family. We painted a crib and got the house ready for the baby who should be here anytime now. Well, the baby who probably should have been here several days ago.
On Monday, Marlin went to the hospital because she went into labor. After a little while, the doctor said Marlin was not far enough along and sent her home.
On Tuesday, Marlin was in a lot of pain and told us that she hadn't felt the baby move in two days. She went to the hospital, was told she wasn't far enough along, and sent home again.
On Wednesday, Marlin was having contractions every four minutes but was told she needed to wait until she had a strong contraction before she walked out of Los Pinos and went to the hospital. She was still in a lot of pain.
On Thursday, we got to Los Pinos and Marlin told us the contractions stopped and she could not feel the baby at all anymore. We took her to the emergency room; they wouldn't let us in. She wasn't "bad enough." So we went to the maternity ward.
Then we sat in a whitewashed hallway for about forty-five minutes with about thirty other pregnant women waiting for Marlin to see a doctor. She finally did, for about fifteen minutes and was told,
"Come back tomorrow for an ultrasound."
An ultrasound. They made her wait a day for an ultrasound to see if they needed to perform an emergency c-section. Marlin has been in labor all week long and the only thing that was going through my head was "they really can't just do an ultrasound right now?"
I'm writing this blog on Thursday night. Right now Marlin is sleeping here at Zion's Gate because every time she gets sent home she hikes up a mountain to her one-room tin metal house in Los Pinos. And every time she leaves to return to the hospital she hikes back down the mountain and out of Los Pinos to get to a bus stop to take public transportation. And she is doing all this by herself, in labor, all week long.
Long story short, I was frustrated this week. I was frustrated because if Marlin lived in Spokane, WA this wouldn't be a problem. I was frustrated because she could have had an ultrasound the first day she went into labor. I was frustrated because she could have had a c-section the day that complications began to arise. I was frustrated because if Marlin lived a two-hour plane ride north we would not be wondering if her baby is still alive right now.
But God is bigger than doctors and ultrasounds. And God is good. So we're praying like crazy that this baby is healthy and that Marlin can get proper care. Please join us in praying for Marlin and her family.
Nikki –
I have to know what happened to Marlin! Did she have the baby? Is she still pregnant? Is the baby OK? Is Marlin OK?
It is a gift the way you take a reader “with you” into your story telling. Thank you for sharing your adventures with Christ through your gift of writing.
Praying,
Annee
Yes! Marlin had a c-section and a hysterectomy (she is 24 and has 5 children so she choose that) and she had a healthy baby girl. There were some complications when she went back to Los Pinos with her incision and her health but she is recovering and starting to feel better again. The problem now is that the baby’s father will not answer calls or come to Tegucigalpa to sign a birth certificate and at the moment the government will not allow her to be registered. So she doesn’t have a name and she is not a citizen of Honduras legally. And Marlin is a little overwhelmed so we’re praying for a change of heart in the baby’s father.
As far as health goes, all is well!