Since it's 6:30 in the morning and I've been up since 4:21am, here's a peek into my brain, stream-of-consciousness- style. There are distant rumblings of thunder and I'm hoping that it means rain is coming soon, perhaps even today. The dawn is just arriving, and the sky is still purplish blue. It is relatively cool, which means practically nothing at the moment. The last week has felt like living in a sauna, one of those ones where you pour water over the heating element or coals to generate steam and you sweat just sitting still, only there is no cold brisk air to step into here.
The title of this post takes me right back to my second year of medical school when The Fray was the soundtrack to much of my running and studying. The phrase came to mind this morning as I left the hospital after helping a new baby into the world. Some friends got me hooked on a TV show called Bondi Rescue, about lifeguards on an Australian beach. It's kind of like real-life Baywatch for girls: tanned muscular male lifeguards, Australian accents, and some occasional surfing. One of the lifeguards was talking about the incredible feeling of saving a life, and I thought to myself that it has been a long time since I can say I've actually helped save someone's life. Hopefully some of the interventions I do day in and day out- controlling blood pressure and diabetes, counseling about diet and exercise, etc etc- will eventually save someone's life, but no dramatic rescues in the recent past.
Then came the 4:21am call from the hospital. I'd admitted a patient yesterday who had come in for her first prenatal visit, and was somewhere around 9 months pregnant. She had severe pre-eclampsia (dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy) and we were observing her blood pressures overnight and were going to start inducing her labor in the morning. I had checked her at about 10:30pm and thought I felt something odd, so told the nurses to call me immediately if her water broke. Sure enough, at 4:20 her water broke and the umbilical cord prolapsed (fell out below the baby's head). This is an obstetrical emergency, because the blood supply and oxygen to the baby is completely dependent on that cord, which can be easily crimped off if it is coming out before the head.
The team came together so well- off duty nurses, night nurses, anesthesiologist, and OB-Gyn. We got the baby out as fast as we could and now he's doing great! If she hadn't decided to come in yesterday, if we hadn't seen her dangerously high blood pressure and kept her in the hospital, if I hadn't felt something funny on my exam in the middle of the night, if the nurses hadn't been diligent in checking on her, if the rest of the team hadn't been able to be reached, the baby would be dead. Instead, he's staring adoringly at his mama, as perfect as can be.
Life saved. And I'm grateful for the One who is in control of all these tiny circumstances. His eye is on the sparrow.
The rain has just arrived and what an amazing relief. Time for yoga and morning coffee on the porch.
The title of this post takes me right back to my second year of medical school when The Fray was the soundtrack to much of my running and studying. The phrase came to mind this morning as I left the hospital after helping a new baby into the world. Some friends got me hooked on a TV show called Bondi Rescue, about lifeguards on an Australian beach. It's kind of like real-life Baywatch for girls: tanned muscular male lifeguards, Australian accents, and some occasional surfing. One of the lifeguards was talking about the incredible feeling of saving a life, and I thought to myself that it has been a long time since I can say I've actually helped save someone's life. Hopefully some of the interventions I do day in and day out- controlling blood pressure and diabetes, counseling about diet and exercise, etc etc- will eventually save someone's life, but no dramatic rescues in the recent past.
Then came the 4:21am call from the hospital. I'd admitted a patient yesterday who had come in for her first prenatal visit, and was somewhere around 9 months pregnant. She had severe pre-eclampsia (dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy) and we were observing her blood pressures overnight and were going to start inducing her labor in the morning. I had checked her at about 10:30pm and thought I felt something odd, so told the nurses to call me immediately if her water broke. Sure enough, at 4:20 her water broke and the umbilical cord prolapsed (fell out below the baby's head). This is an obstetrical emergency, because the blood supply and oxygen to the baby is completely dependent on that cord, which can be easily crimped off if it is coming out before the head.
The team came together so well- off duty nurses, night nurses, anesthesiologist, and OB-Gyn. We got the baby out as fast as we could and now he's doing great! If she hadn't decided to come in yesterday, if we hadn't seen her dangerously high blood pressure and kept her in the hospital, if I hadn't felt something funny on my exam in the middle of the night, if the nurses hadn't been diligent in checking on her, if the rest of the team hadn't been able to be reached, the baby would be dead. Instead, he's staring adoringly at his mama, as perfect as can be.
Life saved. And I'm grateful for the One who is in control of all these tiny circumstances. His eye is on the sparrow.
The rain has just arrived and what an amazing relief. Time for yoga and morning coffee on the porch.
