I am Very Thankful, and Will Miss....

As my time here comes to an end, I am reflective and thankful for the people and all that I have learned. I will miss the constant smiles, even from mom's amidst their most challenging parts of labor. I will miss holding the hands of these women as they gently say, 'ohhh Mrs., ohhh Mrs.". It has been such a pleasure to help these lovely people and have them thank me after the birth when really it is them who deserve the thanks and praise. I will miss the kindness of strangers; the other night I was coming home from dinner alone and trying to catch a bus, it wasn't late but it was quite dark. I quickly realized that there weren't many of us on the street. A couple of men asked if I was alright, at first, due to apprehension I didn't answer. They asked again and I said yes, they didn't come closer but instead made sure to find 2 security guards who were close by and said, "make sure you help this lady get a bus and not a taxi, okay" (Taxi's are at least twice as expensive here). I thanked them and the security guard who helped me, and a bus was along in no time. I felt looked after. I will miss the students asking me questions and observing their learning. I will miss the beautiful babies who cry when they get their injections and then peacefully relax as they sink into my hands when I wash their hair and give them their first swim (bath). I will miss the family and community support that is so evident here. I am thankful that I have not only met and exceeded my "required birth numbers" during my time here (I have over 100 births total!) but that I have been able to help with many other tasks as well; whether it is making gauze, cotton balls, sticky strips to be used as band aids, cleaning the labor ward, assisting with breast feeding, etc. I am thankful that I have truly gotten to be a part of life at Vila Central Hospital. It has gone so quick! Over the past few days I have helped with more lovely, uncomplicated births and been able to see a few mom's who have returned to have their babe's weighed and I love being able to catch up on how they are doing. I plan to visit with a family in the next few days whose baby I helped delivery (my first week here). I am thankful that the little girl who I delivery at 30 weeks is still doing well. I am thankful that the cyclones that occurred while I was here didn't do any major damage, that the Tsunami warning that came in the middle of the night, went without impact and that the 2 earthquakes that I felt yesterday also have not harmed any of these amazing and open people. I am thankful for the babies that I knew, even for a small time. Their little souls have touched me, even the souls who left their bodies before I knew them have had an impact on me. I will miss the midwives generosity and laughter. Even though at times I wasn't sure what they were talking about, their laughter was contagious. I will miss a lot and am thankful for countless experiences and the beautiful, resilient people here.