I was posted in ICU on this day and I knew it would be a good opportunity to go into watch some surgeries. I mentioned it to the nurse as soon as I got in the door.
“Any c-sections today? I wanna go!”
She told me no, so I went ahead with helping some mothers breastfeed and discovered a high fever on a newborn. It was a slow, quiet day...or at least I thought it would be.
“Lolaaaa…” I heard just 20 minutes later. “Hurry come, there is surgery now.”
So I met Simon. She has another name but this is what she was continuously referred to as, so I’m going to stick with that. She was a beautiful momma and I was excited that I got to go watch her surgery. I didn’t have the time to find out any other information about her before I helped wheel her into the operating room.
I left her for a few minutes to change into a sterile uniform. That’s when I saw Dr. Walter. Normally, an overly sure himself, highly confident (ahem, cocky) doctor who works in the obstetrics ward. He knows his stuff though, so while it’s a bit challenging to work with him, it also tends to be highly beneficial and I’m okay with.
“Doctor, you will be performing the c/s today? I am coming to observe,” I said, matter-of-factly.
“Yes,” he nodded and smiled to me, “Karibuni! (welcoming me to come and watch) Have you ever been in a c/s before?”
“Yes, several.” I responded.
Then the floodgates opened and all the questions came at me. (Which I should have expected with him):
“What is the indication for her surgery? What is her gravida? Her parity? Past obstetric history?” He continued, “tell me the two different types of incisions that can be made and which incision you would recommend for this case, and why.”
“Uh…uh…uh...”
So many questions. These are things I know. I could have responded but seeing that I just met Simon a couple minutes ago and know nothing more about her than her name and the fact that she needs a caesarean section, I found myself forgetting how to speak. And this isn’t the right doctor to be unpaired with.
I had to admit that I was just eager to get into a surgery, “I don’t know anything about her case. And I don’t know much about the differences between the two incisions.”
Hurts to admit. And the slight sting of humility sets in.
“Well, do you know how to scrub in?”
Scrub in? Do I need to "scrub in" to receive the baby? I thought to myself.
“Uh, yeah, um... I mean….yes. Yes I know how to scrub in.” I said, only slightly perplexed.
“Show me,” He responded.
Great. He practically pulls out a magnifying glass as he watches me rub in between my fingers and put the soap up to my elbows.
But I scrubbed in well.
“Wrong!” he responds. And I think I hear a loud buzzer go off.
He proceeded to show me the way he thinks is the best way to do it.
So together we washed our hands, 3 times. And only briefly did I feel like I was in kindergarten again. He then proceeded to show me how to put on two sets of sterile gloves and slip into a surgical coat. I realized I was being prepped for more than just being handed a baby.
It took some time of waiting around for the anesthesiologist but eventually it was time to begin.
I stood back and the two surgeons looked at me.
“What are you doing? Come, stand here.” Dr. Walter said while he pointed to the empty space right next to him. He handed me some gauze and a clamp. And before I knew it, I was assisting in a c-section.
I didn’t do anything too significant, besides mopping up some blood and cutting away and assisting with some sutures, but it was an amazing experience. It confirmed my pending suspensions that I’d love to know a bit more about obstetrics than midwifery. But, I know my time for that has not come. And I love what I get to do right now.
As the surgery finished up Dr. Walter left the room and I helped the other surgeon finish up. (Pinch myself, what a dream!)
As we cleaned up the woman I noticed between her legs the severe female circumcision that had been done to her. I was shocked to see it, so I immediately pointed it out to the surgeon.
“Doctor, she has FGM.”
“Hm, yes, it is part of her tribal tradition.” He said with a rather sad look upon his face.
I learned about this back in Perth. Female Genital Mutilation, often referred to as FGM, is a custom that is practiced still in many tribes. The World Health Organization describes it as, “the partial or total removal of the female genitalia for non-medical reasons…FGM of any type has been recognized as a harmful practice and a violation of the human rights of girls and women.”
Depending on the severity of the incision, a part of the woman’s vagina is cut off or sewn together, or both.
I have strong opinions about this practice and it kills me to know that there are women and young girls around the world who are be mutilated because of a belief that does nothing but harm them. In addition to increasing the risks of infection and causing complications in childbirth it completely destroys their ability to ever enjoy sex. Is this too taboo to talk about? Well it’s reality.
I am positive that God did not intend for this practice to ever take place.
I remember being heartbroken in Perth when I heard about the prevalence of this being practiced today. I remember crying over the statistics and then in an attempt to do the only thing I could do while I was in Australia, I prayed. I prayed that this practice would be eradicated and that God would protect girls from this procedure.
As I was thinking all of this over in my head, I remembered the beautiful little baby girl we just pulled from her stomach. She was healthy, normal, and intact and I didn’t want to know that something so harmful could potentially happen to her.
This mother had been pregnant 6 times. Before the birth of this baby girl she only had one live child. The rest of them have died. She has had obstructed labor, resulting in a fistula and she’s had several miscarriages. I can’t blame it all on FGM but I know that such a destructive procedure can lead to many other complications.
This baby girl could be saved from that. I knew I had to speak up.
We were just about to move her off of the operating bed onto the gurney.
“Doctor, wait, we must tell her she shouldn’t do this procedure to her daughter, ” I said.
He looked at me and stopped the nurses from moving her over to the gurney. He nodded and went down to her face. He sympathetically looked into her eyes and talked to her in Swahili for a few minutes. I watched their gentle communication back and fourth.
After some time he looked back up at me, “Okay, she knows. She will not allow this to happen to her daughter.”
Because I couldn’t understand the conversation I had to just trust that the doctor told her what ever needed to be said. I could only hope and pray she really did receive what he was telling her. I decided to go to check on her the following day anyway because I wanted to ask her some more questions about her FGM and I wanted the opportunity to explain to her in more detail how harmful it would be for her own daughter. I was very grateful for the surgeon’s response and his willingness to speak up about something that’s usually just looked over though.
When I arrived at the hospital the following day I found a translator and Simon opened up to tell me that her mother was the one who cut her when she was 10 years old. She said she does not experience pain there anymore. But that’s because she has lost all feeling in the area. After I shared my heart and God’s heart and intensions with her, she reassured me again that she wouldn’t allow this to happen to her new baby girl.
I finished off the conversation by praying for her and her new family, especially the precious daughter who she held in her arms.
So what did I learn from all this? Well besides the pros and cons of different surgical incisions- I learned that it’s okay to ask God for big things. It’s okay to pray for Him to stop FGM or even to end war, cure cancer, feed the hungry. It’s okay to dream big with God even when what we are praying for seems impossible. I learned that God really does want to answer our prayers. And sometimes He even chooses to use us to be apart of seeing those prayers get answered.
And that’s pretty amazing.
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