tena hospital & family

If everyday in Tena was as incredible as Wednesday, then I would be less frustrated. I left the hospital three hours later than normal simply because I could not drag myself away from the excitement. I started the day doing OB-GIYN rounds with a great doctor wearing jeans instead of scrubs and lipstick on her teeth. She dictated and I wrote prescriptions, which is scary because I am pretty bad at spelling and I kept having to check that I wasn’t prescribing something else. I saw several c-section bellies and many shriveled, beautiful babies wrapped in bright-colored blankets. There is only a nursery for sick infants, so the healthy babies snuggle in bed with their mothers. The eight-bed rooms have absolutely no privacy and they put miscarriages next to new mothers….so usually I have no idea what I am getting into when I enter the room. My research project is exploring the social work aspect and socio-economic situations of adolescent mothers. I went through the hospital records for 2007 and calculated that about 1/5 of the 300 births this year have been women under 18. Anyway, I went down to spend some time in the ER and coincidentally a 16-year-old came in about ready to have her baby. This really nice doctor taught me how to feel the stomach to determine where the head, feet etc. are located and the girl was patient enough to let me poke around and listen to her baby’s heart. In the hospital, family members are not allowed into the delivery room, so I spent several hours with this girl and then went out to give her mother, aunts and sister updates. Right when she was about to have the baby they told me I could not enter the delivery room because they did not have enough sterile clothing….so I spent time pacing outside with the family and they were thinking of names for the baby girl and could not figure out how the hell to pronounce “phoebe.” Anyway, the baby is healthy and they were all so excited and I left feeling happy about my research and excited to be part of such a big day.

My home-stay situation has been more than a little difficult. I work and live with the same woman who happens to be one of the most pushy and aggressive people I have ever met, which does not gel with my personality. I have been getting better about communicating that I do not want / need three cups of white rice with every meal and she has stopped calling me every ten minutes to ask where I am. However, we had a very unsettling dinner conversation and it turns out she is one of the most racist people I have ever met. I do not understand how a person can be a social worker in a hospital serving a largely indigenous population then use derogatory words and forbid their child to have friends who are indigenous or afro-Ecuadorian. I was so appalled I could barley speak, but I managed to voice my opposing (and to her, a ridiculously liberal) viewpoint before going to my room, calling Nora and crying. I feel so uncomfortable living with someone who holds these beliefs and then calls themselves an advocate for underserved populations. The other thing that kills me is when she talks to her yappy, mean, miniature poodle dog using baby talk and a high-pitched voice right after the dog tries to attack me. Overall, this place is beautiful and I do not want to complain…..I am just trying to focus on my work and spend as little time at home as possible…luckily I have Emily and Allie here to talk to when in seems overwhelming.