As yesterday was my final day birdwatching, I now have three days to pack. I really don't need three days to pack, so instead I've become immensely bored and daydream constantly about French fries and pedicures. As a result, when Sarah M. returned from the clinic today and I found out she was going back in the afternoon, I jumped at the chance to tag along.
Sarah walked into the labor room and told me we were in luck. Get your shoes, grab your stuff, we're going to a C section for twins. YES! This is cool. I am cool. Maybe I will have my moment in surgery. As I was tying the surgical mask behind my head, my adrenaline was pumping. I was almost sweating from all the excitement. As we shuffled in behind the doctors and found a place to watch from, I was struck by the sickening smell of antiseptics in the room and acutely aware of how hot I was and how hard it was to breathe through the mask. If you haven't already figured it out, I'm a rather excitable person. So I took a deep breath and relaxed into my toes and prepared to watch them cut the incision into the woman.
Now apparently, in India everyone wants a C section. I don't know much, but I do know that's not exactly the best thing for your body. I will be a kind and generous soul and not include my rant about birthing culture today. This woman was about to have her second C section. As she was having twins, I did not begrudge her this c section, especially after I saw the enormous state of her pregnant belly. The doctor went to make the first cut. I braced myself. I was either going to be disgusted beyond belief or completely relaxed. Turns out I was a little bit of both. As the surgeon began to cut through the layers of skin and muscle, I was both fascinated and a touch disgusted. For the most part, it's just bloody and raw, but when they pull a hole bigger and you hear a pop, as a membrane tears or some blood gushes out, you have your ew moment. When they finally got to the amniotic sacs, a rush of liquid came out as they burst them, suddenly there was a leg, then two legs, then half a baby was being literally tugged out. When I saw the first baby come out and begin to cry, I started to tear up. Watching life come into this world, is actually one of the most beautiful things I have had the privilege to see.
After the first baby, a boy, was out, his sister came next. Both babies were large, especially for twins and within five minutes were harmonizing their cries outside. A power twin team, if I do say so. I stayed behind in the operating room to watch the mother get stitched back up, that's what future doctors are into, right? The anatomy and technical part? After two layers of sutures my fascination waned. I went out to see the babies and was excited all over again. They were absolutely beautiful. I asked Sarah when we'd get to see their mother find out about the babies gender and health. She just shrugged, and said they'd tell her later when she woke up. But....I need to see that moment. The magical moment where everyone finds out mother and babies are alright, and it's a boy and a girl, how cool (!), and they're HUGE babies- you go mama, you rocked at pregnancy. But I wouldn't get to see any of that. This is when I once again, came back to the fact that I am passionate about people and their lives. Where they live, how they live, what they need, what they want, what they hope for. I like to talk and I like to listen and I like to help. I don't know what that means in terms of a career, but at least I know what direction to go in. That direction happens not to include cutting holes in unconscious people.
After the excitement of the C section we went to visit the naturopathy. I am personally a very big fan of holistic and alternative medicine, so I was excited. We walked into a yoga class and were able to join in. I love yoga and enjoy going to classes in the U.S. As it would turn out, I am still able to stretch well. This would lead to the miracle of miracles that happened next. As I folded over in butterfly pose, a pose in which you touch the soles of your feet to one another, and touched my forehead to my pressed together soles, as I made my way back up I enjoyed the stares of at least seven Indian women with expressions of amazement and annoyance in their eyes. I, for the first time in my life, was THAT girl in yoga class. You know the one that sits in the front row and folds herself like a pretzel. The teacher loves her, you want to be her, but by the end of class you resent her because if you only weighed 90 pounds, had no boobs, and only ate air you're pretty sure you could that too. But today I was the queen of yoga, and in India nonetheless. I left class feeling smug and just a little bit sore.
For those of you wondering how I ended up birdwatching on a trip catered to Pre-Meds, I'll tell you. I finally looked at my grades and looked at my strengths, and wouldn't you know, none of them lined up with medicine. When every day of chemistry and cell bio is like poking out your eyes with hot pokers, you should probably do some rethinking. Becoming a doctor is a long and difficult road, if I was going to do it, I needed to passionate about it, and I just wasn't. I knew this after my first semester sophomore year, but sometimes it's hard to change the plan. In any event, I was still worried I had made a mistake. So I walked into the labor room at Janet Nursing Home, prepared to have, yet another, quarter life crisis. As I watched a woman crying in agony for her mother, this crisis alluded me.
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| Two definitely very cool people |
Now apparently, in India everyone wants a C section. I don't know much, but I do know that's not exactly the best thing for your body. I will be a kind and generous soul and not include my rant about birthing culture today. This woman was about to have her second C section. As she was having twins, I did not begrudge her this c section, especially after I saw the enormous state of her pregnant belly. The doctor went to make the first cut. I braced myself. I was either going to be disgusted beyond belief or completely relaxed. Turns out I was a little bit of both. As the surgeon began to cut through the layers of skin and muscle, I was both fascinated and a touch disgusted. For the most part, it's just bloody and raw, but when they pull a hole bigger and you hear a pop, as a membrane tears or some blood gushes out, you have your ew moment. When they finally got to the amniotic sacs, a rush of liquid came out as they burst them, suddenly there was a leg, then two legs, then half a baby was being literally tugged out. When I saw the first baby come out and begin to cry, I started to tear up. Watching life come into this world, is actually one of the most beautiful things I have had the privilege to see.
After the first baby, a boy, was out, his sister came next. Both babies were large, especially for twins and within five minutes were harmonizing their cries outside. A power twin team, if I do say so. I stayed behind in the operating room to watch the mother get stitched back up, that's what future doctors are into, right? The anatomy and technical part? After two layers of sutures my fascination waned. I went out to see the babies and was excited all over again. They were absolutely beautiful. I asked Sarah when we'd get to see their mother find out about the babies gender and health. She just shrugged, and said they'd tell her later when she woke up. But....I need to see that moment. The magical moment where everyone finds out mother and babies are alright, and it's a boy and a girl, how cool (!), and they're HUGE babies- you go mama, you rocked at pregnancy. But I wouldn't get to see any of that. This is when I once again, came back to the fact that I am passionate about people and their lives. Where they live, how they live, what they need, what they want, what they hope for. I like to talk and I like to listen and I like to help. I don't know what that means in terms of a career, but at least I know what direction to go in. That direction happens not to include cutting holes in unconscious people.
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| Be jealous |
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