My niece - Summer Joy is a real Role Model and I thought you would like to read one excerpt in her journal about her life. I am very proud of all she does in the earth. Meet Summer....
A brief Bio...
Just a little about
me…I come from an international family. My father and his family were
missionaries to Liberia in the 1960's and served as resident missionaries in
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in the 1970's. My father married a native Zimbabwean
and I was conceived in the Summer in Zimbabwe and born in the Summer in Texas,
hence the name…Summer. My family continues to have a vested interest in the
continent of Africa and I have had the opportunity to serve in a variety of
ways on different occasions in Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt,
Malawi and Mozambique. I am currently
in the first Nurse-Midwife/Doctorate in Nursing Practice program at Baylor
University and I will graduate in May 2010. This past Spring I had the
opportunity to travel with my Graduate Colleagues and Faculty to Ethiopia and
Malawi to serve the indigenous people groups in these developing nations.
My life was forever changed....My primary purpose for choosing to become a
Nurse-Midwife, is to help decrease maternal and infant mortality rates in
developing countries.
So here we are, back at
the Baptist clinic (Senga Bay, Malawi) at night, I sprinted into the Labor Ward
and found a laboring woman! WOOHOO! She was 19years old, first pregnancy (Gravida
1 Para 0) and Grace (the midwife) and Chelles (the patient attendant) were with
her. Grace said to me, "Yes, we
have been managing her labor until you arrived, she is yours now." Oh my
heart was full of excitement, FINALLY a woman in labor J!!
I ran to the midwife cottage and told the others (Dr. Mary Ann Faucher,
Stephanie and Delaine). They came over
and we discovered a multiparous woman in early latent phase of labor in the
maternity ward. She was resting on a bed
under a blue mosquito net with a family member at her side (it will be a while
before she delivers). The Labor room was
hot and humid with various bugs and creatures clinging to the ceiling fan,
fluorescent lights and blinds AHHH!! The stark reality of the situation….here I
am in Africa with my first labor patient, sweating, bugs falling on me and I'm
trying to keep my cool. Mary Ann said
jokingly, "Well, Summer you should be use to this by now!"hahaha
My patient's name is
Aina and she was lying on a labor bed with a bright-colored cloth wrapped
around her waist…she is so tiny. She was
dilated to 7-8cm/100%effaced/+1 station upon my initial exam @ 2150. Contractions were coming 3 in 10minutes,
lasting 40-50 seconds and palpating moderate.
Her body is beautiful as she moves with each contraction. I am learning important phrases in Chichewa
(native language in Malawi) i.e. Dulusomepwayah which means "breathe
out" and Ubaysabueno which means "good job." At first, I could tell Aina was anxious and
scared especially with all of the "Mazungus" aka White People in the
room. Nevertheless, as her labor
progressed I continued to remain a constant labor support at the bedside. Her pelvis was small and she began to writhe
in pain while lying on top of a trash bag.
Her body was drenched in sweat and the trash bag clung to her every
move. I fanned her during contractions
and she turned onto her tummy. I was shocked, I had never seen someone labor in
a prone position.
While she was lying in
this position, I was able to massage her lower back and promote counter
pressure to her iliac crests in efforts to increase the AP (anterior-posterior)
diameter so the baby would descend easier. As I laid my hands on her, they
swallowed her hips and I was praying for safe passage and delivery. It was at this moment during the arduous
labor, sweat soaking through my scrubs, beads of perspiration running down my
face and flies swarming around us, that something significant happened…. The
patient was lying on her tummy and she reached around with her left arm and put
it around my waist. This was the most
powerful and beautiful experience I have ever encountered during labor. This was a huge breakthrough, not just for the
labor management process, but this was when the trust-bond was established
between Aina and I. I got chills when
this occurred, and despite the language barrier, cultural differences and the
hot insect-infested environment, I felt the presence of God so strongly….for it
was at this moment a midwife was birthed!
I realized that God had
totally orchestrated this moment, for nothing comes without a price. True
joy…for it was the joy that was set before Him that He endured the cross. I felt that I was in a labor process….as I
had anticipated, longed for and desired birthing new life....I was born. The birthing of a midwife took place on the
very continent where I was created. Oh
Father, You saw my unformed body, all of my days were written in Your book and
planned before a single one of them began. Now was the time! I held back the tears as Aina clung to
me. I could feel the pleasure of God as
I stepped into my true identity as a midwife. WOW!! There are no words to
adequately portray the emotions that I felt or the birthing process that took
place inside of me. For it was at this
very moment, I knew…this is what I was created to do! Here in Malawi (which means Flames of Fire) I
was birthed.
As Mary Ann and
Stephanie looked on, they witnessed this significant event. Later Mary Ann told me she was glad that I
insisted we spend the night again (although she was exhausted) she was glad I
pushed her J She said,
"Summer, tonight I witnessed the birth of a midwife." WOW! I was
overwhelmed for this is exactly what happened….
During the labor, it
was as if I was one with my patient and I could feel exactly what she needed
this was the Holy Spirit guiding my hands, as I truly embraced the heart of midwifery
by being "with women." When
Aina became complete (10cm dilated) @ 0205 we were all a little concerned if
she would be able to deliver vaginally.
There was fetal caput/molding felt on my exam. She began to push with all of her might! No meds, all natural, the veins in her face
and chest were popping out! I've never
seen someone push like she did. Grace
was still skeptical and went to get Aina's family. All of the sudden we heard loud shouting
outside of the labor room and Aina, stopped pushing in order to listen. I was alarmed by this yelling and asked Grace
what was going on. She replied,
"Oh, Summer, you see Aina's family is telling her to push this baby out or
the baby will be born dead." I was
shocked! Shortly after the berating screams, Aina delivered a beautiful baby
girl at 0305 weighing 3000grams with lots of caput/molding. I was able to catch
this beautiful Malawian baby and I was so ECSTATIC!! This was my first
"catch" in Africa, what a life-changing monumental experience and
Aina didn't tear, Praise the Lord!!
As I held this gorgeous African daughter in
my hands, I spoke blessings over her life.
Shortly thereafter, the other patient delivered and I was able to catch
her baby at 0355, the birth of another precious baby girl J
Delaine and Stephanie did a wonderful job tending to the babies, while
Mary Ann and I finished caring for the mothers.
Once we got the mothers
settled under their blue mosquito nets and the babies nestled at their breasts,
we called it a night. I expressed my
deep gratitude to Grace for being such an amazing midwife and for allowing me
to have this opportunity. We all went to
bed at 0500… God you are so faithful!
