Morleen's Pregnancy

A big “Hello!” to all of you back in the U.S.A.

Tyronza and I will be leaving Papua New Guinea and heading your way on Thursday, May 1^st. We have enjoyed our time here, but we look forward to seeing all our friends and experiencing the “comforts of home.”  Tyronza has some big travel plans for us this summer, but as for me, rest and relaxation sounds much better.

I have one final story to tell of a woman by the name of Morleen. I met her the first morning I worked at the Kudjip clinic. On that visit she was 28 weeks pregnant, but looked like she was term with triplets. She was experiencing a lot of pressure and a quick vaginal check showed her to be dilated 1 cm and 75% effaced. The head was also quite low.

Her abdomen was massively distended and on ultrasound revealed a normal 28 week intrauterine pregnancy pushed to the right lower pelvis by a huge multicystic ovarian tumor. You might liken this to a tube of toothpaste slowly squeezing the baby out!

The decision was to operate on the tumor and risk premature delivery or keep her pregnant as long as possible and then operate on the tumor. I reasoned that the tumor was most likely benign and operating at this time would probably trigger labor. She agreed and consented to admission.

We placed her on bed rest, gave her steroids and medicine to keep the contractions quiet and hoped for the best. She really was a model patient. The baby went ahead and grew normally and the mother tolerated the situation, though growing ever bigger. To my surprise she was still pregnant at 37 weeks, though she could hardly move around and needed to sit up to breathe and keep her pulse-ox up.

I decided delivery was in everyone’s best interest. A vaginal check showed her to be 3 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. A dose of vaginal cytotec set things in motion and she promptly delivered a 6.5 pound baby girl. Morleen lost a total of 11 pounds at delivery, but you could not notice any change in her abdominal size. She did say she could breathe easier.

She was given a week off to enjoy the baby and then asked to return for surgery to remove the tumor.

In surgery, she was found to have an 18.5kg left ovarian mucinous tumor. For those of you from the US, that is more than 40 pounds! I was able to salvage the right ovary, which thankfully looked normal.

Her recovery went fairly smooth and I am expecting to see her back before we return home. At discharge her abdomen still looked pretty big with post-op gas, but I expect her to be much skinnier soon. She should be able to have her next child without all the fanfare.

See you soon,

Dr. P

p.s. Just saw Morleen in the clinic. Both mother and baby are doing well. Her abdomen still sags a lot. She tells me she is going to start leg lifts and sit ups once her 6 week recovery is over.

Power Outages

A few weeks ago I posted a “facebook” status that indicated power was out again and that I was using the computer by candlelight, but waiting to wash dishes until power came on. One of my sisters commented the following day with, “can’t you wash dishes by candlelight?”

I thought I would share with friends and family concerning power outages. At Kudjip station, our water is rain collected in a cistern at the side of the house. Because of where the cistern in located, when the power goes off so does the inside water (the pump is electric). Fortunately, we are staying in a house that has an outdoor gravity faucet, and are able to collect water in bowls and pots to bring inside.

When the power is off, the water flow is slow, but better than nothing! Once the water is brought indoors, if it is for washing dishes or drinking, it must be heated or filtered.

We have a gas stove so I am still able to cook when the power it out. (Thank you, Lord!) Heating the water takes some time; I only have one large pot. It’s not too bad for washing the dishes, but it takes a lot of pots to have an inch of water for the bathtub!

I frequently use a crockpot for cooking, if you’ve been away from the house all day, you sometimes come back to an uncooked meal. You then have to transfer the food to a pot for the stove or oven and complete the cooking process. So far, we’ve not gotten sick from anything!

We try to keep your computer and e-readers fully charged at all times

and your dishes rinsed and washed as quickly as possible! You never know when the power outage imp will strike! You also keep flashlights and headlamps handy at night.

There is currently a hydro project that is almost complete. The dedication in April 30^th and it should be up and running by July. At that time, power outages should become a thing of the past.

Living in the highlands of Papua New Guinea is lovely, but not without some challenges. Scot and I are thankful for the opportunity of having these varied and interesting experiences and being able to serve the Lord here.

Tyronza