First Days

Hi There,

I'm just getting my first breather to write a little something. I think I was up for over 48 hours with no sleep to speak of on the flight, but everything went fine. However, when I arrived in Denpasar none of my luggage was there. Sara and Mark were there to greet me at the airport and the clinic had graciously sent a driver to pick us up. Now I see why you should never rent a car in Bali--you definitely want a local at the wheel.

The next morning we started a full day in the clinic. That day was prenatal clinic, so women in all stages of pregnancy came in. We have 8 treatment tables set up in the open air clinic and a few translators to relay to us the main coplaints. We work quickly and flow is continuous. Meanwhile the midwives are working on the other side of the clinic, delivering babies and also doing prenatal care. They often bring women to our clinic to ask us to induce labor or turn a breech. Before Sara and I arrived, the rest of our team (Frank, Dan, and Jen) turned a 39 week breech, which is incredibly difficult to do since by then the baby is usually too big to turn. Inductions with acupuncture are also very helpful to them because otherwise they would be sent to the hospital, a much worse environment for a birth. This facility (Yayasan Bumi Sehat) gives the most incredible care for women in labor. They are experienced, calm, caring, and gentle. They sing or chant as the baby is being born. There are big tubs in the rooms for the women and a comfortable recovery room also. It is truly amazing. I saw my first birth yesterday (I observed while Jen did some needling while the woman was having contractions). It is a top-notch facility that runs on a shoestring.

Our clinic schedule is 10-1 and then 2-8pm. Sometimes it is just open clinic for anyone, other times it is for kids, kids with special needs, or prenatal.

Friday morning Bobby (the local acupuncturist who runs the acupuncture clinic at Bumi Sehat), Mark (Sara's husband) and I went back to Denpasar to run errands and get my luggage from the airport. Two of the local clinic staff drove us. I was expecting the worse at lost & found/customs, etc but all went smoothly and my bags were intact.

Saturday (yesterday) was supposed to be our day off but babies were coming and we were assisting the labors, meanwhile as we were trying to organize supplies and assess gear for the mountains in East Bali the midwives kept bringing in women to be induced. It's incredible exposure to this process. The flow of pregnant women never stops. We didn't wind down until 8pm.

The food has been great. The nature of my jetlag has been that I crash and burn after dinner, so that's why I've not been able to get myself to an internet cafe until now. Today is actually a real day off so I might try to get a little reflexology for my poor feet and read up on my notes. There is also some kind of concert we are all going to this afternoon that is a benefit for a new school. Ibu Robin is hosting us all at her house on Christmas. Dan, Sara, and Mark are going to a remote village on Monday to treat a huge number of people there. Mark has been a champ, helping to organize and alphabetize the chaotic clinic supplies.

That might be it for now. I'm really excited to be here. I will try to check email more often, but when I head to East Bali there might not be access.

Hope you are all well,

Karen