Week 2 Day 2

Today I spent the majority of the day in the OR. I first was able to observe a tonsilectomy and adenoid removal on a nine year old girl. She walked herself into the OR, was picked up and placed on the operating table after she shook all of our hands, began to bawl, and was then sedated. It was a hard surgery to see because the ENT was using a scope and head lamp, but he explained to us the anatomy of the mouth and throat. I then saw a cesarean section which was one of the most traumatizing experiences I have encountered here. As the mother was cut open, green and brown fluid oozed out of her opening, a bad sign, which prompted the doctor to shove his hands into her uterus to pull out the child. The baby was a pale grey, not crying, had a smushed head, limp legs, and feet bent backwards. This site alone was terrifying but the fact that they took their time attempting to resuscitate the baby was even more mind boggling. The doctor carried the baby into another OR, which was currently being used for the ENT surgery, placed the baby on a blanket on top of a metal table and placed a hand oxygen pump around its mouth. The nurse would shake poke and prod the baby but it still did not respond. Then they used suction to clear his airways which final managed to muster faint sounds. They had saved the baby, but the legs still looked immobile and the head was still crushed and I imagine the baby's vitals and future would not be top notch.
To continue the trauma, as I walked into the womans ward, doctors were wrapping one of the patients  in sheets, like a mummy. She had been brought in ten minutes earlier due to a motorcycle accident. She was now dead. They placed a metal box over the stretcher and wheeled her outside to the hospital cemetery, her family following close behind. They were very unemotional, I saw only one out of 8 of the family members crying., the rest were silent.
Death is obviously a part of health care that comes frequently enough but I am sure that it will always be as unsettling as before.
Tomorrow we leave for safari, we are going to nairobi and then to masa mara and will return monday night. I am so happy that I will have a chance to see this and I will share everything with you all when I return!