Greetings friends and neighbors.
I have been away from the world of the internet for some time as I have not had a desire to post anything. My father passed away and oddly enough I found that the fact that he read this blog was a big motivator for writing down the goings-on in the world of PA-dom. To the rest who read this I don't want you to feel berated or belittled for I am motivated as well by the fact that you still read this... oddly enough I had 20 pageviews just yesterday (?!?). But when dad died I struggled with a lot of things, and still do to a moderate extent. How do the French say it - "That's how it goes"? Ok, I know that's not what the French say. But it is true. Life goes that way. And praise God for the unpredictability of life.
As I sit and write this, I have before me the (second) most recent "Neonatal Resuscitation Guidelines" published in "Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association," 2010; 122:S909-S919. I am reviewing it because I have taken on a new role, of which I am quite proud, in my clinic. I am one of the first assists in C-sections. Yes, that is a Caesarian section in which the abdomen of a gravid woman is opened surgically with the goal of delivering a healthy and happy baby. This method of delivery is reserved for life threatening situations, generally speaking, or in cases when the mother has already had a C-section and vaginal birth after C-section (VBAC) is too risky (which, in my opinion, is very often - but that is a topic for another day). Thankfully, in our practice, our C-sections are universally in cases when mom has had a C-section already, so there is little life-threat involved. I prefer things to be that way. As the first assistant, however, baby is my job. After I cut the umbilical cord, it is my job to ensure that baby breathes on her own, pinks up normally, has good limb movement, cries, and overall just to ensure that baby makes a good transition for intrauterine to extrauterine life. But there are things that can go wrong... And sometimes babies don't do so well. Life goes that way.
I miss my dad often. And I wish that I could tell him about what I do now. Oh, sure, I do a lot of other fun stuff too. But this, this barbaric but finely tuned method of bringing babies into the world, is by far the coolest. I'm sorry I haven't shared it with you all until now. But my hope is that as the loss wanes and I get over myself I will again share my passion for being a PA with others who read these words. I have to trust God that life goes that way.
Thanks for reading.
