SULADS STORIES

STILLBORN

by Levy Manzo

Basak Mission School

January 1997

With the permission of the SULADS president, I was about to visit my home-town last December 29.  With an excited heart I waited for the bus.  But my excitement was lost when the people of Basak Mission School arrived with a patient they had carried from the village.  They were happy when they saw me.  I was speechless and afraid to talk regarding the condition of the patient.  What kind of help could I give them?  I prayed silently.

The patient was a lady sixteen years old and about to deliver her first baby.  Through three days of assisting, hilots in the native style of helping the patient, the lady could not deliver the baby.  She suffered much until they finally decided to bring her to the highway and look for assistance from the Barangay Health Worker.  The Health Worker of Sinuda observed the condition of the lady and tried unsuccessfully to helped her deliver the baby that evening.  The health worker said, “This is the result of no pre-natal care and  malnutrition.”

In the afternoon of December 30, the Barangay Health Worker of Tawas, who is a nurse assisted the lady.  Finally, a little boy was delivered but he was already dead and had a very bad odor.  The condition of the mother was very critical because the placenta was not expelled. 

With the help of God and the automobile of the Baptist missionary, Robert Han, we brought the patient to the German Hospital in Valencia at about seven in the evening but there was no doctor on duty.  We proceeded on to the provincial hospital in Malaybalay, arriving about eight o’clock.  The doctor told us that the patient had a 50-50 chance of survival due to the toxic effect of the undelivered placenta.  The doctor started a transfusion and gave her oxygen as well as antibiotics to help the patient. 

Finally, on December 31 at seven in the morning, the doctor was able to deliver the placenta.  The patient was released from the hospital on January 3, 1997.  On January 10, there was a free clinic in Basak by the German doctors and they found out that the patient had internal infections as a result of the difficult delivery of the dead child.

The next day, the patient was taken to the provincial hospital the second time because again, there were no doctors at the German Hospital in Valencia.  That evening, we received word that the patient was in need of assistance from the tagtungod (relatives).  The relatives met on January 12 but they did not do anything.  My partner, Sir Neil, decided that I should go to the provincial hospital and see what I could do to help.  When I arrived, I gave moral support and helped the patient in any way I could.  I cooked her food and requested help from the Department of Social Welfare.  I also asked the doctor what the condition of the patient actually was.  The doctor told me that she needed an operation as the bladder needed repair.

On January 13, I went to MVC in the evening to report the problem.  The next day, I went to the house of the Janoyans and Mrs. Janoyan gave me advice on what to do.  My emotions were overwhelming me.  On January 15, I arrived back in Basak with a report on the condition of the patient.  I reported that the patient was in need of an operation but we would have to have money to accomplish this. 

The next day, we had a meeting with the datus and the relatives of the patient.  The decision of the parent was that the patient must go home as there was no money for the operation.  There were tears in his voice as he stated there was no money.  We decided that the patient must go to the German Hospital in Cagayan.  That same day, I took the chieftain and visited the house of Mr. Rupino Tambog, the coordinator of the rolling clinic in Palacapao.  The chieftain explained the situation to him at the provincial hospital.  Mr. Rupino said he would try to help. We slept that night in the house of Mr. Rupino. 

January 17 was Friday, the preparation day for the Sabbath.  Rupino and I went to the German Hospital in Valencia asking for a referral for the patient to be admitted in the German Hospital in Cagayan.  By the help of God and many rides to and fro, we secured the referral.

The next day was Sabbath, I remembered the experience.  The life of a missionary is not easy—it is hard.  I did not attend  church that day as I brought the patient to Cagayan.  This experience was not easy.  I am single and not at all acquainted with Cagayan.  It is hot in Cagayan and I did not know where the German Hospital was.  God helped me.  There is joy in my heart as I render service to the less fortunate people who are in need of salvation.

The battle is not yet over.  The struggle still goes on.  Will the patient live or die?  Pray with me that God will bless her and heal her so she can return to her home and have the opportunity to know the Jesus who gave His life for her.