I was sitting in church, when I got a call from Katherine's mom that Katherine was having contractions. I knew it was for real this time. We had had some other scares before it was time, but I knew this was it! I was so excited and nervous at the same time. We decided to wait until church was over, go home and drop off DeLynn and Carmelinda and then I would go over to Katherine's parents house, where she was staying at the time, and take her to the hospital.
I wasn't sure how all this was going to go. I knew, giving birth in a government hospital was much different than giving birth in a private hospital, and certainly totally different than giving birth in the States. I had accompanied Katherine on all her visits to the doctor at the clinic and also to her ultrasound appointments. The doctor wasn't necessarily just a gynocologist. They didn't seem to check everything that I was checked for when I had Carmelinda. But at the same time, they seemed to know what they were doing and talked about. But I hated when they (the doctors) sent us to other places to get blood drawn or other lab work done. That's when we had to take a whole day and wait in lines, all because it was govenment related. There were many times, I was thankful for private hospitals and wished everybody could afford them.
Katherine had asked me if I could accompany her in the delivery room. I, of course, said YES! But at the same time, I wasn't sure if they would really let me, since the hospital seemed to be stricked and since I wasn't the mother or relative, I didn't get my hopes up. So I told God that I was willing to be used however HE wanted to use me.
I got to Katherine's parents house and she was definitely having contractions. The problem was we didn't know how much she was dialated and we knew if she wasn't dialated enough they would send us back. Well, if we were to go back, it would take us at least 30-45 min, since the hospital was in San Jose. But we decided to take her to see what they had to say. On the way, we ran into traffic, lots of it, and it took us an hour to get to the hospital. Poor Katherine was in so much pain. I forgot how painful it was! It was about 10:30pm when we finally got to the hospital.
The emergency people took her right in. None of us were allowed to go in with her. So we waited and waited and waited. As we were waiting, I went outside and prayed for Katherine and her baby. I prayed that God would bless her with a nice doctor and nice nurses. I also spent some time reflecting on my own delivery. I remember what a wonderful experience it was for me. I also remember how excited my family was to meet Carmelinda, especially my mom. Oh how I wished she could see me now! She had prayed so many times for us to be able to have another child, but it didn't happen. Now, God was giving me the opportunity to experience childbirth in a way I never imagined. This was Gods answer to our prayers. I was not only gaining a daughter, but a baby (a grandson) as well! My heart was overjoyed.
 |
| Carmelinda at three months |
Finally, she came out and said, they wouldn't admit her because she was only dialated 4 centimeters and she needed to be dialated 7 centimeters before they would admit her. We were all dissapointed. So we decided to return to our house since it was closer to the hospital. It was about 12:30pm.
At about 3:00, Katherine's water broke and we knew this time the hospital would admit her! She again went to the emergency room, while we waited and waited and waited some more! I felt so sorry for her since by this time she was in SO much pain and was all by herself! Finally, someone who worked in the ER came out and told us they were going to admit her. We were relieved. We waited some more.
After a long while, they came out and said Katherine was asking for one of us. I went back to be with her. I was so glad to see her and gave her a kiss and hug. It was time for them to take her to the second floor where she was going deliver (or so I thought). I followed behind as they took her by wheelchair. Suddenly, they stopped me by some desks and told me I needed to give Katherine's information to the man behind the desk. And just like that, Katherine was out of sight! I had no idea where she went! My heart sank. So I stayed, gave the information they needed and found a place to sit, where they told me to wait. I got a hold of Katherine's parents and told them to join me. So we all sat there and waited and waited and waited. We had no idea where Katherine was. I asked at the information desk if she was in the delivery room, and they said no. After a LONG while longer, they said Katherine was asking for someone again. They told me she was on the second floor in the maternity ward.
As I walked through the maternity ward, I started experiencing a million emotions. I had never seen anything like this before. There were a lot of rooms filled with beds for each mother and baby. Probably 10 beds in each room. Some of the mothers had their babies with them and some of the mothers were waiting to have their babies. There were no fathers around or other support person. The mothers all wore the same color of hospital gown and their babies all wore the same baby outfit, as well. I felt like I was in a prison or something!
I found where Katherine was. As I entered her room, there was a nurse who was giving instructions to the new mothers on how to give your baby a bath. These babies were less than 24hrs old. They were giving their babies baths on their beds, using soap, and a little bowl of water. And of course, the babies were all crying. It was a sight to see! Katherine said, the crying was not helping her. Poor Katherine! She told me she needed water, so I quickly went down stairs and got my water bottle and took it up to her. But I couldn't stay. I was so sad I had to leave her again. I gave her as much encouragment as I could and left.
At about 7:30am, they called me and said it was time for Katherine to deliver her baby! So I went to the 2nd floor again and found her. By this time, she was in SO SO SO much pain. She hadn't been given any medication for pain, she was on her own! But hadn't cried and she wasn't screaming. I kept telling her how proud I was of her. I gave her a kiss as they wheeled her into the delivery room. They stopped me and told me to wait until they called me. So I waited again, except this time it wasn't too long. Then they came out and told me I needed to put on my hospital outfit on! I looked wonderful!
I was SO excited. By this time, I prayed that God would help me as I helped Katherine have her baby. Again, I wasn't sure what to expect. As I walked into the delivery room, there were a number of other expectant mothers laying on their beds, in pain. One heard groans, but no screaming or crying. Katherine had heard that if one makes noise, the nurses won't treat them nice. In government hospital, one just doesn't know what to expect.
I found Katherine and held her hand. They were watching her closely. Every time a contraction would come, she squeezed my hand. As I stood beside her, I sang to her, I prayed outloud and just encouraged her.
 |
| Waiting |
Finally, the time came when the doctor said, "it's time." After all that waiting and in so much pain, it was time to meet Dylan Samuel, the special name Katherine had picked out.
They wheeled her into a private room. We were grateful for a kind doctor. The nurse wasn't so nice, but at least she wasn't with us too long.
As I watched Katherine give birth, I couldn't believe all that I was experiencing. Wow! It was so beautiful. An experience I will never forget. As I saw his head emerge and as his whole body came out and as he began to cry, I was so overwhelmed. Katherine began to cry. At 8:14am, Dylan Samuel was born. He weighed 6.5 lbs. After his mother, I was priveledged to be the second one to hold him and welcome him into this world. Katherine held strong until the end. I was so proud of her. I was with them in the delivery room for about an hour or so until she was taken to the maternity ward again, where once again, I had to leave her.
 |
| Less than an hr. after Dylan was born |
But during the hour I spent with them, it was so special. We admired everything about him and thanked God together for this wonderful gift. And by the way, I LOVE being a grandma!
