A New Life

  By now, most of you know I live rather far from what most people term civilization.  I don't mind being an hour by air from the closest hospital, nor do I mind being the same distance from a real store.

Due to only having a clinic in town manned only by health aides, women who are expecting do not remain here until they go into labor.  Most head into the closest hospital about one month before they are due.

This is because many times a lady goes into labor early as calculating the due date is at best a good guess.  I do know of one person who had a baby on the due date but generally mothers don't manage it.

Back to my story.  I ran into this lady on my way back to town.  When we chatted, I found out she was due in late September so I expected her to leave or have left last night.  As I came to work this morning, the runway lights were on and a plane was on approach.  This was just before 7:30.

Usually, a plane this early signals something serious and the person is being medivaced.  I checked with one of the other folks and she said the lady had a nice healthy boy at 3:30 this morning.  The plane was only to transport the mother and child into the hospital to check them out.

Fortunately it does not happen very often but it does.  One time, I was living on a remote island with a population of around 100 people.  One of the young ladies was expecting and had gone to the clinic for a checkup. The visiting doctor said she was fine and he left on the last plane of the season.  She had a month before she was due.

That night she went into labor and by morning had a healthy baby.  The clinic called in the helicopter to take her out.  On that island, the weekly helicopter was the normal form of transit but they had air planes for about 6 weeks in the spring when the ice was frozen solid.  Mother and baby were fine.

A few years ago, one of the ladies went into premature labor during a blizzard.  She was extremely lucky because two army nurses were in town so they could help out at the clinic.  Turns out she had several risk factors which made the birth more dangerous.  She survived and the baby was born.  As soon as the weather cleared up enough, a plane came out to get them.

Fortunately, women giving birth early does not happen that often.  In the meantime, everyone is happy for the new lives that join the world.  Thank you for letting me share this piece of joy.