The Birth Story of Luke Gaboriault: Part 3

The doctor came back after a few minutes and I began to ask details about the other hospital the baby would need to go to.  The doctor stopped me quickly and said, “I’m sorry, you’re too far along.  You won’t make it to that hospital and we won’t be able to transport the baby there fast enough after birth.”  Later, Jared told me he asked if we could even hire a helicopter to transport us down to the other hospital, and he was told no.

          The bad news from the doctor didn’t stop there.  He then informed us he had already called an ambulance and we would be transferred to the government hospital in town since they had a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) that could better suit the baby’s needs.  This really made me freak out and have a complete melt down as I told Jared I would not have my baby there.  I will not go into the experiences we’ve heard about there, but I’ll just say this hospital is not known for having the same standards we are used to.

           Well, I had no choice.  My hospital, the one I knew would be safe and clean, was not going to let me have the baby there.  It was too risky for the baby.  I asked the emergency room doctor if where I was going was a good hospital.  I knew it wasn’t, but I was searching for anything positive about it.  She gave me a look, which meant “No, it isn’t a good hospital,” but then said, “Their labor and delivery and NICU are really good.”  This made me feel a little better.  Since she was so honest with her face, I trusted her words were honest, also.  So, we prepared to get in the ambulance to go to the other hospital.  I got dressed and since I had found it impossible to use the bedpan half an hour earlier, I used the bathroom, which I found was just as horribly difficult to do while in labor. In labor.  I finally accepted this reality about the time I was getting dressed to be put in the ambulance.  I was going to have this baby, and it was going to happen today.  When I accepted this, I began to feel a little calmer, and a little bit of excitement. 

Soon they put me on a bed and in the ambulance.  As soon as we went outside I said, “The sun’s up!”  I thought, “Wow; the sun is up starting a new day, the day I will have my baby.”  I had no idea how long we had been there at the hospital, but it was now about 6 a.m.  To me, it had really only felt like an hour had gone by at the most.  Everything and everyone were moving so fast.  My doctor walked with me all the way to the ambulance.  I could tell he was upset; there was nothing more he could do.  I could tell by the way he was acting that he felt guilty he had not stopped all this from happening like it did.  Even now, I really don’t blame him.  I think even if I had stayed on the medicine all along, everything still would have progressed in the same way.  God was in control.

The ambulance ride went very quickly.  I was thankful there was no traffic at 6 a.m. as there are no laws in Thailand saying cars must pull over for emergency vehicles.  I remember laughing a little, and saying to Jared, “Well this is fun!  My first ambulance ride!”  I was having a peace overcome me at this point, and I’d say it was God letting me know we were going to be ok. 

Udon Thani Hospital Entrance

This peace left me a little as I was wheeled in to the emergency room at the government hospital.  I was having a contraction and really couldn’t focus on everything going on around me.  I do remember however, that all eyes were on me.  It is not very common for a foreigner to be in the government hospital, and I was getting a lot of attention.  It was a great thing I am not a screamer during childbirth- that would have really made a scene.  I also remember the man in the bed next to me coughing terribly.  I thought, “Oh great, I come in to have a baby and leave with tuberculosis.”  Jared left me for just a minute to fill out some paperwork, and my stay in this wing only lasted about five minutes as I was obviously in labor, and they knew my progress from the other hospital.

Next, I was wheeled in to the labor and delivery ward.  They put me on a bed right next to the nurse’s desks, and got right to work monitoring me.  This was a room with about twenty other women, who were all pregnant, but none seemed to be in labor like I was.  Perhaps they were just there for monitoring or pregnancy complications.  By now, the contractions were hard enough I couldn’t talk through them and really didn’t want anyone talking to me through them, unless it was with encouraging words.  I was now 6 cm.  They decided to do an ultrasound to check the position of the baby and re-measure his size so they could be better prepared in the NICU for what was about to happen.  The two girls who did the ultrasound were driving me crazy.  They did things so slow and acted a little puzzled by the machine.  Later I learned they were what they call externs (similar to interns).

Outside of the women's/baby building.

I labored here for a while with Jared at my side holding my hand.  I really needed him there.  He was so much better at Thai than I was, and with all that was going on I could not remember the first Thai word.  This being the government hospital, not very many people spoke English, and those who did spoke very little.  So not only did I need him there for love and support, I needed him there to keep me up to speed on what was happening.

Jared spent a lot of this time on the phone with family and several friends in Thailand.  There was a couple from our church, Buck and Ladda, who volunteered to come be at the hospital to help if needed.  The wife is Thai, so we thought we would need her help for sure.  Another missionary family from about two hours away, the Vickers, also decided to come help.  Knowing they were coming to give us a support system meant so much to me.

A 'waiting room' in the labor & delivery building.
              This is an outside hallway, and that day was very hot.

After a bit, a nurse came and began telling Jared something I could tell I wasn’t going to like.  Sure enough, she told Jared it was not yet visiting hours so he would have to wait outside while I labored.  (In Thailand, if family was allowed in the rooms at all times, the whole village would be there.  They always come in big groups, so in a way I understand this policy.)  However, I only had Jared and I NEEDED him!  We tried to play the whole “we didn’t understand you, we don’t speak Thai” thing, but that wasn’t going to last long.

Then God sent us an angel!  The couple from our church showed up and when the wife came in speaking Thai, the whole atmosphere changed.  The nurses became so nice and seemed to go above and beyond for us.  It is interesting, I didn’t think we were being treated differently before, but now we were getting a much nicer treatment.  With these new guests distracting the nurses by talking about where they were from, etc. this allowed me a little more time to have Jared by my side.  Soon, however, the newness of them being there was over, and the nurse started mentioning again that Jared would need to wait outside.  I started begging them to let him stay, and asked our friend to please convince them for me.  The nurses really didn’t want to give in, and took this time to explain to me that Jared would definitely not be allowed in the delivery room.  This was a hospital policy that could not be broken, and we knew we couldn’t fight that one. 

We were able to delay Jared’s leaving just a little while longer.  During this time I really began to feel as if I wasn’t going to be able to do this.  The contractions had gotten so intense and I knew there was a possibility this could go on all day.  I began to ask about pain medicine and they told me no way.  I knew an epidural was not an option, they are no longer allowed in Thailand, but I had been told by my other doctor I could have other pain relief.  It was explained to me, however, with the baby being this small and early they would not allow me to have any medication as it could have bad side effects on him.  This made me pretty sad because I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do this.  And then, just when I needed encouragement, the nurse said Jared had to go.  I started tearing up and panicking a little, and the nurse said, “Unless you want me to check you first.  Do you feel like you need to push?”  I really didn’t know what this would feel like, but I told her I had some pressure, so sure she could check before Jared left.  To our huge surprise, I was between 8 and 9 cm.  The nurse said, “Well now your husband has to leave because we are taking you to delivery to begin pushing!”  I don’t really remember feeling scared or worried at this point, mostly surprised that I had labored almost to a 10 all by myself (without medication)!  And it had gone so fast.  I honestly thought this part of labor was going to be much worse than it was. 

Hospital Parking

So they had me get in a wheelchair and wheeled me to the delivery room.  That day, from the time I arrived at the first hospital until the time I was finished delivering, I changed beds seven times.  Honestly this made my day so much harder and each time I had to move was very trying.  It is nearly impossible to get in and out of a bed to a wheelchair then back up while in labor, and obviously doctors don’t know that!