Bad week?

Are you having a bad week? So was I. My computer crashed, my muse wasn't talking to me and I had this blog thing to do... and I was about to start another stretch of five twelve hour shifts at the hospital where I work as a midwife. Things seemed to go from bad to worse when I started my car at 5.30am and one of the headlights went out. And at that time in the morning, with twelve hour shifts in front of me for days the prospects of getting it fixed were slim.

Then I met Linsay, a nineteen year old who had just had her first baby.
Nothing unusal there right?
Wrong. Linsay had a very long labor and during the course of it her baby became distressed. When he was born, he had to be rushed to the Special Care Baby Unit for assistance with his breathing. Then her afterbirth didn't separate from her womb and she had to go to theatre to undergo a procedure to have it removed. During the procedure Linsay started to bleed. And her heart stopped. 3 times. It took them 30 minutes to bring her pulse back after the last time and to stop the bleeding they had to give her a complete hysterectomy. She ended up spending a couple of days in ICU until she stabilised.

Still think you're having a bad week?
Me either.

Today Linsay's baby is well and back with his mother. Linsay herself is also recovered. Mum and baby will be going home tomorrow.

Sometimes life has a way of reminding you what's really important. To me, Linsay's story was definitely a wake up call. I hope by sharing it I've encouraged you to take a minute to be grateful for what you have and to not worry about the small stuff.
Cait