By Susan Bjerregaard | Digital Media Manager
It was a Sunday evening when pregnant Amani* came to FAME. She was not due for another three weeks and was experiencing heavy bleeding and excruciating stomach pain. She knew something was terribly wrong. Panicked, she called a family friend who drove her 30 miles to FAME.
At 34-years-old, this was Amani’s first pregnancy. She had started her antenatal clinics at a local dispensary close to her house, but her friend was adamant that she had to come to FAME. “She would not stop talking about FAME. She kept saying it was a beautiful place with good doctors, and affordable healthcare. I finally came to FAME when I was six months pregnant, and visited the Reproductive and Child Health clinic (RCH) for antenatal consultation. I was so happy with the service I received, so I kept coming back and planned to have the baby here.”
Once the pain became unbearable and the bleeding increased, Amani called a family friend and asked him to bring her to FAME. It was an emergency. From her FAME antenatal clinics, she knew the bleeding was a sign that something was terribly wrong.
At FAME, they were received by a security guard who rushed her to the maternity ward. Amani was terrified but the nurses were reassuring. The doctors determined that Amani's cervix was not dilating and that an emergency Cesarean delivery (C-section) had to be performed due to fetal stress.
“By this time I was in so much pain and scared. The woman on the bed next to mine had just come from a C-section, and the fact that she was still alive gave me hope!”
— Amani
As Amani waited to be taken into surgery, she struck up a conversation with the woman next to her, who’d just come from a C-section.
“I talked to her as I was intrigued that she was only gone a short time for the C-section. In the midst of my pain, I was asking her so many questions about her experience! What was the operating theater like? Was she asleep the whole time? Did she hear the baby’s first cry? She was tired but answered all my questions, and she reassured me that it was all okay and that I was in good hands.”
Amani’s surgery went well, and she is now the mother of beautiful baby boy.
“I am very happy. I am a Mama!”
*While the patient’s name has been changed to protect privacy, permission was secured to share her photos and story with FAME supporters, and to raise awareness of available medical care at FAME Medical
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