no lazy sundays in Ecuador!

So much for my "lazy" Sunday...  the past 36 hours has been CRAZY!  

1) Baby delivery total came to 3 with one more born in the wee hours this morning.  I took a quick nap today to catch up on my sleep bank that's been dipping far into the red and soon after I awoke, my post call adventure began...

2) My phone rang with an urgent call from "Alas de Socorro"-- Wings of Rescue, to let me know there was an emergency flight into the deep jungle to pick up 2 patients... did I want to go?  Of course!  I hopped in the tiny Cessna plane, room enough for the pilot, me, one seat behind, and a space for a patient to lay down behind the passenger seat.  WOW!  We flew about 40 minutes out from Shell to Makuma.  Pictures definitely don't do it justice... the sun streaming through to highlight shades of green and gray of the rolling rainforest blanketed hills and mountains jumping up from the deep green, the horizon of glimpses of jagged mountains peaking out between the clouds.  Think of "honey I shrunk the kid" flying closely over the top of a giant broccoli-- strange description, I know, and now I'm going to have to go to the fresh veggie market this week to satisfy my broccoli craving after 40 minutes of thinking of broccoli out and back!  It really was beautiful and relaxing with the hum of the engine, the warm sun, and not much civilization in sight.

When the plane started flying lower, I knew we were nearing Makuma, but there was NO runway in sight!!!  Just green green green with a few thatched huts in clearings here and there.  We circled around and I saw the "runway" finally, a dirt path carved out in a narrow clearing in the trees.  Rocks were placed at fixed intervals in the landing strip to slow the plane.  Surprisingly, it was a relatively smooth flight and landing!  

We stopped just long enough for the brightly clad Indians to come running out of the trees carrying one 60-year-old man who had fallen (I believe from a tree) and been impaled.  His abdomen was tightly wrapped beneath his shirt, so I wasn't able to see the extent of the damage... I was told that "his guts were hanging out" (sorry to be graphic), so he must have been a tough tough man to endure the flight sitting up if it was true.  The other patient was a young woman who had miscarried and was bleeding profusely.

Missionary Aviation Fellowship (the ministry that runs Alas) is a "good samaritan" organization, so we didn't attend to the patients during the flight (besides the fact that there wasn't room or equipment on board).  Just room enough to pick up the patients and transport them quickly to the hospital.  I think it's an incredible ministry!  What better way to use the skill of flying than to pick up gravely ill patients who would otherwise die in the jungle... most of the sites they fly to are at least a few days walk from help.

3) My first tarantula sighting!  On the side of my neighbor's house.  Take into account that because of the background, it's hard to tell the magnitude of this eight-legged creature.  But trust me, I wouldn't want it in my bed, or inside at all, or really anywhere near me.  It was at least the size of my entire palm, and I might even be underestimating.  Picture to come...

4)  While we were taking glamour shots of the fuzzy and intimidating arachnid, sirens sounded in the distance, and Dr. Brice's cell phone started ringing... a few teenage boys had been hit by a car while walking on the road and were just seconds away from the hospital.  I wasn't on call, but this is the kind of place that most medical workers in the area drop what they're doing and head for the ER when they hear sirens.  I saw one of the patients, sent him off for XRay, and finally made it home to relax, make some oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies, and post this much-needed update!  Whew!  What a day!