Friday, May 7, 2010

One night in sleepless slumber

On April 19 2010 I went with my parents, the midwife, and my sister to Hermosillo to a hospital where my mom planned on giving birth to my little brother. We traveled all day and waited all night because that's what you do in Mexico is wait on everybody.

After waiting for things to be figured out until midnight, we checked Mom into the hospital and went to find a place to sleep. The Dr. in Montezuma had recommended the hospital housing across the street. She said it was nice so we walked over there. As we were leaving, Amber the midwife who was 7 months pregnant, said to me, "Michelle you might want to get a few pillows and some toilet paper."
I just laughed and said, "Believe me Amber, if they don't have toilet paper and pillows in here then we are not staying here!" She just laughed as if she knew something I didn't.

We arrived at our destination...across the street...and dad proceeds to order the room. The man behind the desk says, "The men's quarters are full so we can only give you room for the women." Which of course I missed. So Daddy ordered the room and paid then says, "I'm going to sleep in the truck." He leaves and a little Mexican woman comes up with a stack of blankets and says "Follow me." I saw the blankets and thought Wow, they aren't very on the ball if they haven't changed the blankets yet. But I didn't care because I was so tired. Melanie, the sister, decided to go buy some water and Amber and I followed the women across the room and through a door. The room was dark and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust but when they did I was completely and utterly shocked!

I stood in the doorway of a long skinny room. The walls on either side were lined in cots with white sheets. Sleeping women and children filled the cots. Every now and then someone would cough and a few people were snoring. To make it worse the cots were an inch apart. there would be two together then a small night stand. then two more. So basically you were in the same bed as a stranger. The bathroom door was opened halfway and I could see into it. It was so dirty and smelled so bad that the stench drifted out and into the room.

The woman stopped at the first bed, pulled the old sheet off, put a new folded one on the edge and said, "You can have this cot." Amber took and she walked past the sleeping women in the next bed and then stopped at the next empty one. "And this one." she said putting the last blanket and two sheets on it. I asked her where the third one was as there were three of us and she said, "This one is bigger than the other one so two of you can share." I was like "OKAY!" but I didn't say anything. She could tell I was surprised by the look on my face and said, "I do have a mattress under a bed somewhere." she looked under a few beds and pulled out a half flat air mattress. When I saw it I immediately said, "We'll share." just picturing sleeping on that mattress so close to the floor made me shiver. The woman put it back and left. I spread my sheet over the bed then looked at the bed only and inch from mine. A woman and a young boy were asleep in it. The toddler's face was right next to where my head would lay.

Melanie came from buying water and when she walked in the room the look on her face was too much for Amber to take and she burst out laughing. She was hiding her face under the pillows so as not to wake people. Melanie exclaimed, "Holy freaking cow! It smells like Sh** in here!" Between fits of laughter Amber gasped, "Shut the bathroom door and it won't smell so bad." So Melanie did then she walked to where I was laying and asked, "Where is my bed?" I said, "We get to share." She looked at the little boy sleeping next to us and said, "I'm supposed to sleep next to him? No way, I might get a disease or something." I burst out laughing...quietly of course and said, "Don't worry, you get your own sheet." She shook her head and said, "I'm going to go sleep in the truck with Dad," then she left.

I wanted to jump up and run with her but then I thought of what my Mother was going through and I decided I could handle this. So I spread my blanket out and realized it didn't cover my whole body. Don't ask how the lady thought I was supposed to share it with another person. I lay down as close to the edge as I could. Then I realized, I should have brought a pillow. So in my most innocent and puppyish voice I asked Amber if I could please have a pillow. She just laughed and said, "No." so I stuffed the extra sheet under my head, prayed, "God please keep the bed bugs and lice off of me for tonight." Then I fell asleep scratching my head with just the thought of lice.

I woke up countless times in the night and looked over at Amber to see if she was ready to get out of there. I found her with the door part way open and her head sticking out for a breath of fresh air. She told me later that she would keep opening the door all night but the Lady would walk by and close it again.

Finally around 6:30 we got out of there. We walked straight to the truck and Amber stuck her head in the open window and said, "You don't know what you put us through last night!" Dad just started laughing and apologized. "It was like a third world country war hospital." I thought it reminded me of a concentration camp!

Needless to say, we got a nice hotel room the next night!