Kerry Izzo Blogs About Her Life Changing Experience in Ghana
As I approach the end of my four-and-a-half month journey here in Accra, I can’t help but feel full, empty, and inspired in ways I never knew I could.
I have been reflecting on this past semester, and as fortunate as I feel for being exposed to countless unforgettable experiences, I feel even more fortunate for how I was given this opportunity. I would in no way have been able to come to Ghana without the support of my mother. She brought me into this world to find my place, and has endlessly tried to give me every possible opportunity so that I can.
Being in Ghana has opened my eyes to a world of opportunities. I recognize that being an undergraduate student going into the field of public health, I cannot save every life, but there are so many ways to begin. Honestly, this is what I find sad. There are so many ways; yet, it is 2013 and every two minutes a woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth related complications. That means that this Mother’s day 800 mothers died. Eight hundred. And 90% of those deaths are preventable; which, being in a developing country and witnessing a cesarean delivery has made me realize, it really is easier said than done — but it absolutely can be done.
I would like to pursue my midwifery degree once I graduate, so I set a goal for my self here in Ghana: witness a birth. This might seem odd, but not only did my experience witnessing a cesarean delivery solidify why I would like to be one, it also inspired me to delve into development.
Several weeks ago, my internship at the West Africa Aids Foundation made it possible for me to accomplish this goal. I witnessed a life enter the world under circumstances some would say were unfortunate, while reality would tell you otherwise. Dressed in scrubs, I stood staring at this woman thinking just how fortunate she was to have access to a surgery she needed to save the life of her unborn baby and herself. The surgery proceeded and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl — but that was not the end of this experience. The mother had lost 3x the amount of blood she was supposed to, and the hospital did not have her blood type for a blood transfusion. At this point I was sweating, my heart was pounding, and I was panicking slightly because there was nothing I could do to help. Blood was pooling on the operating theater floor, and at the same time all this chaos was happening the power in the hospital went out. It was pitch black for a mere 5 seconds; however, the silence in the operating room and the silence between each pound of my heart felt like an eternity. Luckily, this particular community hospital had a (working) backup generator, and the lights were back on in seconds. Once the lights came back on, the doctor carried on with the surgery doing the best he could with the resources he had, but the complications did not end entirely. While trying to suture the mother, the thread continued to break. Although the doctor was not particularly calm about this, he was able to finish the surgery and save her life — without needing the blood transfusion. Both mother and baby survived.
It took me roughly three weeks to process what happened in that operating theater — and I am not sure if I still fully can. Improving access to health care is so important, but quality cannot be disregarded along the way. Delivering in a hospital is often problematic for cultural reasons, and if the delivery does not go smoothly — or worse the mother and/or the child do not make it — how do you convince people that delivering their unborn baby at a health clinic is the safest place?
Having been exposed to issues relating to development made me understand my future role in public health — and my mother’s support helped me accomplish this. This is what I remembered last Mother’s day. I do not know everything I want to do with my life, nor should I at 21. But I do know two things: #1 I will become a midwife one day, and #2 I am going to concentrate on development, as a way to improve maternal mortality and quality care. Thank you mom.
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Kerry Izzo
New York University Class of 2014
