The clinical/medical care on the island is for the most part adequate, I mean Portuguese women have their babies there every day and they live to tell the story. However it is a VERY different atmosphere than what we are used to with American care and there really is no focus at all on patient care. The doctor is in charge, they do what they need to without asking or telling you and you don't have much say in anything. An epidural is a possibility, but not a guarantee or even likely. Think 1950's America. Men do not have a place in the labor and delivery room and might be invited to pop in just as the baby is being shown to the mother. Then they are kicked back out and only allowed to come visit mother and baby during the very strict visiting hours of 3:30-4:30 and 6:30-7:00 each day. Laboring is done in a shared room and delivery is hopefully done in an individual delivery room. But I have a friend who watched a lady have a baby right across the room from her because their delivery room was occupied. Normal deliveries require a 3 day hospital stay and C-sections a 5 day stay. I asked what happens if you tell them to stick it, you are fine and going home, basically they refuse to issue or sign a birth certificate if you do. I listened to stories from people who have delivered there, some happy with their choice and some not, but in the end I really want Shelby to be able to be a part of the birth and they cannot guarantee me that on the island. I also don't particularly care to embark on a cultural experience when it comes to childbirth. Shelby has been absolutely adamant from day one that I HAD to go to Germany. He would hear nothing of me staying on the island because he did not like that there is no NICU and the hospital is really not equipped to handle any kind of complications. If anything were to go wrong with either me or the baby during the birth we'd all be getting a helicopter ride to a larger island nearby in hopes that they could care for us there at the slightly larger hospital. In the end he's right, you just never know what might go wrong and if I chose to stay on the island and something happened to the baby because they needed a NICU or care they couldn't get I'd never forgive myself. So Germany it is.
I was super sad the day I had to go, I've never been away from Colin that long so that was tough. I know deployed people are apart from their families all the time, but in some cases I think being told to deploy is easier than making a voluntary choice to leave your family behind. If my job told me you will go here and when I'd be ok with it, but I personally made the choice to leave knowing when I'd have to go and what I'd miss and that sucks. It sucks that I had to make the choice and make it tough on one kid in order to do what is best for my other child. As hard as it was to leave Colin I know at this age he honestly likes Shelby better anyway and is probably barely phased by my absence, at least for the first few days or so. I know Shelby will take excellent care of him and I'm not really worried about Colin at all. Cooper on the other hand, is my baby, and as crazy as it sounds I am more worried about my dog when I am gone than my skin kid! LOL Coop is so used to me being home all day with him, I walk him every morning rain or shine, he snuggles with me and is generally spoiled by me at all times. Shelby loves the dog but he doesn't spoil him or baby him the way I do and I've been so stressed about how he will do while I am gone and how Shelby will take care of him.
We all went to the airport and Shelby and Colin said goodbye. I cried a little but did pretty well. Colin didn't cry but he did seem a little sad in the car and when they got to school and it was lunchtime. Shelby went to school with him and he said he didn't talk much during lunch and on Fridays after they eat they get to do a silly dance in the cafeteria, he said Colin wasn't as into the dancing at first but he did finally get into and let it lift his mood a bit. Once they got to the classroom and it was time to decorate gingerbread cookies and go on a school wide search for the gingerbread man he was happy again.
We boarded the plane about 30 minutes later than scheduled and then once on the plane we sat for 30 minutes waiting to leave. Then the pilot came on and said they were missing some documents and it would be another 30 minutes before we could go. Lovely...an hour of sitting on the plane before we even get to take off for our 2.5 hour flight. Yuck! Once we finally did take off and after they served us the snack it was about halfway through the flight when a flight attendant came and asked me to come with her. I figured it had something to do with the controllers back at Lajes and I was right. She walked me to the front of the plane through first class and into the cockpit! The pilots greeted me and told me to sit down for a bit. They explained the flight was totally full and they had no first class seats available but that I could ride for the rest of the flight in the cockpit with them if I wanted to. Um, OF COURSE I WANT TO! LOL It was definitely awesome and cheered me up a bit. Lisbon from the air was beautiful and watching us land there from the cockpit totally changed my impression of the city. We had stayed overnight there once, near the airport, and it seemed kind of dirty and run down. There were several sights from the air though that looked very nice and worth visiting. Colin was very excited to hear about my riding up there, but I made sure not to point it out to him that his baby brother had already done something he had not! I got a few pictures, but nothing fabulous since I wasn't really supposed to be taking pictures up there, the pilots were kind enough to let me snap a few.
That leg of the flight was definitely the highlight of my trip. I was first off the plane in Lisbon and got my Pizza Hut and Starbucks fix before boarding my next plane to Frankfurt. It was very late by the time my plane arrived and I collected my bags and signed for the rental car. I think I made it to the hotel near the airport around midnight. I'm so glad I decided to stay there instead of driving into Ramstein that night.
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