Wonder Ears

Of all the pains and poverty that engulf suffering Earth, what joy is
welcomed to a newborn child - caroline norton



I was again demoted at my area due to a man admitted with toxoplasmosis. It is an infectious disease we, expectant mothers should certainly avoid being near with. It is an infection you can get from a parasite by eating raw or undercooked infected meat or handling contaminated soil, cat litter. If an expectant mother had been contracted, chances are stillbirth or long-term damage to the baby may occur. Well anyways, am already used with the idea of me being tossed to one area to another where there is less risk because of my condition and the nature of my field. Sometimes they had to put my name on the list as "available"...always.

To get started with i was assigned at the nursery which i soooooo loved. Since i have been there already during my second year, they transferred me there for the meantime. I remember then that i used to compare "pututoys" of whites, blacks, asian and in-betweens. No malice intended for all the newborns...just to tickle the mind lang ba! Whatever looks they have, they're all cute!

I was caring for the couple's newborn first child after his ceasarian birth. Since the mother was asleep under general anesthesia, the pediatrician and i took our tiny charge directly to the newborn nursery where we introduced the minutes-old baby to his daddy. While cuddling his son for the first time, he immediately noticed the baby's ears obviously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern that some kids might taunt his child, calling him names like Dumbo after the fictional elephant with large ears. I noticed the new dad's concern on his face, he looks like troubled, pacing back and forth. So i told the pediatrician about it if she can make a more convincing statement with regards to his baby's obviously protruding ears. The pediatrician examined the baby (again for the new dad's peace of mind). She reassured the new dad that his son was healthy - the ears presented only a minor cosmetic problem, which could be easily corrected during early childhood. The father was finally optimistic about his child, but was still worried about his wife's reaction to those large protruding ears. "She doesn't take things as easily as i do," he conveyed to me very much worried. Sa isip ko kaya naman pala pacing back and forth sa corridor looking very troubled. By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. I went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby's obvious large ears. The infant was swaddled in a receiving blanket with the head covered for the short trip through the corridor. I placed the tiny bundle in his mother's arms and ease the blanket back slowly so that she could gaze upon her child for the first time. She took one look at her baby's face as i was holding my breath and looked to her husband...she then gasped, "OH HONEY! LOOK! HE HAS YOUR EARS!"