7-15-1984
Mr. Sanchez, like I mentioned before had to work three jobs to make ends meet. Mrs Sanchez being nine months pregnant would have another mouth to feed. Due to the fact that they were very poor immigrants Mrs. Sanchez did not have insurance or a doctor to assist her with her health care.
One day while Mrs. Sanchez was doing laundry she reached down to pull out the wet clothes, while she was bending over she felt a contraction and started to panic. She immediately went to her neighbor for help. Mrs. Sanchez' neighbors name was Rose who was also from Nicaragua, and she actually resembled Mrs. Sanchez who was a short, stout woman with Mayan features. Mrs Sanchez knew she better go to the hospital for this was her second child and she knew what a contraction meant, so she asked Rose to watch Sal while she got checked out by a Doctor.
Mrs. Sanchez hobbled onto a bus and made her way to the hospital. The contractions seemed to be coming on every 15 minutes. Boy did this pain hurt. Mrs. Sanchez was praying on the bus that her baby was OK. When she got to the LA Metropolitan Hospital they turned her away because she did not have insurance, and could not speak English; so they could not understand her predicament. This created quite an obstacle for Mrs. Sanchez She did not know what to do. Poor Mrs. Sanchez, she was so scared. She couldn't even understand why the people in the hospital would not assist her. She was frightened, confused, and overall upset. Now the contractions were coming along every 10 minutes and excruciatingly painful. Mrs. Sanchez sat on a park bench in the middle of L.A. Huffing, unprepared, and getting ready to have a baby.
Soon there was a young, white, and beautiful woman walking her child by Mrs. Sanchez, and the woman saw her struggling in pain. She approached and asked Mrs. Sanchez, “Hi, Are you OK?” Mrs. Sanchez replied, “Ay u dame, por favor!” (Help me please). As she grimaced in pain. The woman came to the conclusion right away that Mrs. Sanchez was in some serious pain and by the size of her abdomen that she was pregnant. Mrs. Sanchez was holding her belly and pointing saying, “Yo soy cuidado, Ay ma ma, Ay de mi! Ay u dame'. Por favor!” (Be careful. Oh my ma!! Oh my God. Help me please.) And then she let out a loud cry, “Aaaaah!” The woman was with her baby and it wasn't too long ago that she was mustering up the courage to deliver her own child. Even though the woman could not understand Mrs Sanchez she definitely knew that Mrs. Sanchez was in labor now. She knew what that Aaaah! Meant; that the baby was coming.
The woman with her baby stroller and child made their way to the nearest telephone and called 911. It didn't take long for the ambulance to respond. When the EMT's arrived Mrs. Sanchez contractions started coming along harder and faster. They were now 8 minutes apart. Although Mrs. Sanchez never did get this woman's name who helped her; she considered her a guardian angel and thanked her kindly
Mrs. Sanchez said to her, “Ay de mi, gracias angel; muchos gracias.” (Oh my God, thank you angel; thank you very much). The woman held her hand and stayed by her side as they loaded Mrs. Sanchez into the ambulance. The woman stood by and watched with her baby in her arms. Mrs. Sanchez stared in amazement thinking; could this be the blessed mother Mary coming to her aide? An angel from heaven above, sent from God? An answer to all her prayers. Mrs. Sanchez said, “Adios, gracias blankita!” (Thank you white woman, good bye).
By the time the ambulance arrived at the hospital her contractions were even closer, they were 5 minutes apart. She was screaming and panting in pain and her water broke so she was soaking wet now. They had her cut her clothes off to get to the spot where the baby was crowning. Mrs. Sanchez felt a little violated since they had to come at her with scissors. She was a bit frightened; but her clothes were all bloody anyways so she let it go.
Sure enough the baby was crowning and the contractions were coming along every 3 minutes The pain was unbearable, but it was too late now for anesthesia. The baby was absolutely coming. Mrs. Sanchez was hoping for a baby girl so she could have the best of both worlds with a boy and girl. This was the first time any man other than her husband had seen her vagina. She felt a little uncomfortable about it. She understood the necessity of it, though if she had a choice she would have assigned herself a female doctor.
As Mrs. Sanchez struggled to push and breathe the doctor buried his head under the slip of covers cascading over the miracle that was about to come into this world. The doctor said, “Oh boy! This baby is coming any minute. This woman is fully dilated and the head is crowning. Seems to be in position. We're having a baby!” As the doctor prepped his nurses for the new arrival he asked Mrs. Sanchez to push even though she couldn't understand, Mrs. Sanchez did as she was told.
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