Connecting the dots

Dear readers,

I received a lot of questions about my internship in Slovenia and my first experiences as an intern at the labour ward. I promised to address these questions in my blogs. I know there is a bit of a delay in blogging (I will share the reason for that in another blog).

Let me finally kick off then, by addressing what is probably one of the most frequently asked questions, by patients as well as by staff members, friends, and family: why do an internship in Slovenia?

The truth is, I wanted to do my last internship in Africa, but ended up training in Slovenia. Before I explain the course of events, let me first emphasise that I don't regret this shift of destiny in the slightest bit. On the contrary, it put me in the right place, at the right time and with the right people.

As mentioned earlier, I changed school to be able to train in Brussels and to do an internship abroad. Because the deadline for applications to go to Africa had passed, I was left with the option to either go to Finland or to Slovenia. The choice was quickly made, for personal as well as professional reasons. On the one hand, I already had a history with Slovenia, and on the other hand, training in Ljubljana enjoys a good reputation. Let me start with the history before introducing you to midwifery in Slovenia.

1    Connecting the dots

Three years ago, I was in a period of rethinking my life and career. I had just hit my thirties, found myself in the midst of a burn out, disconnected from myself. This led me to give up my work as a researcher in law and my then career dreams.

At that point, my friends took me on a "Balkan road trip". I am still thankful for that. Even though I couldn't see it back then, this trip would mark the beginning of something new. Visiting Slovenia became an important transition point in my life. The warm welcome of the guest family, the parish, the young people we met, the beauty of the countryside, the outdoor life... it was like a warm bath to me.

As soon as I got home, I started to search on the internet for expat jobs in Slovenia. I felt that a change of environment could be what I needed, but since I could not find positions in the field of law, I dropped the plan. However, some months later, the spark of life that I found again in Slovenia, let me to decide to change the course of my life radically and to start midwifery training in Belgium.

Now, three years later, when offered the chance to complete this adventure of transforming from a lawyer into a midwife by doing a training in Slovenia, it felt like the dots were getting connected. Funny enough, during my first visit to Slovenia I made this picture in Ljubljana... seems like back then the walls were already inviting me to connect the dots in my life.

2  Midwifery in Ljubljana

The second and decisive reason for me to opt for an internship in Slovenia, was the good reputation of the labour ward of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana (UMCL), in clinical practice as well as in the field of research. The UMCL houses the biggest labour ward of the fourteen Slovenian maternities and is one of the largest hospital centres in Central Europe, with approximately 6000-8000 births a year. The labour ward serves as a regional reference centre for high risk pregnancies and deliveries and all sorts of pathologies and has the only Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the country.

Training in such a centre of excellence would offer me unique learning opportunities. Especially because midwives in Slovenia have a much more independent status than in Belgium. They conduct every normal low risk labour and are very actively involved in the management of high risk cases. In that respect, they work as part of an multidisciplinary team. This gives me the chance to learn how to practice midwifery care from skillful and very experienced midwifes.

During life's journey we all carry a rug sack somehow, someway. Sometimes life demands that we empty the rug sack, especially when its content keeps us grounded and limits us in taking off in life. Some years ago a friend told me his life's ambition, which was  “getting wings”. Last week a friend here in Slovenia shared that she finally feels “alive” while being here on Erasmus. I guess that probably summarizes best my experience so far… I am finally feeling alive again. I guess I got my wings!

Easter Magic

Dear folks,

I wish everyone to whom I couldn't reach out personally, a Happy Easter! I guess we all can do with some touch of magic these days :-). Sometimes it might be a matter of finding the right mindset or another set of eyes. Even an ugly concrete wall can put a smile on your face when you look twice ;-).

For me, part of the magic of Easter was celebrating the Mass with the international church community and gathering for a potluck afterwards. When you're away from home, sharing food and stories in good company is a blessing! I even forgot to take pictures!

In the afternoon, I went for a stroll in the Tivoli Park, literally the lungs of the town. Under a gentle sunshine, I saw the first signs of new life popping up in the forest. Climbing to the top, I got a great view on the town. Maybe it was the first fresh air since a long time, or the power of the first sunshine on my light deprived skin... or the release of all accumulated stress... but man, I felt exhausted when the sun was going down and I was about to set out for home.

On my way back home I visited the Sladoledni Bar Grefino. No, I didn't go for a drink: in this new bar, they don't tap beer, but ice cream! There is a wall with handles connected to ice cream machines that contain different flavors. In this self service ice cream bar, you can simply "tap" your own ice cream, chose your toppings and dressings et voila: your unique ice cup is ready. You pay for the weight of what you "tapped". I must say, it was the best ice cream I ate in a long time and a perfect closure of my day! Or as they say in Slovenian: gre fino! Everything goes fine!

PS: I swapped my SIM-card for a Slovenian one. I will only start using my Dutch SIM again when I am back home. 

PS: I got notified that apparently not all snail mail is arriving at my postaddress. If you don't get any feedback from me, please let me know, I might not have received your posting.

Brussels the brave

Seeing my beloved Bruxelles, my dear Belgium, under attack, while being safe and sound abroad, is pretty estranging. It suddenly made me realise how much my identity is connected with the places and the people who gave me so much chances to grow in life and to become the person I am right now.

I want to recall my school in Brussels, that accepted me, a student from another school in another town, and allowed me to change to their institute. In Brussels, they recognised my ambitions and interests and were willing to offer me chances I couln't get elsewhere, among which the opportuny to realise my dream, of doing an internship abroad, which turned out to be Slovenia. 

Training in Brussels also did silence the negative voices, those who, wrongfully, had told me to doubt my passion (and ability) to become a midwife. Their scepticism didn't manage to discourage me but strengthened me to take the risk to leave my old school, give up old paths that turned out to be not fruitful anymore and have the guts to try new ways. That new way was the way to Brussels, and on that way I was offered exactly the learning chances and challenges I needed most. Brussels taught me how to hang on to a dream and how to take a risk in life. Brussels taught me how to be brave.

That is why I want to recall today my wounded Bruxelles. The city and the people that brought me much healing, who invested in me. Today, I want to stand by you, by your fear and your despair, by your tears and your bleeding heart

Dear Belgians, we all know, that you, as Julius Caesar said, are the bravest among all tribes. Today, I want to recall that braveness. In the footsteps of Ambiorix, who stood strong against the renowned Roman commander, I want to recall your inner civilisation, to not harvest what others are trying to sow in your nation, in your heart; to not answer death and violence with hate and counter violence; to not disqualify the beauty of your multicultural society because of its shortcomings; to not let despair making you lose hope.

Today I want to recall the many brave pregnant women I had the privilege of working with and learning  from during my last year's training in hospitals in Brussels. Women from all over the world, from all colors and denominations, who had found and made themselves a home in Brussels. Today, I want to recall that other face of Brussels, the enriching beauty of the multicultural society that taught me so much about what it means to be a human being and to be a woman.

Today I want to recall the brave women of Bruxelles, the women representing the whole world and embodying the human strength and resilience. I want to recall those superwomen, who so courageously keep putting their life's and hearts at risk to carry and give birth to new life in a world that is in so much pain. I want to recall the small babies, who don't point fingers, who don't distinguish between color, culture or religion. Those babies who not only feed on milk, but most of all on love.

I want to recall the importance of motherhood. Mothers, the real warriors of life and love. They need us all to join hands, not to make a fist, but to stand strong together in love. Because evil can only be put to shame by standing by one another, not by letting us be divided, but by embracing what is fragile, vulnerable, good and beautiful. That is what makes a motherland.

I owe it to the new generation I helped to enter into this world, to the brave parents that have to raise their children in an unsafe world, to the mothers of this world who don't know how to explain hate and violence to their innocent children, to the frightenened hearts of our minors, to the fathers who are unable to protect their families against the radicalisation of this time,...I owe it to all of them to advocate a culture of love. 

The beauty of Europe is its lovely cross-pollination of cultures. Here in Slovenia, I often hear Belgian singers on the radio, I see Belgian bands on the billboards and playing in the local venues, I see Dutch literary heritage popping up on festival posters.

Let our arts become our weapons...
Let us live by the he(art).
Let us continue to be brave afterall.  

Big bissous from Slovenia!  

PS: next time, finally the long expected first blog on my internship!

 

A taste of Ljubljana

Dear blog readers!

Sorry for leaving you in the dark for almost 4 weeks now! I found myself in an adaptation rollercoaster with little time to reflect, let alone to write. I know that many of you are looking forward to reading about my first experiences as a midwifery student at the labour ward. I have to ask for some more patience though. I am about to enter my first fully free weekend in 3 weeks, so I hope to finally find some time to chew on a blogpost on my midwifery adventures. As an appetizer, I'll first serve a short blog on my life in Ljubljana. 

Housing

First, a taste of my housing. I have the privilege of living in a studio in the very centre of Ljubljana. This not only makes it easy for me to go out at night and take a stroll in the picturesque streets, it also has the advantage of being in walking distance of the hospital. Given the limited amount of time and the multiple night shifts, this is more than convenient.

Feeding program ;-)

I also finally got to the point where I feel my exploration of Slovenian life has started. Not in the least by enjoying Slovenia’s food culture – and that at a very affordable price. 

Until now, I had been mostly working during office hours. Recently however, I got down to activating my food coupons at the Student Organization on campus. A sensible thing to do: these government sponsored coupons allow students to have a full meal (three courses and often a drink) in many Ljubljana restaurants, at very low prices (with a maximum of around € 4,50). All you need is a Slovenian mobile number to register. In the restaurant, you simply dial 1808, validate the coupon and… enjoy your meal!

There was but one thing that held me up a little: when on my way to the campus, I was distracted by the looks of a nearby industrial building. It turned out to be the Union beer brewery, one of Slovenia’s biggest brewers (although they also do other beverages like soft drinks and mineral water). They are surely proud of themselves, given the fact that they offer a tour on the history and present of brewing (which I put on my to do-list). A small sip of the tour can be taken here.

Sunday in Ljubljana

In the student’s life, financial restrictions often prevent from going out to dine in style and visit museums. This Sunday however, was an entirely different story. Combining the food coupons and the free entrance that Ljubljana museums offer every first Sunday of the month, allowed some friends and me to have a classy afternoon. Enjoying and sharing the Ljubljana life, we ate out in the Mexican restaurant Joe Peñas and made our way to the Museum of Modern Art.

The atmosphere in the Modern Art Museum can probably be best described as one of crisis and new beginnings. It struck me as pretty symbolic for my own life over the last few years. Walking along the artefacts in the museum I got a mixed feeling. Without being able to pinpoint the exact reason, the exhibition felt oppressive, as if you are trying to breath with your head under a blanket.

I felt the museum needed what I need in my own life: a reorganisation of artworks, to get rid of the forgeries of the past and give the real masterpieces what they deserve: a proper stage. Only when shedding a new light on the past, and seeing its true nature, the scars of the crisis can heal and become victory signs that signal a new beginning.

Three years ago, when I first visited Slovenia and Ljubljana, I was in a time of personal crisis. That visit became a new beginning, the kick off of my training as a midwife. Now that I am about to complete my training, I feel that this second stay in Ljubljana is the last stage in the transformation of scars into victory signs. Dropping the last few forgeries might prove challenging, but it’s time for the real masterpieces to shine again.

Bible Brew

The international students of the Bible Brew group organised a meet-and-greet with food and homemade sweet cookies (thanks to Lucia!) after the International Mass. The meeting also served as a sort of goodbye party for Father Damjan Ristic, who will be staying in London for two months to write his PhD thesis. Although I only got to know Father Ristic a few weeks ago, I will surely miss the amazing Bible Brew evenings under his guidance, the many good stories and his sense of humour. In the past, Father Ristic has been working in Zambia for some time and the shared passion for Africa gave a lot of added color to our 'brewings'. For that is basically what the Bible Brew group is all about, brewing on the Bible, on life, sharing the journey and trying different brews in bottles ;-). Last time, I introduced the Belgian beer culture, and with the Lindemans Framboise, I could even trigger the ladies' appetite for beer. Wasn't it me who, at the start of this blog, questioned the pub crawl phenomenon? :D Well, I think we brew in the spirit of Erasmus, with moderation. Or, as Oscar Wilde would have it: "Everything in moderation, including moderation."

Other faces

As some of you might know, I have a passion for both photography and street art. I cannot go about a city without capturing the other, less official cultural faces that present themselves. I’ll give a sneak preview of this alternative face of Ljubljana, and I hope to be exploring (and showing you!) more of this in the future.

Going viral in Ljubljana

Before leaving for Slovenia, I did an internship at the University Hospital in Brussels. The story of one of my clients, who was pregnant and wanted to go on a holiday to the Caribbean, triggered me to delve into the recent and rapid spread of Zika-virus in large parts of Latin America, and its possible link with microcephaly in young children.

As it now turns out, the Zika-virus made it to Ljubljana before I did. Contributing to the growing body of literature on the matter, a group of scientists of several departments of the University of Ljubljana and the University Medical Center Ljubljana (UMCL) published a case report of a probable vertical transmission of the virus earlier this month, in The New England Journal of Medicin.

Their case concerns a 25-year-old woman who had been working in the North-Eastern part of Brazil between December 2013 and October 2015. Upon returning, she was 28 weeks pregnant and came to the UMCL out of fear that there may be fetal anomalies. When she was 13 weeks pregnant, she had fallen ill, showing symptoms (such as high fever and a maculopapular rash) of infection with the Zika-virus. This was in fact suspected, but she wasn’t tested for the virus. Ultrasounds at 14 and 20 weeks had shown no signs of anomalies in the fetus.

Ultrasounds at 29 and 32 weeks however, did, in particular intrauterine growth retardation, microcephaly, and calcifications both in the placenta and in the brain. Hereupon the woman applied for termination of the pregnancy, for which she was granted permission.

Particle with morphologic characteristics of a flavivirus (derived from Mlakar et al., 2016)

An extensive autopsy was done, and one of the things that was found in the subsequent testing, was a particle with characteristics of a flavivirus in the brain tissue (see the image above). Other (flavi)virusses were ruled out, and the brain tissue tested positive for Zika-virus in RT-PCR, thus adding to the suspicion that the virus might cause microcephaly. In an editorial, The New England Journal of Medicine writes that the Slovenian report “helps to strengthen the biologic association” between the two; so far, the association was mostly “epidemiologically associated in time and geography”.

Want to read more?

The report:

Mlakar, J., Korva, M., Tul, N., Popovic, M., Poljsak-Prijatelj, M., Mraz, J. et al. (2016). Brief report - Zika Virus Associated with Microcephaly. New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1600651. It can be read here.

The editorial:

Rubin, E., Greene, M., Baden, L. (2016). Editorial – Zika Virus and Microcephaly. The New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe1601862. It can be read here.

The American Centres for Disease Control reported on “evidence of a link between Zika virus infection and microcephaly and fetal demise” on February 18:

Martines, R., Bhatnagar, J., Keating, M., Silva-Flannery, L., Muehlenbachs, A., Gary, J. et al. (2016). Notes from the Field: Evidence of Zika Virus Infection in Brain and Placental Tissues from Two Congenitally Infected Newborns and Two Fetal Losses. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 65 (6), 159-160. DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6506e1. The report can be read here. 

First weekend in Ljubljana

Friday night, hungry from travelling and frozen by the snow, we chose a small restaurant in one of the cosy medieval streets of Ljubljana, restaurant Robba. This turned out to be a great culinair experience for an affordable price. I wonder if an even better restaurant can be found in town. The food was simply delicious. It was far from the mainstream food you often get in restaurants, the flavors were nicely selected and balanced; in short, a real sensation. The same goes for the home mixed juices, and all that in a stunning designed and welcoming entourage, with friendly staff and nice music... they even played our own Milow!

On saturday, two lovely Slovenian friends took us on a wonderful outing in the Slovenian mountains, more precisely to Krvavec, the second largest ski resort in the country. The snow covered scenery was impressive and after the climb to the top we enjoyed some traditional local mountain dishes. "Jota" is a bean and sauerkraut soup, "Skutini Struklji" a cheese-curd pastry topped with sweet berries. As Belgians, we couldn't skip having a taste of the local beer Lasko. Pivovarna Lasko is the leading Slovenian Beer Brewery and goes back to 1825. It survived the turbulent political tidings the country went through in the last two centuries and is an example of Slovenian entrepreneurship.

On Sunday, it was raining cats and dogs; the ideal moment for some indoor activities. First, we went to the English mass where I met up with other Erasmus students. Afterwards the group split up, one part went swimming and the other part (including myself) visited the world famous and controversial exibition "Our body". For this exibition, preserved human bodies have been dissected in different ways, thus displaying the different bodily systems. A local medical student was available to give us some explanation. This visit proved a good repetition of my anatomy classes. However, walking along the bodies, lined up in real life poses, gave a mixture of feelings and thoughts, ranging from ethical concerns to fascination, sensation, and sometimes a feeling of disgust when observing how much the human flesh  looks like the meat in the butcher's shopping window. In the end, I think my medical interest won, after seeing the placental vascularisation and being able to look into the female pelvis. It was an impressive experience and a good kick off of my midwifery nursing internship that will start this week.

Welcome to Ljubljana!

Normally you would think that leaving on Friday 12th should not be a problem. But that was before noticing that the flight would be leaving from gate 13. I will spare you the details of the crazy way in which we managed to catch the flight. To cut the story short, I arrived safely and with luggage in a fairytaly snowcovered Ljubljana in the company of 3 friends.

The two faces of Erasmus...

Welcome to this blog!

Many people will be familiair with the name Erasmus because of the Erasmus exchange scholarships. Within a few days, I too will embark on this adventure and head for Ljubljana. 

In doing so I will also follow in the footsteps of the man who gave these scholarships, as well as my own Erasmus University College, their name. The great Dutch humanist thinker, writer and priest Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) spent a life time travelling through Europe, studying and working, thirsty for knowledge. 

My first small treads in his footsteps, however, I have already taken. On concluding my previous internship in Brussels, and before leaving on exchange, friends organised a little trip to the Erasmus house in the Belgian capital. Erasmus lived for about five months in this house, which is now a nice museum where the desk at which he worked, can still be seen.

There are however other ways of treading in Erasmus' footsteps, as I found out when I received the invitation shown below. It makes one wonder what Erasmus' himself would have to say about this, given that he once remarked that "When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes". Would he change his "Your library is your paradise" for "Your pub is your paradise"?

Kick off to be expected soon...

This blog will be kicked off by February 2016. You can mark this page as a favorite or add your emailaddress to the mailinglist (sidebar) so that you will be authomatically updated as soon as new entries are posted.

In first instance, you can expect stories/pictures covering my experiences and adventures during my stay and my internship midwifery nursing in Slovenia (Labour Wards at Ljubljana Medical Center).

As soon as I have graduated, this blog will hopefully continue with stories from other places in the world, covering the start of new life across all different types of borders (legal borders, social borders, cultural borders, etc). 

This blog will try to bring stories that are relevant to each of us and will not particulary or exclusively address women, parents (to be) or medical workers. Also others who would love to read multicultural stories of life, love, hope and dreams ... can stay tuned!  

I hope to welcome you soon as reader of this blog.