I am home and hope to continue to tell a few stories and reflect on my trip over the next few weeks... Here is a website I found that captures much of Sierra Leone in picture and word. I couldn't hold back my tears while reading much of this woman's description as she captures much that will be forever close to my heart, especially regarding the children of this country:
http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/religious_studies/aysesierraleone/sierraleone.html
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Good Morning
Sunday morning... Up early and sitting in the dining room with just a few other people around and awake. Mainly night shift nurses eating before going to bed for the day.
I only have a week and a half left before I head home. If I had not extended I would have left this past Thursday. I am happy to be here a little longer. What a journey! It was difficult to be here at first and now it will be difficult to leave.
The little ICU girl went home on Friday. She has the most beautiful smile in the world and it was nice to see that emerge and to be with her playful spirit before she left.
The ship continues to be in constant transition with volunteers coming and going daily... an ever changing world.
I will soon be home with photos to show and hopefully more stories to tell.
Thanks for all your thoughts.
XOXO
I only have a week and a half left before I head home. If I had not extended I would have left this past Thursday. I am happy to be here a little longer. What a journey! It was difficult to be here at first and now it will be difficult to leave.
The little ICU girl went home on Friday. She has the most beautiful smile in the world and it was nice to see that emerge and to be with her playful spirit before she left.
The ship continues to be in constant transition with volunteers coming and going daily... an ever changing world.
I will soon be home with photos to show and hopefully more stories to tell.
Thanks for all your thoughts.
XOXO
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Update
The young girl is doing well. With the help of some connected with Mercy Ship and the Sierra Leone government, a surgeon from Nairobi, Kenya was flown to Freetown and was able to remove the stone from her lung. I was able to observe and even participate in the surgery. She is awake and talking and gaining strength.
Friday, April 29, 2011
a pebble tale
April 29th 2am... night shift
Life has become a bit routine the last couple weeks. Work sandwiched between the rhythm of meals and sleeping. Days off usually end up with a walk to town to a market or to visit my friend Flora and her family. Last Saturday was a beautiful day at the beach. Sunday, Easter, we had a scrumptious brunch with baked goods, quiche, and fruit. The crew all put on their finest attire, fun to see all dressed in our best :)
Yesterday, not only did we celebrate Katrine's birthday, but we joined the entire country of Sierra Leone in celebrating their 50th year of independence. Royal blue, kelly green, and white have literally been painted in the most unique places over the course of the last few weeks in preparation for yesterday's festivities... America's red, white, and blue on the fourth of July pales in comparison to the expression of pride in the land here. Our local day volunteers that work about the ship,...many as translators came up with unique attire resembling their flag as well. I was on the ship, but the streets were apparently full and booming with energy.
April 29th 3pm...
I was updating my blog last night on night shift... ironically and obviously commenting on the steady routine of life as of late. I had one ICU patient, a two year old that had swallowed and aspirated a small stone eight days ago. A local ENT surgeon and our team of doctors had spent five hours in unsuccessful attempts to remove the stone. They left her intubated because of the risk of swelling and constricted airway after so many hours of tampering in her lower throat and lungs.
From 315am till about 430am I went through one of the most terrifying, miraculous, surreal moments in my life. My little patient that had been quiet, sedated and resting soundly for hours. She suddenly became restless, which happens on occasion with any patient, often with a quick resolve, but she continued to squirm and fight. There was one other nurse nearby who came to help but as she wiggled her intubation tube became loose and I needed help, but help from another ICU nurse or someone who knew how to secure an intubation tube and give boluses of medication to sedate and how to respond to the situation. Literally, the moment I was saying "help" internally, I looked up to see one of the three pediatric ICU nurses that work on the ship standing in the doorway in her pajamas. Over the next 15 minutes we ended up coding this two year old. She had coughed a plug into her intubation tube so no oxygen could pass through hence her restlessness. We pulled her tube and used a mask to ventilate her, performed chest compressions as her heart rate subsequently dropped with her oxygenation status. The on call anesthesiologist, also happening to be pediatric trained (also a rarity), responded to her emergent page within minutes. I know in my heart I would not have been able to respond appropriately on my own... mainly out of inexperience with pediatrics.
Corina, the pediatric ICU nurse and also a dear friend, had woken in the middle of the night restless and thinking about the ICU patient she had heard ended up in our unit last night. She had gone to the dining room, drank a cup of tea and tried to watch some BBC news but her insides felt restless and she decided to "poke her head in" and see how I was doing.
I managed a few hours of sleep today. Preparing to head to camp out for the weekend. Feeling exceptionally thankful for a miracle last night.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
a chance happening
I was just walking down the stairs to my room, the stairs are shared with the hospital traffic... as I was descending the little boy I have told you about and his mom, with baby brother in popo on her back, were coming up. He was dressed in his normal clothes versus the familiar hospital gown. He is headed home. I had no idea they were leaving today and it was mere coincidence to run into them, but I got to say goodbye. He started talking and laughing a bit the last two days I have heard, but when I am around he gets quiet and serious, so I still have not heard him talk. I hugged him and squeezed him anyway... he will be forever on my heart and I will always wonder about the life he has before him.
Had the day off yesterday. Relaxed on the ship most of the day. I did walk to the market and visit my friend Flora and her family. Katrine went with me and she showed us her few treasured photographs. Last evening my friend Corina... a fellow nurse from the Netherlands... Katrine and I walked to "The Hope Center". This is a building not far from the ship where the Dental Clinic is held and also a space where patients that travel from far away can stay before or after surgery. There are quite a few of our patients there right now that don't need daily hospital/nursing care, but come to the ship for a dressing change every day or every few days or are waiting for a follow up appointment of some sort, so they have a safe and close space to be home in the interim time. It was fun to sing and play with some of the children, many of them are getting fat! They are not used to the nutrition and faithful heavy meals they get here so one little girl and her brother who have been at the ship for almost two months now look quite different than their arrival!
I work evening shift all week. Katrine's husband Ruben arrived on Sunday. He is in the Danish army so is on leave for a couple of weeks and is a general steward on the ship. It's nice to finally meet him and he is definitely as kind and sweet as his dear wife has painted him out to be! :)
Had the day off yesterday. Relaxed on the ship most of the day. I did walk to the market and visit my friend Flora and her family. Katrine went with me and she showed us her few treasured photographs. Last evening my friend Corina... a fellow nurse from the Netherlands... Katrine and I walked to "The Hope Center". This is a building not far from the ship where the Dental Clinic is held and also a space where patients that travel from far away can stay before or after surgery. There are quite a few of our patients there right now that don't need daily hospital/nursing care, but come to the ship for a dressing change every day or every few days or are waiting for a follow up appointment of some sort, so they have a safe and close space to be home in the interim time. It was fun to sing and play with some of the children, many of them are getting fat! They are not used to the nutrition and faithful heavy meals they get here so one little girl and her brother who have been at the ship for almost two months now look quite different than their arrival!
I work evening shift all week. Katrine's husband Ruben arrived on Sunday. He is in the Danish army so is on leave for a couple of weeks and is a general steward on the ship. It's nice to finally meet him and he is definitely as kind and sweet as his dear wife has painted him out to be! :)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Photos
Thought I would give you the link to my friend Tom's blog. He is a photographer on the ship and has many pictures of patients that I am unable to take myself and he also has the capability to upload pictures, so enjoy. http://tombradley.wordpress.com/
I have been off all week following my stint of nights. I stop in every day to visit my 5 year old patient from the weekend. I don't know that I ever mentioned what he had done. His lower jaw was significantly smaller than his upper jaw, giving him almost the look of a turtle. It's called Pierre Robin Syndrome, or so they thought... when the surgeon actually went in and did the surgery they are actually wondering if it was trauma from a forcep delivery. Traditionally with Pierre Robin the patient's tongue is also smaller than normal, but his tongue was normal sized which is what actually caused him significant problems. We think for the last five years when he would fall asleep his tongue would obscure his airway so he has lived with lack of oxygen for years. Almost like sleep apnea in overweight adults.
Anyway, he is quiet and shy and scared, yesterday he said he wanted to go home, but he doesn't speak much at all. His mom is overjoyed and grateful for the help her son has received.
I have been off all week following my stint of nights. I stop in every day to visit my 5 year old patient from the weekend. I don't know that I ever mentioned what he had done. His lower jaw was significantly smaller than his upper jaw, giving him almost the look of a turtle. It's called Pierre Robin Syndrome, or so they thought... when the surgeon actually went in and did the surgery they are actually wondering if it was trauma from a forcep delivery. Traditionally with Pierre Robin the patient's tongue is also smaller than normal, but his tongue was normal sized which is what actually caused him significant problems. We think for the last five years when he would fall asleep his tongue would obscure his airway so he has lived with lack of oxygen for years. Almost like sleep apnea in overweight adults.
Anyway, he is quiet and shy and scared, yesterday he said he wanted to go home, but he doesn't speak much at all. His mom is overjoyed and grateful for the help her son has received.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Update
Thought I would update you all on the little boy...
Yesterday, Sunday, he had a bit of a rough day. They did a scope to look at his airway and decide if they could safely extubate him. While sedated they were able to obtain some bloodwork they had been unable to get thus far and his blood count was low so he received a unit of blood. Following all this his blood pressure and heart rate decided to keep everyone on their toes by hovering very low, maybe from such an eventful day, but who knows exactly why and his urine output had also tapered down to a concerning low rate.
When I went to work at 7pm there was a lot of commotion around him making me a bit nervous to be his careprovider overnight. All the doctors and supervisors left me their pager numbers and then were off and it was me and him. I am HAPPY to say that he had a great night... very few issues, a couple restless periods, but all went well.
I left at 7am and went to bed... the plan for the day was to take him to the OR, extubate him, and if he was unable to breath on his own to place a tracheotomy. I got up around 330pm and headed to the ward with anticipation to see what transpired in my sleep. He was awake, sitting up in bed, mom snuggled next to him... breathing fine on his own... even on room air! No feeding tube to his nose, no IV fluids, just a little monitor for his oxygen status which was 99%... Yay! His mom got up to attend to his fussy little brother across the room so I got to take her snuggle spot for a few minutes too :)
Yesterday, Sunday, he had a bit of a rough day. They did a scope to look at his airway and decide if they could safely extubate him. While sedated they were able to obtain some bloodwork they had been unable to get thus far and his blood count was low so he received a unit of blood. Following all this his blood pressure and heart rate decided to keep everyone on their toes by hovering very low, maybe from such an eventful day, but who knows exactly why and his urine output had also tapered down to a concerning low rate.
When I went to work at 7pm there was a lot of commotion around him making me a bit nervous to be his careprovider overnight. All the doctors and supervisors left me their pager numbers and then were off and it was me and him. I am HAPPY to say that he had a great night... very few issues, a couple restless periods, but all went well.
I left at 7am and went to bed... the plan for the day was to take him to the OR, extubate him, and if he was unable to breath on his own to place a tracheotomy. I got up around 330pm and headed to the ward with anticipation to see what transpired in my sleep. He was awake, sitting up in bed, mom snuggled next to him... breathing fine on his own... even on room air! No feeding tube to his nose, no IV fluids, just a little monitor for his oxygen status which was 99%... Yay! His mom got up to attend to his fussy little brother across the room so I got to take her snuggle spot for a few minutes too :)
Saturday, April 9, 2011
night shift again
We are in an emergency state on the ship. We have lost our water supply and have very limited reserves of water. The ship captain came across loudspeakers throughout the whole ship notifying us that there is a hold on all showers till further notice! There are some people feeling very challenged right now! The last few days we have known about the water situation and have been strongly encouraged to conserve in whatever ways possible. (I think I mentioned this is the last note, so I won't repeat myself with all the details.) I haven't showered since Wednesday myself, but I am not overly bothered. The long curly hair is pretty forgiving and we all smell, so I don't stand out so much :)
I slept most of the day. Got up for dinner and had an hour or so before heading back to work at 7pm. Marianne, Katrine, and I went to the top of the ship. The sunset was amazing... perfect circle sun that you can stare into... bright reddish orange, it's shades reflecting off the ocean water. I think I've also already mentioned how polluted the water is around the ship where we are docked. As we looked out the waterflow tonight was such that TONS of trash had gathered in a large moving clump right along the ship. Most of it is plastic and one cannot think of how the western world has affected and infiltrated the rest of civilization with our "grand ideas"! Plastic... ugh. Staring at this I was so angry, but in some strange way the messiness was beautiful. It was colorful... like an exhibit at the MoMA almost. Starkly standing out was a red plastic bag, white lettering across stating "Feel Free"... The irony.
Admist the trash there was something not at all beautiful though... really one of the most appalling things I may have ever seen. (Kerry Cebul I hope you read this and I would give A LOT of money to tell you the story and receive your reaction in person!) There was floating about six feet behind this whirlwind of trash, in supine position, a large, bloated rat... I honestly did not know rats actually grew this size. (Think The Princess Bride... ROUS's) All four feet sticking up in the air... I actually was convinced it was a pig for a short period of time before I could see the tail. We were then informed that these nocturnal animals are hunted by locals and provide a source of protein. I did not get a picture, though wish I did... hopefully you all are painting an entertaining scene in your own imaginations.
I am working in the ICU. Tonight I have three patients. One is a fellow crew member, she is not needing ICU care, but all sick crew members come to a private room in the ICU. One patient just needs a little extra care... we call them high dependency patients, but she is sleeping soundly and has had a good night. Then there is my little guy... five years old, only 11 kg (24.2 lbs), intubated nasally because of swelling to his face following his surgery that could close his entire airway. I have no pediatric nursing experience, but I am here learning and learning a lot. It is good.
A coworker just went to see if the baker's morning goods are coming out of the oven... one perk of night shift. :) Best go...
I slept most of the day. Got up for dinner and had an hour or so before heading back to work at 7pm. Marianne, Katrine, and I went to the top of the ship. The sunset was amazing... perfect circle sun that you can stare into... bright reddish orange, it's shades reflecting off the ocean water. I think I've also already mentioned how polluted the water is around the ship where we are docked. As we looked out the waterflow tonight was such that TONS of trash had gathered in a large moving clump right along the ship. Most of it is plastic and one cannot think of how the western world has affected and infiltrated the rest of civilization with our "grand ideas"! Plastic... ugh. Staring at this I was so angry, but in some strange way the messiness was beautiful. It was colorful... like an exhibit at the MoMA almost. Starkly standing out was a red plastic bag, white lettering across stating "Feel Free"... The irony.
Admist the trash there was something not at all beautiful though... really one of the most appalling things I may have ever seen. (Kerry Cebul I hope you read this and I would give A LOT of money to tell you the story and receive your reaction in person!) There was floating about six feet behind this whirlwind of trash, in supine position, a large, bloated rat... I honestly did not know rats actually grew this size. (Think The Princess Bride... ROUS's) All four feet sticking up in the air... I actually was convinced it was a pig for a short period of time before I could see the tail. We were then informed that these nocturnal animals are hunted by locals and provide a source of protein. I did not get a picture, though wish I did... hopefully you all are painting an entertaining scene in your own imaginations.
I am working in the ICU. Tonight I have three patients. One is a fellow crew member, she is not needing ICU care, but all sick crew members come to a private room in the ICU. One patient just needs a little extra care... we call them high dependency patients, but she is sleeping soundly and has had a good night. Then there is my little guy... five years old, only 11 kg (24.2 lbs), intubated nasally because of swelling to his face following his surgery that could close his entire airway. I have no pediatric nursing experience, but I am here learning and learning a lot. It is good.
A coworker just went to see if the baker's morning goods are coming out of the oven... one perk of night shift. :) Best go...
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday... Hump Day :)
Snuggled on one of my "cabin mates" beds, she is packing to leave after one month of volunteering as a dental hygienist at the dental clinic. Dusti... she is returning to Charlotte, NC, but her husbands family is from Saratoga Springs so she will be by Syracuse and the farm for a visit in the near future... :)
So the girls and I went to Sussex beach over the weekend and spent two nights at an African resort called Franco's... Italian born Franco and his wife Florence, presumably African, have created a little space often frequented by tourists that is definitely luxury for Africa, but would rate a one star hotel by our picky American standards. It worked perfectly for us... we aren't picky! The time away was relaxing, but it was also nice to be outside of the city and see Sierra Leone life more rural. And of course, any venture off the ship inadvertently creates some sort of story... so two come to mind:
1. We hired a taxi to take us from the ship about an hour and a half, with traffic, drive to the beach. Let me explain a "taxi" though... about 80% of those that actually own a car also in turn have a taxi... it's not like there are taxi companies or businesses, people just give rides to make money. These "taxis" range in vehicle quality from not so nice to really not so nice (scary). Our taxi was definitely on the really not so nice end of the spectrum. Our driver and his sidekick in the passenger seat added to the already complicated task of getting around as neither of them spoke a lick of English. Our driver was Krio speaking only and his friend French and Krio, asking us about 15 times if we spoke French, each time we kindly answered "no". To make a long, adventurous story short... the first alarming moment came when we stopped to get gas and it took about ten attempts turning the key to start the car. Just as the words "do you think we should get a different taxi?", came out of my mouth, the car was moving toward our destination again and it was too late. Though the driver quoted us a price, and pretty fair, he didn't actually know where he was taking us. About a half hour into the trip he started pulling over asking pedestrians if he should keep going to get to Franco's at Sussex. The farther we got from the city, the narrower and dustier the red earthen roads became. As we headed down a slight hill toward a bridge I could see a very large construction truck heading down the adjacent hill toward us. The bridge was a definite one laner, so I started "uh, uh, uh-ing", motioning for us to pull over while pointing vigorously at the oncoming truck, but this did not matter, we carried on. Sweat began pouring from not only the brows of us three girls in the back, but also from our local passenger seat friend! I am confident that 99.9% of the driving population in the world would deem that there is no way our taxi could fit past the construction truck. I kept thinking that we would stop and back up or the truck would start backing up and I think the driver of the truck was thinking so as well... I could see him moving towards the shifter to move into reverse gear, but there was no time to make a move, we just kept moving forward. Holding my breath I sat with awe as we passed by the right side of the truck, the driver side side-mirror was sacrificed and the side of the car scraped... Marianne staring out the window bug eyed as she was sitting on that side of the car, but we somehow astonishingly made it. We all sighed and then started laughing till we were crying and our toothless driver turned around with the biggest smile I will never forget. About five minutes down the road we heard a loud "pop, putt, putt, putt........" Out of the car hopped our two friends, "kick, kick, clang..." and into the trunk went the muffler! Onward forward... and yes, about fifteen minutes later we miraculously made it to Franco's. Our friends really wanted to come back to get us and give us a ride home on Monday, we took their numbers and found another taxi to take home.
2. It was so nice to be out of the city. We took a couple long walks on the beach, but once the tide came in in the evening the beach was inaccessible so we walked into the local village. I could hear birds and didn't have people bumping into every side of me. We met a few local kids who led us around and we saw a few more views from the coastline that were stunning. As we were walking along, just like in the city, kids would come running out to say hello and they always want to touch us. It's sweet. So a little girl, probably 7 or so, is smiling and saying the usual hellos... behind her is her mother holding her sister around 3. The three year old catches a glimpse of us three white people, gets the most terrified look on her face and starts bawling. She was frightened... I'm sure we look like crazy aliens to someone who has only seen black skin before. The best part of the story though is the seven year olds response, she starts laughing hysterically and literally jumping up and down in place... humored to the bone by her wailing sibling. The whole scene was so cute and fun... :) It made my day.
Life on the ship has been uneventful, but nice... the rhythm of meal times orders the days... we have been having difficulty getting a constant and reliable source of water to the ship and we use 92 tons of water a day, so we are in conservation mode... the laundry room is shut down, we are using disposable cutlery, plates, and cups and showers are only to be taken if absolutely necessary... when they are taken there are to be "ship showers"... two minutes long max... wet yourself turn off the water, soap up, turn the water back on to rinse. :) We all smell great!
So the girls and I went to Sussex beach over the weekend and spent two nights at an African resort called Franco's... Italian born Franco and his wife Florence, presumably African, have created a little space often frequented by tourists that is definitely luxury for Africa, but would rate a one star hotel by our picky American standards. It worked perfectly for us... we aren't picky! The time away was relaxing, but it was also nice to be outside of the city and see Sierra Leone life more rural. And of course, any venture off the ship inadvertently creates some sort of story... so two come to mind:
1. We hired a taxi to take us from the ship about an hour and a half, with traffic, drive to the beach. Let me explain a "taxi" though... about 80% of those that actually own a car also in turn have a taxi... it's not like there are taxi companies or businesses, people just give rides to make money. These "taxis" range in vehicle quality from not so nice to really not so nice (scary). Our taxi was definitely on the really not so nice end of the spectrum. Our driver and his sidekick in the passenger seat added to the already complicated task of getting around as neither of them spoke a lick of English. Our driver was Krio speaking only and his friend French and Krio, asking us about 15 times if we spoke French, each time we kindly answered "no". To make a long, adventurous story short... the first alarming moment came when we stopped to get gas and it took about ten attempts turning the key to start the car. Just as the words "do you think we should get a different taxi?", came out of my mouth, the car was moving toward our destination again and it was too late. Though the driver quoted us a price, and pretty fair, he didn't actually know where he was taking us. About a half hour into the trip he started pulling over asking pedestrians if he should keep going to get to Franco's at Sussex. The farther we got from the city, the narrower and dustier the red earthen roads became. As we headed down a slight hill toward a bridge I could see a very large construction truck heading down the adjacent hill toward us. The bridge was a definite one laner, so I started "uh, uh, uh-ing", motioning for us to pull over while pointing vigorously at the oncoming truck, but this did not matter, we carried on. Sweat began pouring from not only the brows of us three girls in the back, but also from our local passenger seat friend! I am confident that 99.9% of the driving population in the world would deem that there is no way our taxi could fit past the construction truck. I kept thinking that we would stop and back up or the truck would start backing up and I think the driver of the truck was thinking so as well... I could see him moving towards the shifter to move into reverse gear, but there was no time to make a move, we just kept moving forward. Holding my breath I sat with awe as we passed by the right side of the truck, the driver side side-mirror was sacrificed and the side of the car scraped... Marianne staring out the window bug eyed as she was sitting on that side of the car, but we somehow astonishingly made it. We all sighed and then started laughing till we were crying and our toothless driver turned around with the biggest smile I will never forget. About five minutes down the road we heard a loud "pop, putt, putt, putt........" Out of the car hopped our two friends, "kick, kick, clang..." and into the trunk went the muffler! Onward forward... and yes, about fifteen minutes later we miraculously made it to Franco's. Our friends really wanted to come back to get us and give us a ride home on Monday, we took their numbers and found another taxi to take home.
2. It was so nice to be out of the city. We took a couple long walks on the beach, but once the tide came in in the evening the beach was inaccessible so we walked into the local village. I could hear birds and didn't have people bumping into every side of me. We met a few local kids who led us around and we saw a few more views from the coastline that were stunning. As we were walking along, just like in the city, kids would come running out to say hello and they always want to touch us. It's sweet. So a little girl, probably 7 or so, is smiling and saying the usual hellos... behind her is her mother holding her sister around 3. The three year old catches a glimpse of us three white people, gets the most terrified look on her face and starts bawling. She was frightened... I'm sure we look like crazy aliens to someone who has only seen black skin before. The best part of the story though is the seven year olds response, she starts laughing hysterically and literally jumping up and down in place... humored to the bone by her wailing sibling. The whole scene was so cute and fun... :) It made my day.
Life on the ship has been uneventful, but nice... the rhythm of meal times orders the days... we have been having difficulty getting a constant and reliable source of water to the ship and we use 92 tons of water a day, so we are in conservation mode... the laundry room is shut down, we are using disposable cutlery, plates, and cups and showers are only to be taken if absolutely necessary... when they are taken there are to be "ship showers"... two minutes long max... wet yourself turn off the water, soap up, turn the water back on to rinse. :) We all smell great!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Week over
I worked in the hospital most of the week. The ward is getting busier and busier :) Some patients stay for a few days, others a week or two depending on their procedure. Yesterday I had my first ICU patient, though really more of a "step down" patient at home, but it was the most familiar nursing I have done since I have been here and that was very nice. This was a young lady, we don't really know her age, but probably around 20 years old... she basically had no jaw bone resulting in TMJ, so she has been unable to open her mouth much past 3/4 inch most of her life. Her weight is 35kg, 77lbs. She had a reconstructed jaw with grafting from her ribs. I took over and she was on a morphine drip, but otherwise very stable just needed some help figuring out how to swallow to get her off IV fluids and IV pain meds to oral. She is from Guinea and only speaks a village language so we were doing three way interpretation as another girl from her village spoke their dialect and French and there is a French and English speaking man also on the unit. By the end of my shift she was moving over to the regular ward, drinking fluid through a small 10mL syringe to the back of her throat.
I am off over the weekend and work most of next week. Last night a friend that works on the ship had his birthday. He is from Ghana and quite a few of us went to a local bar and danced and danced and danced. Two of my cabin mates, Dusti and Katie (both who sadly leave this week!), went along and they all had fun teaching us white girls how to African dance. I believe we surprised them with our amazing moves, breaking their conception that white girls can't dance ;)
Between work shifts I have made it off ship a few times this week... I often follow a similar route through town to an open food market. I have made friends with a girl named Flora and her family and like to go say hello and visit her. I usually bring someone along with me and as we make our way gather a following of children, all wanting to hold our hands or give us five... huge smiles and "what your name...?" repeatedly asked. I have pictures of the market. It's beautiful and filthy... I stepped over a dead rat last week, but there are rows of dried chilis and dried beans, fresh kasava leaf (their green staple crop... tastes like rich grass), large bowls and bags of various rice and grain, fish with flies swarming all around, chicken feet and pig fat, palm oil for cooking... each seller of fine goods soliciting patrons to make a days end. On the way home I look for my 90 year old friend... I don't remember his name but he sits on a bench in front of his home, his children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, of which he can not put a number to, live on the street in his home or neighboring homes. The average life expectancy of a male in Sierra Leone is 35... this friend is a rarity... oh the stories he must have of his land, his city, his street and all that has changed over the years.
I am off over the weekend and work most of next week. Last night a friend that works on the ship had his birthday. He is from Ghana and quite a few of us went to a local bar and danced and danced and danced. Two of my cabin mates, Dusti and Katie (both who sadly leave this week!), went along and they all had fun teaching us white girls how to African dance. I believe we surprised them with our amazing moves, breaking their conception that white girls can't dance ;)
Between work shifts I have made it off ship a few times this week... I often follow a similar route through town to an open food market. I have made friends with a girl named Flora and her family and like to go say hello and visit her. I usually bring someone along with me and as we make our way gather a following of children, all wanting to hold our hands or give us five... huge smiles and "what your name...?" repeatedly asked. I have pictures of the market. It's beautiful and filthy... I stepped over a dead rat last week, but there are rows of dried chilis and dried beans, fresh kasava leaf (their green staple crop... tastes like rich grass), large bowls and bags of various rice and grain, fish with flies swarming all around, chicken feet and pig fat, palm oil for cooking... each seller of fine goods soliciting patrons to make a days end. On the way home I look for my 90 year old friend... I don't remember his name but he sits on a bench in front of his home, his children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, of which he can not put a number to, live on the street in his home or neighboring homes. The average life expectancy of a male in Sierra Leone is 35... this friend is a rarity... oh the stories he must have of his land, his city, his street and all that has changed over the years.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Gratitude
For the sweet brown babies I held all night and my winking boy (though he went home today), sunshine, warm breezes, dark chocolate and gummies, laughing friends, books, dance party tonight, the baker that volunteers on the ship offering warm fresh baked goods each morning, the smells of Africa, daily notes from mom, updates from home friends, beautiful colors, and loving friends that offer lots of hugs and kisses... thankful to be alive.
Saturday there was a second screening. There were no problems. 1500 people were seen and nearly 300 surgeries scheduled. Other screenings will occur over the following months. The hospital is busy and will continue to get busier...
Off till Thursday. Going to the art class at the ship school tomorrow that my friend Josh teaches. And to an orphanage on Wednesday morning.
Saturday there was a second screening. There were no problems. 1500 people were seen and nearly 300 surgeries scheduled. Other screenings will occur over the following months. The hospital is busy and will continue to get busier...
Off till Thursday. Going to the art class at the ship school tomorrow that my friend Josh teaches. And to an orphanage on Wednesday morning.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday into Sunday
Night shift again... All are sleeping, no snoring tonight though :)
I spent the evening playing with the sweetest boy. Emmanuel, five years old and with the most beautiful eyes and eyelashes... his sweet little looks would make any heart melt, but add to it his "trick" he learned today, the art of winking, and I think he could get just about anyone to give him anything... at least me. :) So we colored, traced each others hands, and practiced counting to twenty... he rode my back and played coy till he tired himself out enough to sleep. He had surgery two days ago, Dr. Gary Parker, the surgeon that operates on most of our patients in this ward, removed a tumor from his left neck and a skin tag from his hand.
I have been assigned to work on the Maxillofacial ward, the surgeries we are able to provide range from partial and total cleft lips and palates, neck/facial tumors and keloids, mandible work and so on. Where the third world and the western world may meet is in the value we place on looks and especially on what someones face looks like. Just as people who "look funny" in our culture as ostracized in one way or another, the same is true here, but the ostracization may feel more severe in a culture that is so community and family based. Often those with facial deformities are not accepted in the community at all, are outcasts in a society without social services or rescue missions or welfare. And a wide range of beliefs are attached to the cause of these abnormalities; some religious views believing there are demons in a person, others view the abnormality as a punishment. So the surgery that we offer is life changing in an amazing way, espeically for many of these children whose life course and path is potentially significantly altered.
I thought I would also mention to you the language here. Sierra Leone is an English speaking country, but there are also many dialects. Most commonly spoken is Krio, which is sort of a pigeon English. It is spoken more than written as illiteracy is very high and it's actually very fun. For example, the most common greeting is spoken "Howdibodie?", which is basically "How's your body?" smushed into one word... And one would respond "Bodie fine" if you're feeling well. Krio has been around so long that the pigeon English orginated from old proper spoken British English so some of the sayings are pretty funny... I'm trying to think of examples... "motoka" is "motorcar"... I will have to get back to you with other good examples as none come to mind right now. In the hospital we have "day volunteers"... local people are hired, given a decent wage, and work on the ship throughout it's ten month stay. Many of them help with cleaning, cooking, laundry, and many are interpreters. It's fun to get to know them, I learn a lot from them. There are other dialects as well, Mende, Themne, Limba, and French, but Krio most common and most people understand a bit of English.
I'm off to try to keep myself awake... Goodnight.
I spent the evening playing with the sweetest boy. Emmanuel, five years old and with the most beautiful eyes and eyelashes... his sweet little looks would make any heart melt, but add to it his "trick" he learned today, the art of winking, and I think he could get just about anyone to give him anything... at least me. :) So we colored, traced each others hands, and practiced counting to twenty... he rode my back and played coy till he tired himself out enough to sleep. He had surgery two days ago, Dr. Gary Parker, the surgeon that operates on most of our patients in this ward, removed a tumor from his left neck and a skin tag from his hand.
I have been assigned to work on the Maxillofacial ward, the surgeries we are able to provide range from partial and total cleft lips and palates, neck/facial tumors and keloids, mandible work and so on. Where the third world and the western world may meet is in the value we place on looks and especially on what someones face looks like. Just as people who "look funny" in our culture as ostracized in one way or another, the same is true here, but the ostracization may feel more severe in a culture that is so community and family based. Often those with facial deformities are not accepted in the community at all, are outcasts in a society without social services or rescue missions or welfare. And a wide range of beliefs are attached to the cause of these abnormalities; some religious views believing there are demons in a person, others view the abnormality as a punishment. So the surgery that we offer is life changing in an amazing way, espeically for many of these children whose life course and path is potentially significantly altered.
I thought I would also mention to you the language here. Sierra Leone is an English speaking country, but there are also many dialects. Most commonly spoken is Krio, which is sort of a pigeon English. It is spoken more than written as illiteracy is very high and it's actually very fun. For example, the most common greeting is spoken "Howdibodie?", which is basically "How's your body?" smushed into one word... And one would respond "Bodie fine" if you're feeling well. Krio has been around so long that the pigeon English orginated from old proper spoken British English so some of the sayings are pretty funny... I'm trying to think of examples... "motoka" is "motorcar"... I will have to get back to you with other good examples as none come to mind right now. In the hospital we have "day volunteers"... local people are hired, given a decent wage, and work on the ship throughout it's ten month stay. Many of them help with cleaning, cooking, laundry, and many are interpreters. It's fun to get to know them, I learn a lot from them. There are other dialects as well, Mende, Themne, Limba, and French, but Krio most common and most people understand a bit of English.
I'm off to try to keep myself awake... Goodnight.
Friday, March 25, 2011
thought for the day
"Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.
Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force."
-Henri Nouwen
Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force."
-Henri Nouwen
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Weekend Goals
All accomplished... :)
So yes... Marianne and I both had Saturday and Sunday off. Saturday a group of us went to the craft market in the city. I just "window shopped", but going into town at all is always an adventure. The real fun was on Sunday. With much fear and trepidation we ventured out of our gates where local guards work monitoring the entrance to our shipyard. They are very kind and eager to help and when told we were looking to take motorcycle taxis to get to Lumley Beach, they quickly said "okatas?", yes... okatas. They called over a young man who went sprinting off barefoot, returning in minutes on the back of a motorbike with another bike following. Placing pretty sketchy looking helmets on our heads and grasping on with white knuckles to the back of the respective bikes, Marianne and her driver leading the way, me and my driver following closely behind... we were off! So riding motorcycles brings to mind a certain image ,I would imagine, for most of you, but I must explain the rules of the road or lack of rules of the road in Africa. Most of the roads are dirt, if there is pavement there is not routine maintenance. Half of the people out and about in a day will walk, many carrying quite heavy and large loads on their heads or pulling large karts with food, car parts, whatever it may be they need to transport. They tend to stick to the edges of the road, which is not overly wide, but really take liberty to cross wherever and whenever they would like or just walk down the middle of the road or between traffic if it is more convenient. Then there are the poda podas I referred to in our last beach trip blog (which I called boda bodas incorrectly... sorry, I got carried away). And then further taxis and cars. The roads are very congested and traffic often moves very slowly and is quite noisy as the horn is the primary way of notifying pedestrians of ones existence. The beautiful thing about the okata is that it has the ability to weave in and out of very tight spaces and negotiate the traffic jams on top. So a key to riding the okata is to keep your arms in tight to your sides and head behind the driver though ones natural tendency would be to see where you may be headed. (Please note that my personal ride was also accompanied with my driver repeatedly yelling at me telling me that he "loves me"... :) Anyway, we made it to the beach and I personally thought it was a lot of fun! Marianne, my dear girl, on the other hand, found herself quite frightened. We took a taxi home.
And the baby... A sweet 7 month girl is on the ward with a cleft lip/palate. I asked her mother and the local translators that work in our ward to show me how to tie the baby on my back. They were elated! So on went the baby and they were all laughing and pointing. This also happens a lot... I love it when the Africans find us funny as they do not hide their feelings at all and point and giggle and point and giggle... it's contagious and in a short time we are all laughing together. This is called "popo" and they have me repeatedly say it till my intonation is just right.
Drum lessons are tomorrow night... Wablo will be teaching Marianne, Katrine, and I on the ship deck at sunset.
I think that was my list. I worked days today and will again tomorrow, then back on nights over the weekend... Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights 7pm - 7am. Saturday there is another screening. I will not be working at it as I will be working on the ward, but am glad it is happening and look forward to seeing how it goes and will pass along what I hear. Work is going well. Getting into the swing of things; paperwork, routine, equipment...
I am not sure what else to elaborate on tonight, but feel free to write questions... :)
It's still hot and sunny... Ahhhhh
Melissa
So yes... Marianne and I both had Saturday and Sunday off. Saturday a group of us went to the craft market in the city. I just "window shopped", but going into town at all is always an adventure. The real fun was on Sunday. With much fear and trepidation we ventured out of our gates where local guards work monitoring the entrance to our shipyard. They are very kind and eager to help and when told we were looking to take motorcycle taxis to get to Lumley Beach, they quickly said "okatas?", yes... okatas. They called over a young man who went sprinting off barefoot, returning in minutes on the back of a motorbike with another bike following. Placing pretty sketchy looking helmets on our heads and grasping on with white knuckles to the back of the respective bikes, Marianne and her driver leading the way, me and my driver following closely behind... we were off! So riding motorcycles brings to mind a certain image ,I would imagine, for most of you, but I must explain the rules of the road or lack of rules of the road in Africa. Most of the roads are dirt, if there is pavement there is not routine maintenance. Half of the people out and about in a day will walk, many carrying quite heavy and large loads on their heads or pulling large karts with food, car parts, whatever it may be they need to transport. They tend to stick to the edges of the road, which is not overly wide, but really take liberty to cross wherever and whenever they would like or just walk down the middle of the road or between traffic if it is more convenient. Then there are the poda podas I referred to in our last beach trip blog (which I called boda bodas incorrectly... sorry, I got carried away). And then further taxis and cars. The roads are very congested and traffic often moves very slowly and is quite noisy as the horn is the primary way of notifying pedestrians of ones existence. The beautiful thing about the okata is that it has the ability to weave in and out of very tight spaces and negotiate the traffic jams on top. So a key to riding the okata is to keep your arms in tight to your sides and head behind the driver though ones natural tendency would be to see where you may be headed. (Please note that my personal ride was also accompanied with my driver repeatedly yelling at me telling me that he "loves me"... :) Anyway, we made it to the beach and I personally thought it was a lot of fun! Marianne, my dear girl, on the other hand, found herself quite frightened. We took a taxi home.
And the baby... A sweet 7 month girl is on the ward with a cleft lip/palate. I asked her mother and the local translators that work in our ward to show me how to tie the baby on my back. They were elated! So on went the baby and they were all laughing and pointing. This also happens a lot... I love it when the Africans find us funny as they do not hide their feelings at all and point and giggle and point and giggle... it's contagious and in a short time we are all laughing together. This is called "popo" and they have me repeatedly say it till my intonation is just right.
Drum lessons are tomorrow night... Wablo will be teaching Marianne, Katrine, and I on the ship deck at sunset.
I think that was my list. I worked days today and will again tomorrow, then back on nights over the weekend... Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights 7pm - 7am. Saturday there is another screening. I will not be working at it as I will be working on the ward, but am glad it is happening and look forward to seeing how it goes and will pass along what I hear. Work is going well. Getting into the swing of things; paperwork, routine, equipment...
I am not sure what else to elaborate on tonight, but feel free to write questions... :)
It's still hot and sunny... Ahhhhh
Melissa
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Night Shift
I have a half hour left of my second night shift. Yawn.
I have been primarily taking care of children. It's been a good learning experience for me... I like it. Staying with each patient is typically a caregiver. Often the caregiver is the mother and if she is nursing another child the sibling will also be staying with us. This, as you can imagine, accumulates to many children on each ward. The ward I work in has twenty beds. Some of the beds have bedrisers under the four legs and each bed has a mattress under it for the caregiver/family to sleep. It's quite the cozy time. So not only have I gotten my hands on pediatric patients, but there are many sweet babies floating around that love squeezes. :) One of my favorite patients left during the day today. He is ten months, had a cleft lip repair, and is the happiest little boy... lots of energy and loves attention.
I have a few goals for the weekend: To wrap a baby on my back, to ride the motorcycle taxi-okada, to make it to the beach, and to firm up plans with our friend on the ship that is going to give us djembe lessons.
Best finish up so I can head to bed...
I have been primarily taking care of children. It's been a good learning experience for me... I like it. Staying with each patient is typically a caregiver. Often the caregiver is the mother and if she is nursing another child the sibling will also be staying with us. This, as you can imagine, accumulates to many children on each ward. The ward I work in has twenty beds. Some of the beds have bedrisers under the four legs and each bed has a mattress under it for the caregiver/family to sleep. It's quite the cozy time. So not only have I gotten my hands on pediatric patients, but there are many sweet babies floating around that love squeezes. :) One of my favorite patients left during the day today. He is ten months, had a cleft lip repair, and is the happiest little boy... lots of energy and loves attention.
I have a few goals for the weekend: To wrap a baby on my back, to ride the motorcycle taxi-okada, to make it to the beach, and to firm up plans with our friend on the ship that is going to give us djembe lessons.
Best finish up so I can head to bed...
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sorry it's been so long...
It's been a long week... in a few ways...
First of all, this may be TMI (too much information) for some of you, but those who know me well know that I don't hold much back so here it is... I have had a week of dysentery. Monday through Saturday I spent a lot of time running back and forth to the bathroom. I did not share this experience alone as there are many of the ship that had the pleasure of bearing this burden together. The port our ship is docked in is quite polluted... the water has been tested for very high levels of e-coli. Of course this testing was performed after the water was used to spray down the dock the same day that we had a fire drill in which all crew members assemble on the dock. The GI issues being shared by so many have been traced back to this event as the probable cause. Saturday night I reached a pinnacle of discomfort, using the bathroom 8 times in 45 minutes and finally took the one time dose of Azithromycin that my doctor sent along with me for extreme diarrhea. I woke up Sunday morning as a new person! :)
As far as the ship and the screening... Surgery has begun today. Prior to the ship arriving in Sierra Leone a team from Mercy Ship had gone to the northern part of the country and screened patients in need of help. They have been able to bring those patients to the ship to begin surgery this week while the continue to sort out how to further screen those in Freetown after the tragedies of last Monday. Last week they spent some time in the city talking to locals to gain their perspective on what happened. The majority, if not all, they spoke to expressed deep regret, shame, and embarrassment. They are afraid that Mercy Ship will not want to help them because of they way their people acted. Mercy Ship is committed to helping the people here, no matter what it takes but they are committed to safety and not allowing any further injury or pain to come from the effort to help. My first shift as a nurse was yesterday. It was good, though it is a learning process for me as it is definitely a different kind of nursing than I am used to! :)
Life on the ship has been an adjustment for me. In all honesty, this has been probably the most difficult transition... I actually feel more at peace today than I have and I recognize that change is often hard and takes time, so I am thankful and waiting... trying to wait patiently, but I am not always patient ;)
Saturday a rather large group of us from the ship shared an adventure! Imagine the classic 70s VW style van... these are called "boda bodas" and are a very common mode of transportation. Not all are VW, but look the same. The interiors have been stripped and most have four hard benches inside. Well we VERY cozily placed 22 people in one boda boda and 21 in another and took a two hour ride together. This ride was not on paved highway, though sections were rather smooth compared to a large portion of the trip that was over roads undergoing construction with rather large bumps and potholes. And what was our final destination???? A BEAUTIFUL beach! River No. 2 Beach... if you google image there may be pictures (I still cannot upload pictures but will have plenty to show/post in May :) We spent three hours there and I think the four hours round trip in the boda boda was worth it! :) It was nice to get away, it was wonderful to see different areas of the country, even if through a van window. I have mainly been in the city, but we drove past villages and through some amazing country side. The topography of Sierra Leone is stunning.
Lunchtime :) I best be going... I work again tomorrow and then three night shifts this week! I have never worked more than one night shift in a row, so all my SICU night buddies... think of me and send along any words of advice! :)
First of all, this may be TMI (too much information) for some of you, but those who know me well know that I don't hold much back so here it is... I have had a week of dysentery. Monday through Saturday I spent a lot of time running back and forth to the bathroom. I did not share this experience alone as there are many of the ship that had the pleasure of bearing this burden together. The port our ship is docked in is quite polluted... the water has been tested for very high levels of e-coli. Of course this testing was performed after the water was used to spray down the dock the same day that we had a fire drill in which all crew members assemble on the dock. The GI issues being shared by so many have been traced back to this event as the probable cause. Saturday night I reached a pinnacle of discomfort, using the bathroom 8 times in 45 minutes and finally took the one time dose of Azithromycin that my doctor sent along with me for extreme diarrhea. I woke up Sunday morning as a new person! :)
As far as the ship and the screening... Surgery has begun today. Prior to the ship arriving in Sierra Leone a team from Mercy Ship had gone to the northern part of the country and screened patients in need of help. They have been able to bring those patients to the ship to begin surgery this week while the continue to sort out how to further screen those in Freetown after the tragedies of last Monday. Last week they spent some time in the city talking to locals to gain their perspective on what happened. The majority, if not all, they spoke to expressed deep regret, shame, and embarrassment. They are afraid that Mercy Ship will not want to help them because of they way their people acted. Mercy Ship is committed to helping the people here, no matter what it takes but they are committed to safety and not allowing any further injury or pain to come from the effort to help. My first shift as a nurse was yesterday. It was good, though it is a learning process for me as it is definitely a different kind of nursing than I am used to! :)
Life on the ship has been an adjustment for me. In all honesty, this has been probably the most difficult transition... I actually feel more at peace today than I have and I recognize that change is often hard and takes time, so I am thankful and waiting... trying to wait patiently, but I am not always patient ;)
Saturday a rather large group of us from the ship shared an adventure! Imagine the classic 70s VW style van... these are called "boda bodas" and are a very common mode of transportation. Not all are VW, but look the same. The interiors have been stripped and most have four hard benches inside. Well we VERY cozily placed 22 people in one boda boda and 21 in another and took a two hour ride together. This ride was not on paved highway, though sections were rather smooth compared to a large portion of the trip that was over roads undergoing construction with rather large bumps and potholes. And what was our final destination???? A BEAUTIFUL beach! River No. 2 Beach... if you google image there may be pictures (I still cannot upload pictures but will have plenty to show/post in May :) We spent three hours there and I think the four hours round trip in the boda boda was worth it! :) It was nice to get away, it was wonderful to see different areas of the country, even if through a van window. I have mainly been in the city, but we drove past villages and through some amazing country side. The topography of Sierra Leone is stunning.
Lunchtime :) I best be going... I work again tomorrow and then three night shifts this week! I have never worked more than one night shift in a row, so all my SICU night buddies... think of me and send along any words of advice! :)
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
March 9th
Thank you all as you keep Mercy Ship in your thoughts. All screenings have continued on hold. Investigation continues in sorting out what exactly occurred Monday causing the difficulties in the crowds that they have never experienced before having done numerous large screenings in many locations.
Most of those injured have been discharged to home. Three remain hospitalized. I did go visit two men, that I assisted caring for, in the hospital yesterday. Mercy Ship is paying for the treatment of all those injured and all have been given appointments to receive further treatment that they were seeking in attending the screening.
The last couple days on the ship have been continued preparation for the hospital to open on Sunday. Tomorrow I will begin orientation to the paperwork, policies, documentation, and equipment in the wards here on the ship. This will extend into Friday. Sunday there will patients admitted for preop preparations with surgery on Monday.
I have been a bit home sick the last couple days... It seems familiarity is something our hearts can long for and when we have it we then hunger for change... I am again thankful for a few kindred friends with whom I shared some silly laughs and giggles with today... a helpful coping mechanism for us all.
Much love.
Most of those injured have been discharged to home. Three remain hospitalized. I did go visit two men, that I assisted caring for, in the hospital yesterday. Mercy Ship is paying for the treatment of all those injured and all have been given appointments to receive further treatment that they were seeking in attending the screening.
The last couple days on the ship have been continued preparation for the hospital to open on Sunday. Tomorrow I will begin orientation to the paperwork, policies, documentation, and equipment in the wards here on the ship. This will extend into Friday. Sunday there will patients admitted for preop preparations with surgery on Monday.
I have been a bit home sick the last couple days... It seems familiarity is something our hearts can long for and when we have it we then hunger for change... I am again thankful for a few kindred friends with whom I shared some silly laughs and giggles with today... a helpful coping mechanism for us all.
Much love.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Screening Day
Please keep Mercy Ship, but especially the MANY people of Sierra Leone and beyond that came to the screening today. Please see the Mercy Ship blog for the full report, but in short the screening was aborted early into the day due to unrest in the crowd waiting. A stamped occurred injuring many resulting in the death of one. It's been a long day in ways not expected. There are also many many details to be sorted out by the leadership as where to go from here.
http://www.mercyships.org/blog/entry/screening-day-update
http://www.mercyships.org/blog/entry/screening-day-update
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Restful Saturday
So where to begin???
Today has been a day off from work. The work we've been hardily doing is cleaning cleaning cleaning (for my hospital friends... this is the cleanest hospital I have ever seen... EVERYTHING is being washed and double bleached! Yes the bottom and inside of all garbage cans...). The ship was docked in South Africa for 5 months undergoing extensive engine work. When the ship sails all the hospital contents are placed in large containers. I will post pictures so this makes sense. In fact the ship is now docked at a large container yard, so next to the ship are hundreds of these large metal boxes. All of the supplies and equipment naturally get dusty and dirty after five months, but there was also some heavy water damage that occurred to much of it. So imagine a lot of mold and mildew... stinky. BUT, much got done over the week.
Monday and Tuesday are called screening days. There is a large stadium in the city of Freetown. Monday we will leave at 4:30am and spend over twelve hours at the stadium. Word of Mercy Ship arrival has spread throughout the city and beyond, those in need will somehow make their way to the stadium. Each person will be evaluated, if there is a need that we can help with they will then be scheduled for surgery at some point over the next ten months. Mercy Ship was last in Freetown in 2004... It left an incredible impact when it was last here and will again. There are murals of the ship painted on walls in the city. When town folk see white people walking about, they often call out "Mercy Ship?" with large smiles on their faces. The rest of the week will be our training and orientation and final set up of the hospital. The first patients will come a week from tomorrow, Sunday March 12th, and the first surgery will be the following day.
So life on the ship... This ship was a train ferry in it's past. It has been renovated by Mercy Ship to serve it's purpose. There are various sleeping cabins/bunkers on all levels. The hospital is on the third which there is just one level below that that we use, has a small work out room and a swap shop where people leave things they don't need/take what they may be looking for. I sleep on the third level as well. There bunk beds (yes bunk beds farm boys) in my room, 6 beds in all, but only 2 occupied right now. Myself and another girl from the US, Sara. Fourth level is mainly sleeping. Fifth has the cafeteria... which the food has been great... lots of local vegetable and fruit... mango, pineapple, and banana! Yum. There is a coffee shop and small store, bank, post office, laundry, hairdresser and kitchen for all to use. Sixth has a library... that I really like. And the seventh is the top of the ship. It is not a former cruise ship so the top is a pretty industrial deck, but it is warm and sunny and relaxing... another favorite spot. :) There is a pool, not working at this time though.
I have been spending a bit of time with two Norwegian friends. Marianne and Bowie. Some people are here for a short time like me... Others live here for years. Bowie has been on the ship eight years. He is an engineer. He has been a great help in finding one's way around a large new place and community with it's own culture, lingo, and ways of operating. The three of us took our second jaunt into town this morning. And by town I under exaggerate... Freetown is a large, heavily populated city... It's not easy to take pictures while walking about. First of all it's conspicuous and feels disrespectful, the primary reason. Second of all, most of the time the walking space is jammed full of vehicles trying to move, honking... people, goats, chickens and most of those people trying to make a days wage by selling anything from bagged water, to made in China/Taiwan trinkets and toiletries, to fresh (or not so fresh) fish or other seafood. All ages are trying to sell, there is no one to buy. Lining the streets are shambled homes or shops; women, men, children on the stoop watching the world go by. Children are the most expressive and excited to see a white person, smiles and greetings and waves. We did find a bakery, got some fresh baked goods and juice and sat at a table for quite some time. After four or five hours it's the same over and over and we headed back to the ship...
I am having problems loading pictures, so will post without for now and see what I can do.
Today has been a day off from work. The work we've been hardily doing is cleaning cleaning cleaning (for my hospital friends... this is the cleanest hospital I have ever seen... EVERYTHING is being washed and double bleached! Yes the bottom and inside of all garbage cans...). The ship was docked in South Africa for 5 months undergoing extensive engine work. When the ship sails all the hospital contents are placed in large containers. I will post pictures so this makes sense. In fact the ship is now docked at a large container yard, so next to the ship are hundreds of these large metal boxes. All of the supplies and equipment naturally get dusty and dirty after five months, but there was also some heavy water damage that occurred to much of it. So imagine a lot of mold and mildew... stinky. BUT, much got done over the week.
Monday and Tuesday are called screening days. There is a large stadium in the city of Freetown. Monday we will leave at 4:30am and spend over twelve hours at the stadium. Word of Mercy Ship arrival has spread throughout the city and beyond, those in need will somehow make their way to the stadium. Each person will be evaluated, if there is a need that we can help with they will then be scheduled for surgery at some point over the next ten months. Mercy Ship was last in Freetown in 2004... It left an incredible impact when it was last here and will again. There are murals of the ship painted on walls in the city. When town folk see white people walking about, they often call out "Mercy Ship?" with large smiles on their faces. The rest of the week will be our training and orientation and final set up of the hospital. The first patients will come a week from tomorrow, Sunday March 12th, and the first surgery will be the following day.
So life on the ship... This ship was a train ferry in it's past. It has been renovated by Mercy Ship to serve it's purpose. There are various sleeping cabins/bunkers on all levels. The hospital is on the third which there is just one level below that that we use, has a small work out room and a swap shop where people leave things they don't need/take what they may be looking for. I sleep on the third level as well. There bunk beds (yes bunk beds farm boys) in my room, 6 beds in all, but only 2 occupied right now. Myself and another girl from the US, Sara. Fourth level is mainly sleeping. Fifth has the cafeteria... which the food has been great... lots of local vegetable and fruit... mango, pineapple, and banana! Yum. There is a coffee shop and small store, bank, post office, laundry, hairdresser and kitchen for all to use. Sixth has a library... that I really like. And the seventh is the top of the ship. It is not a former cruise ship so the top is a pretty industrial deck, but it is warm and sunny and relaxing... another favorite spot. :) There is a pool, not working at this time though.
I have been spending a bit of time with two Norwegian friends. Marianne and Bowie. Some people are here for a short time like me... Others live here for years. Bowie has been on the ship eight years. He is an engineer. He has been a great help in finding one's way around a large new place and community with it's own culture, lingo, and ways of operating. The three of us took our second jaunt into town this morning. And by town I under exaggerate... Freetown is a large, heavily populated city... It's not easy to take pictures while walking about. First of all it's conspicuous and feels disrespectful, the primary reason. Second of all, most of the time the walking space is jammed full of vehicles trying to move, honking... people, goats, chickens and most of those people trying to make a days wage by selling anything from bagged water, to made in China/Taiwan trinkets and toiletries, to fresh (or not so fresh) fish or other seafood. All ages are trying to sell, there is no one to buy. Lining the streets are shambled homes or shops; women, men, children on the stoop watching the world go by. Children are the most expressive and excited to see a white person, smiles and greetings and waves. We did find a bakery, got some fresh baked goods and juice and sat at a table for quite some time. After four or five hours it's the same over and over and we headed back to the ship...
I am having problems loading pictures, so will post without for now and see what I can do.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
There's no snow!
3pm EST, 8pm Sierra Leone time :)
Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers over the last 48 hours of travel and my safe arrival to Mercy Ship. I had very uneventful travel (though Kristen K I thought it would especially give you a big smile to hear that my Syracuse flight actually left at 2pm, not 230pm and I still had about 15 minutes to wait before boarding ;). My flight out of Brussels was delayed, so I had 6 hours in the Brussels airport… I was able to nap a little bit and had a few of those great times in life when there is human interaction that is brief, but meaningful and for me is confirming that the world is not without hope or goodness. I had my laptop with the internet for a short bit of time… a beautiful Indian woman dressed in lush green with a scrumptious and lively baby boy of about one approached me… a little panicky as she was in a hurry to not miss her next flight she asked if she could use my computer to send her husband an email… I of course obliged and not only did she get to communicate with her love, but I got to entertain the squirrely one year old :) … This was a short interaction and one to easily be forgotten, but I had a lot of time to think and often travel time is the best time for that for me… space to reflect and search my soul. I read a quote recently "So much of language is unspoken. So much of language is comprised of looks and gestures and sounds that are not words. People are ignorant of the vast complexity of their own communication." I am glad that my gestures were such that made a loving wife and mom feel comfortable to approach me for help. I am now on a ship with 400 strangers of every age, race and ethnicity, background… all with amazing stories I'm sure. Though I am often a gregarious and outgoing person I can also turn inward in my fears and close up, retreat, stay where it's safe… my challenge to myself is to not do so and to be aware of the complexity of my own communication.
So I am now on the ship. My flight landed at 730pm last night… there were 29 other Mercy Ship volunteers on my flight. After landing we didn't actually arrive to the ship until 1130pm and I am glad that part of the journey was not alone. The tiny African airport… a bit disorganized, hot (which quickly turns into smelly), and crowded, would have been a bit overwhelming. We eventually were able to get our luggage and ourselves onto a couple van taxis, over very bumpy dirt roads, to the edge of an inlet… the ship lights were in view, we just needed a boat ride across. We then in groups of 10 were escorted to the end of a dock, assisted with lifejackets and jumped on a ferry… this ferry was a glorified raft with folding chairs and two small engines attached to the back… it took about 30 minutes one way. We were met by Mercy Ship land rovers and driven to the ship… (The drive on land from the airport to the ship would be approximately 3 hours on very rough roads, so this is definitely the better option.) A quick welcome, bunker keys handed out, and after 29 hours of travel ID pictures taken! :)
The ship arrived from South Africa two days ago. The first week on the ship will be a lot manual labor… organizing, cleaning, unpacking, and sorting. We need to actually set up the hospital. Word is spreading quickly throughout Freetown and beyond that Mercy Ship is here. They will begin triaging people March 7th and 8th and surgery will begin shortly after. We took a walk into the city today… me and three other nurses. We ended up having an informal tour of a pediatric hospital in Freetown. I am glad we are here to help. They need it.
Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers over the last 48 hours of travel and my safe arrival to Mercy Ship. I had very uneventful travel (though Kristen K I thought it would especially give you a big smile to hear that my Syracuse flight actually left at 2pm, not 230pm and I still had about 15 minutes to wait before boarding ;). My flight out of Brussels was delayed, so I had 6 hours in the Brussels airport… I was able to nap a little bit and had a few of those great times in life when there is human interaction that is brief, but meaningful and for me is confirming that the world is not without hope or goodness. I had my laptop with the internet for a short bit of time… a beautiful Indian woman dressed in lush green with a scrumptious and lively baby boy of about one approached me… a little panicky as she was in a hurry to not miss her next flight she asked if she could use my computer to send her husband an email… I of course obliged and not only did she get to communicate with her love, but I got to entertain the squirrely one year old :) … This was a short interaction and one to easily be forgotten, but I had a lot of time to think and often travel time is the best time for that for me… space to reflect and search my soul. I read a quote recently "So much of language is unspoken. So much of language is comprised of looks and gestures and sounds that are not words. People are ignorant of the vast complexity of their own communication." I am glad that my gestures were such that made a loving wife and mom feel comfortable to approach me for help. I am now on a ship with 400 strangers of every age, race and ethnicity, background… all with amazing stories I'm sure. Though I am often a gregarious and outgoing person I can also turn inward in my fears and close up, retreat, stay where it's safe… my challenge to myself is to not do so and to be aware of the complexity of my own communication.
So I am now on the ship. My flight landed at 730pm last night… there were 29 other Mercy Ship volunteers on my flight. After landing we didn't actually arrive to the ship until 1130pm and I am glad that part of the journey was not alone. The tiny African airport… a bit disorganized, hot (which quickly turns into smelly), and crowded, would have been a bit overwhelming. We eventually were able to get our luggage and ourselves onto a couple van taxis, over very bumpy dirt roads, to the edge of an inlet… the ship lights were in view, we just needed a boat ride across. We then in groups of 10 were escorted to the end of a dock, assisted with lifejackets and jumped on a ferry… this ferry was a glorified raft with folding chairs and two small engines attached to the back… it took about 30 minutes one way. We were met by Mercy Ship land rovers and driven to the ship… (The drive on land from the airport to the ship would be approximately 3 hours on very rough roads, so this is definitely the better option.) A quick welcome, bunker keys handed out, and after 29 hours of travel ID pictures taken! :)
The ship arrived from South Africa two days ago. The first week on the ship will be a lot manual labor… organizing, cleaning, unpacking, and sorting. We need to actually set up the hospital. Word is spreading quickly throughout Freetown and beyond that Mercy Ship is here. They will begin triaging people March 7th and 8th and surgery will begin shortly after. We took a walk into the city today… me and three other nurses. We ended up having an informal tour of a pediatric hospital in Freetown. I am glad we are here to help. They need it.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Departure day
Heading out of DC in a couple hours. Thanks to my loving family and friends for many great meals and treasured times together this week... all your lovins makes it hard to leave! Will arrive in Sierra Leone tomorrow afternoon NY time, evening Africa time. Will try to update my arrival when possible.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sunday Party
Thank you to the many that made it to the Palace Sunday night. I had a wonderful time and feel incredibly loved and special. And thank you also to so many of you that generously gave financially toward my trip. I truly appreciate your kindness. The ONLY unfortunate happening (besides the many people who wanted to be there and couldn't for one reason or another) was that I forgot my camera! Ugh! So no pictures to pass along. But I PROMISE not to forget my camera when I go to Africa... ;) Much love...
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Preparations begin
Planning is underway for a farewell/informational party two weeks from tomorrow. One month and I will resign from my job, a week later be on my way to join many others in West Africa and move into my bunker for the following 10 weeks!
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