Saturday in Pictures

This past week was wonderful...work went well...still love being able to be a nurse and have time to play with the kiddos...and adults:) This past week they have been doing a lot of ortho surgeries...so lots of unhappy little kids with casts on:) One of my patients..a 14 yr old girl had surgery on her toes on both feet and came back with casts up to her calfs on both legs...we put little booties on her so she could walk, but def. needed someone to help her..she was a trooper. Those same days I took care of a little boy..his name was Sunday Boy. So cute. He was there with his dad and didnt smile much so such a cuddly boy to hold..he loved it. I would be on the other side of the ward taking care of patients and I would feel something on my leg and it was him following me around...so cute. And we did get him to smile:) Not sure where his mom was, but seemed like he missed the cuddling:) Anyhoo...onto Sat.:

Walked to an orphanage in the morning with some ppl from the ship. After a long, hot, fun morning playing with kids we stopped for some fresh cocunut juice on the way back..then they cut it open so you can spoon out the coconut to eat:)

Later, we were going to go to the market, but some guys were here from the USS Fort McHenry Naval ship that is stationed off the coast and were offering to take ppl out to it to tour it. So a bunch of us did that instead. It is a flat bottom transport boat so QUITE rocky...I took a video..but after being on that thing an hour a few of us were ready to get off...oosta. They say you get used to it though. I coulnt even walk straight it was tipping so much. They can flood the bottom of the ship to let their smaller boats on for when they go out to sea...or flood it to make a swimming pool...fascinating. Sure made our ship look like a cruise ship though after seeing where those guys live. Sure is fun meeting and thanking our troops though for all their hard work and time away from family for our freedom!

Sat. night 4 of us went out downtown Monrovia to a rest. with live music...had some food and drinks and danced...SOOOO fun!

Last night about 20-30 of us practiced to be examples for the Scottish Ceilah dance we are having on Sat. night. I cannot wait...it was SOOOOOO fun practicing. Peter and a few ladies are from there and teaching us all the dances they do at Ceilahs back home. Sure was a lot of laughing and quite the workout:) Cant wait for Sat....although I think I broke my toe on the wooden elephant that was in the room when I was swinging around at one point..good times. I went running this morning and found myself limping a bit...haha.

This morning on my run I was listening to Caedmon's Call..."Thankful". One of the lines says, " Im so thankful, that Im incapable, of doing any good on my own." Cool thing to think about, and humbling. Reminding me I need so spend time with God every day and asking for His help, because there is no way I can do this on my own...only through His power and strength. SO cool though...that He can do things in and through us that we couldnt never even comprehend doing on our own! What an awesome God we serve!

Snippits

So I just thought I would write a random blog tonight with a few random pictures.
First of all...I took care of a baby who recieved surgery for his club foot today. His mom had on a Valparaiso University T-Shirt...how RANDOM!...in Liberia. I tried to explain to her that that is the town I gerw up in....but dont think it translated well:)
Here are a couple pictures of one of the empty wards so you can kind of get an idea of where I work...and also a picture of inside the bathrooms on the ward...because most of them really have not seen a flushing toilet before...and they were really having these problems:)

Yesterday I had the day off...quite relaxing...pretty wiped still from getting off night shift...But I have made good friends with the three amigos I now call them...they have beds next to each other and have a good time together. Henry(with bandages around his head) has been here forever..and he is so happy to have friends to hang with now. Earlier he was kept in one of the corners away from everyone because of infection. Andrew (the albino) is the one who's surgery I watched with the cancer. And Even is the 3rd. I went down and hung out with them for a few hours yesterday and Evan and Henry taught me how to make friendship bracelets...it's been way too long since I had made one...so I hung out with them while I made it...then went up with them when they went to deck 7. It was so fun...I always pop my head in and say hi when Im around down there. They all have such amazing stories and faith! Henry wants to stay and be a day worker when he is eventually better...which will still be a long time as he still needs skin grafts.

Red and I went running again yesterday too...had a little African boy and girl run along with us for a little while:):)
Today I worked...then I took my 1 patient who could go up to deck 7. Ali...one of my good friends here had the day off but came up with us. Usually patients from all 3 wards come up..but today it was just me and one of my patients. His name is Patrick....he is from Sierra Leone...he is here early waiting for plastic surgery screening on the 30th. Ali and I had SO much fun with him. He was teaching us Creo(sp?)...the language they speak there...as well as some African dances. We have some great video tape of both...but it's on Ali's camera so I will have to get it from her. I was asking him about his family...he said he has no brothers or sisters. His parents and siblings were all killed in the war...and the rebels put gasoline on him and threw him in the fire...still dont know how he survived...has burns ALL over. I cant even imagine...yet he has such a bubbly personality and biggest smile. But there are times when he has a serious face that is just makes you want to cry...he looks like he has literally been through hell and back. I have to put the pics up for u guys...and the videos are quite enetertaining. Anyhoo...I still cannot fathom stories like that. He is only 15 now. I think he thoroughly enjoyed our time on the dock today...we all laughed so much and had so much fun:)
Tonight went out for Emma and Peter's birthday's.....3 landrovers full of us...so fun...even when Carlos got one of the landrovers stuck on the way back.:)...Never a dull moment around here:)

Easter

So I survived my night shifts! I stayed awake for the Easter service on the dock at 8am Sunday...then brunch at 10...finally went to bed at 11am til 5. Then had another night shift Sunday.
Easter was such a cool experience. The service was on the dock overlooking the ocean. Such a cool way to celebrate Christ's ressurection...lots of praise songs...even the kids on the ship did a dance..thanks to Elizabeth...as she teaches dance back home. The sermon was based off of Matt. 25...serving others..it was really good. It gave everyone the rare opportunity to dress up..many wore their African dresses that they have had made here. By the end of the service we were all sweating pretty badly.:) Then we all went inside for the yummy special Easter brunch...of which we are still eating today..and prob. tomorrow too:)...it's all about leftovers here...or shall I say variances on a theme.:) Good thing Im not a picky eater...actually they really do a great job and make some yummy meals. At 7pm there was an open house where families opened their cabins if they wanted to you and could go to different cabins to get some snacks and coffee and say hi...woulda been fun, but had to be at work at 7.
Work went well Sun. night...was kinda overwhelmed when I heard I had the whole B ward to myself...at least only 14 patients instead of 20 since some had been sent home. The nurse who was supposed to work with me was sick. But...it's all about flexibility:) It actually ended up being a great and quiet night...and I had a little help until 9:30. I had half the patients Sat. night so knew most of them. I got to do the dressing change on the guy who's surgery I had watched the other day...I think I had written about that...he is an albino who had a huge, smelly, cancerous mass removed from his neck and the Dr.s did a crazy skin flap and he will later go back for a skin graft. Anyhoo..so really cool to see that. And is was just a blessing being in that ward. There were 8 VVF ladies on one side and 6 guys on the other who had had different surgeries. I had a lot of fun with them. Andrew...the one who had the tumor removed is sooo joyful. He is in his 30s...and when I was starting vital signs early at 5 to get them all done he was up walkin around praying and singing worship songs. I just couldn't help but smile. And the patients are so appreciative for everything you do...for the most part. All in all I survived the night...just a little busier at the beg. and end of shift...but made time go by fast...and I had a few friends stop by to see me during the night. Six people were starting a puzzle when I came up to get coffee at 11. I went up at 2:30 and helped for a while on my 30 min break...then when I went to get croissants at 430am they were still there...and still there when I finished at 730!! Glad others arent getting sleep around here too:) Good times. I hope everyone had a joyful Easter!
Well, Im off to bed since I only took a 2.5 hr. nap this morning when I got off work. A bunch of us went to the beach since it's still holiday here on the ship. Maria and I swam way out to a rock...quite fun and good exercise. We were out ther for a while cause one of the Africans on his little wooden fishing bote went by and asked if we wanted to go for a ride...so of course we said yes...he said he had tdo drop some stuff off and he'd be back. We were thinking maybe he'd be like 10 min...then we thought about it and figured African "right back" is prob. dif. than our def. of "right back". So, ya we ended up having to go in before he came back...sad. A few of the guys got stung by jelly fish on there way out to the rock we were on....nothing serious though.

Nights

So I survived my first night shift last night...went really well actually...and I stayed awake the whole time, no prob...even with me running 3 miles and playing flag football before...(prob. not the smartest idea). But maybe that helped me stay awake. I worked in A ward with the VVF ladies. So cool to be in there with all of them. There were 2 of us in there with 20 patients, but once it got past 11pm it was really quiet for the most part all night. The best part of night shift is looking forward to 4am when Albert, the baker from Germany, has his fresh croissants ready. We go up and get them hot off the press. We are spoiled to have him..he starts at 1am every morning making fresh rolls and croissants. SOOO yummy..but I hear he is leaving in a few weeks. I went to bed at 730 and got up at 1215 to go downtown for Pricilla's birthday and go to the craft market. I went down to ask about scheduling quick and got a pleasant suprise...I get tonight off:) So just work Sat. and Sun. night now. There were 8 girls that took 2 cabs downtown to eat and hang out..was a wonderful fun and relaxing afternoon.
Tonight a different group of us went to eat at Sajj...lebanese food..but also pizza's etc. Was super fun. On the way back we did not have enough room in the one vehicle so a few of us volunteered to walk back and catch a cab. Two guys and two girls...prob. not the brightest thing we have ever done..but we were planning on catching a cab. We were enjoying walking though so we ended up walking the whole way...2 hrs. and made it back just in time for curfew @11...good times. As we were walking I realized there were 4 of us from 4 different countries walking together...Canada, Scottland, America, and South Africa...how cool. We had some interesting experiences on the way back home, including seeing a girl get slapped upside the head quite harshly by some guy...we just hurried by. Plus we were always kept on our toes by watching for the random uncovered manholes in the sidewalks...not so pleasant to fall into I dont think. At dinner I had pita bread and hummus and a shwarma...mmmm. As we were waiting for our food the generator/electricity went out...I was wondering if we were gonna get our food...but it did come back on. Anyhoo...I am planning on sleeping in tomorrow then working at 7pm. As far as Easter...I should be able to stay awake Sunday for the Easter service on the dock here at 8am after I get off.

Jogging in Liberia..and other thoughts...

So today I ventured out on the streets in Liberia with "Red"..(she has red hair...hence the nicname). ..to go for a 3 mile jog and dodge cars, bikes, and pedestrians. It was so nice to actually run somewhere...and it was like running a 5k race...cause we had Africans..moslty male...cheering us on the whole time...lol. Anyhoo...we survived.
Earlier today they had a dress ceremony for the VVF ladies. I dont know if I have explained the whole thing yet, but pretty much before they have surgery they have urine running down there legs constatnly and are a social outcast. Well, after the surgery when they are dry (sometimes the surgery doesnt work) they are given new dresses to represent their new life. There was very lively African music and dance on the ward and each of the ladies who left gave their testimony. Very touching and SOOO cool to be a part of such a life changing experience for these ladies. Although often times it involves loving on the ladies when after they have surgery they are still not dry...I took care of 2 of these ladies today...I cant imagine how discouraging that is. And for many of the ladies this is their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th surgery.
The last two days have been super busy in the ward...but there is a boy named Abraham who came in because of excessive playing after his hernia surgery..so it would close and it got infected. He is SOOO cute and never ceases to make me remember the reason I am there and to be joyful in all situations...not focusing on the medical work...but taking time to love on God's children. Working here you have to be flexible and just do your best with what you have. As I would hustle around every now and then I wuold feel him poking my leg or asking me to hold him and spin him around...so of course I found myself taking breaks in what I am doing to love on the little guy. I will put a picture up here of him.
Sunday I went to a new church that had lots of kids since it is a school too. It was so cool watching them as they did sunday school and leading worship at church. It made me think of what I had been reading in Matthew..."let the little children come unto me"...and having childlike faith. They were all so happy and joyful...and carefree. And it made me chuckle cause every time someone says praise the Lord...the response is always Amen. During the sunday school lesson some kids would start staring off, but as soon as the pastor would say praise God (which was quite often) all the kids would respond Amen. Ok, so maybe you have to be here to appreciate it, but it was so cute. I guess it is a good way for pastors to keep the congregations paying attention too:) After church they even made us dinner...rice and casava...cooked greens..and peppers..very hot peppers. Was sooo yummy though..and so touching as I know no one here has extra money just hanging around.
And for entertainment purposes...you should check out the blog of Dr. Mark and Dr. Peggy. They are a young married couple here from New York. They are very fun and both doctors...Mark does many of the face/neck surgeries. They wrote a great blog about taking health history on patients here..quite different from back home. http://mercyinafrica.blogspot.com/. It is the second entry (march 10).

Bong Mines

So, as expected the trip was as amazing as I thought it would be. One of the guys who now works on the ship actually worked at Bong Mines for 10 years and was working the day the rebels came. They held all the workers at gunpoint and took them down to the main gate. There they either approved you to go on or shot you dead. It was pretty crazy hearing all he had to say..fascinating but SOO heartbreaking. He actually escaped and fled to Guinea and returned after the war. He had friends that joined the rebels just so they could eat and survive. He lost 2 children to hunger during this time. The mine was actually run by a German company for iron ore. There is a hospital there too that he showed us. As we went into the mountian he showed us where the Germans came and actually landed a plane to get all the German workers out when the war broke out. The Germans ran the hospital...so now it is government run. You have to see the pictures I took... CRAZY! No running water most of the time and electricity by generator that comes on a couple times a day. They do a few surgeries daily..mostly c-sections, and hernias. The pictures of the ICU would amaze you...so dirty..and ancient. They just do not have the funds to run it like they did when the Germans ran it.
The mine is going to be rebuilt though. There are bids in for it now..I think it is narrowed down to 3 companies. So that will be good. There are still many ppl who live in the mining towns there.
So as far as the trip...wow. We left the ship at about 730am and drove to the train. We then waited awhile to load the cars on the train beds...in the mean time of few of us went off exploring and climbing oil tanks:) The trip was AWESOME! And the train didnt break down at all which I guess is unusual. We all sat on top of the land rovers or the hoods on the way there...or the hamock Carlos brought and tied between two of the cars. Def. nothing that would be legal in the US...walkin around and climbing or standing on landrovers on a moving train. The train ride was about 2.5 hrs. one way...through little villages and jungle. We got there and drove up to a lake where we had lunch. We couldnt go swimming though..even though it looked SO clean and SOOO inviting..even cliffs to jump off...but I guess the last group that went is still on pills for the parasites they aquired...glad they were the ones who had to learn for the rest of us;)
After lunch we got back in our cars and went further up the mountain..some fun off roading:)...until the road pretty much got impassable. Then the man who went with us who worked there took us to the different mining sites and explained the process and where he was when the rebels came, etc.
Oh, and when we were pretty far up on the mountain we stopped where there was a SWEET overlook. As we were standing around enjoying the view somone noticed there were a couple areas of piles of bullet shells laying on the ground..some big and some small. Just a crazy reminder of how real and how recent the war was. I guess the mine was one of the main rebel camps and some pretty gruesome things happened there.
We got back around 6 just in time for dinner. There were about 30 of us that went (3 landrovers). That night we were all pretty exhuasted...I just ended up watching a few episodes of The Office with a friend and went to bed.

14-3-08

Yep, still trying to get used to the way they write dates here. Good times. Today was great...slept in til 1030!:) Worked evening shift. Slow at the beg. but then after I got my patient back from OR it was crazy. She had a mouth absess removed...but then in recovery spiked a fever, bp dropped...prob. septic...(big infection). Anyhoo...so guess who got her next....me! So I spent my evening hoping she wouldnt crash on me...but luckily we have great doctors and they come right when u call...so Dr. Mark came down and we got some blood culutres, I put a foley in, started bolusing her with lots of fluids. She still seemed kinda sketchy when I left, but hope she is ok. I think her bp got as low as 79 systolic a couple times...ya...eek. Then on top of that I still had 2 other dressing changes to do..one that takes 20 minutes...crazy dressing...he has holes all over his chest pretty much that had drains...most of which are out not. He had had a huge mouth infection as well before he came to the ship. All of us on D ward tonight were running like crazy. We all had post op patients and patietns with NGs needing tube feeds, suctioning, dressing changes. Sure made time go fast though.

Anyhoo...enough about the medical stuff. I have the weekend off and I think 20-30 of us younger ppl are takin the land rovers to Bong Mines. Leave here at 630 am and put the land rovers on trains...for 2.5 hrs...then get off and drive up a mountain..and hike...but no swimming this time...I guess they tried that last time and the ppl who did are still on meds for the parasites they aquired...mmm. ANyhoo....Im excited..Im sure you'll hear about it. :)

Addendum to the last

So after I wrote that last entry i was on my run and just kept being reminded about how God is the one who should be getting all the glory for my day today:) I had been praying that I would feel more comfortable and be able to spend more time with my patients and building relationships with them ...and God totally answered that today. Anyhoo...what an awesome God we serve...and none of this I could be doing on my own if it were not for Him..trust me...but how cool is that!...
Volleyball was a blast...except good thing someone on the ship had a spare net since apparently someone got onto the UN base and stole theirs...prob. for a fishing net.
I have been doing my quiet times out on the dock at night...oh is it wonderful....no bugs, perfect temp. and always a breeze. Ahh...

My first pediatric experience

So I worked day shift again today. I had the same patients as yesterday..except fo a new baby. I took care of a 3 month old with an infected head wound. SOOOO cute. Everytime you look at her she smiles and laughs...except when you are changing her dressing or her IV goes bad and you have to start a new one...oops. But def. my first time providing medical care and giving IV antibiotics to a baby...and learned a lot:) Her mom is wonderful too....and is the only one who speaks the same language as my 84 yr. old patient so she always translates for us:) I love how the patients translate for each other even though we have translators who work with us:) And many times the translators say the exact word for word thing we say but the patient doesnt understand it when we say it cause they have such a strong accent on their words. But it's humorous...when the patients nod after it is interpretted and Im like...dude...I just said the same thing. :) Or I have patients that interpret for others and then when you talk to them they still need an interpreter. Good times:) So one of my other patients is an 84 yr old man...so cute. He had a cataract fixed as well as a hernia...as well as some other edema down in that area. Poor guy. And they just found pnemonia. So I have been getting him up to walk in the hallway and get his lungs moving. Today I took him in the elevator to deck 7 where us day nurses take the patients who want to go at 2:30 to get some fresh air. I think it took us like 30 minutes to get there cause he walked so slow...lol...but his face lit up when we got there and he didnt want to leave, so I stayed awhile with him and held his hand. Oh, and I also got the enjoyment of teaching him how to use an incentive spirometer to help him take good deep breaths...now that was quite the task...trying to translate that...I think he is kind of getting the hang of it now...:)
Last night I went to go watch the soccer game and then went to hear one of the plastic surgoens talk about the nooma infection that is very common here..and eats away at the skin. Crazy pictures and even crazier description of how they treat it and fix ppl's mouths, noses, and faces that have been affected...by taking skin flaps from the scalp and neck. Fascinating. Well, Im off to go run before volleyball tonight. Hope ya'll are donig well. Oh, and if you are looking for something to pray about you can pray that we (mercy ships) can find a way to get synthroid into this country. The surgeons have had to cancel many goiter surgeries because many of the patients would have too much thyroid removed to be ok without taking synthetic thyroid hormone. It's cheap to get in the states and is available here...but only by like 1 company who has a monopoly and can pretty much charge whatever he wants and pts cannot afford that even short term let alone the rest of their lives...which they need it for. So docs here are trying to find a way to get someone to supply it here reasonably priced without wanting to make mad money off it and jacking up the price. Many women have been sent away crying and devastated that they could not get the surgery they were once told they could get. Their is such a social stigmatism to having deformaties here and they were SOOOO excited when they thought they were gonig to be fixed and now they are being turned away. Most countries that Mercy Ships visits does not have a problem getting this hormone...but here it is a big obstacle...so pray for that situation. ...and my apologies fro writing another book;)

Sunday

So Sunday I got up and went to a small African church about 30 minutes into the country. It was the prettiest little place..they are working on building the new church so still dirt floor and just finished the tin roof. I love the worship here. Everyone is so lively...drums, dancing, jumping around. Truly what worship should really be I think! And they are all so joyful and thankful for what they have even though it is not much! The children here are SO beautiful too! The sermon was on Matthew 18..."Go into all the nations...". Oh, and we almost didnt make it to church cause the battery was dead in the land rover we had...so we got to push start it. Although that was quite a bit more difficult when we had to do it after church on a dirt road with lots of ruts. Very entertaining...but this time we had all the guys from the church to help. Later in the afternoon we went to Elwa beach about 45 minutes away...several Mercy Ships ppl were there...you gotta be smart making friends here and find out who can drive:):) It was beautiful and nice to get out off the ship, go for a swim, run, played frisbee...and many Africans came to join. We then had a church service here around 7. I worked Monday days...was really busy...had a guy with every 4 hr. nebulizer treatments (something I have learned to do here since respiratory ppl at our hosp. usually do it), suctioning, and tube feeds. Then I got another woman back from surgery with a tumor removed from her lip...she had 2 twin babies with her...so cute. I also had a couple pts with dressing changes. It was good, but busy..mostly because I spent most of the time trying to find out where things were. Played volleyball Monday night at the UN base. Today I had the day off and went to town with a few other girls...we walked most of the way, as the first taxi we took broke down:) It is amazing how dirty it is here....but I know ya'll have seen plenty of pictures of Africa to know this...but stil so crazy. And driving is insane...walking along the road to the markets is quite the adventure. I got a bit burned today too...and surely sweated off a few pounds...but dont worry, I have been drinking my water:) Played soccer tonight after being coerrced (sp?) into it...I showed up and it was all guys....I was like, well...here we go...Im gonna look foolish. Most of the guys are from here and Europe which means they grow up playing soccer. I felt like I did horrible but I guess they thought I was decent. It was so fun though. Just now we finished Salsa dancing lessons...good times...Im a pro now...or something. Tomorrow Im back to work:)

Haunted Ship

Just for entertainment purposes...there is a ship that is half sunk right off our dock...I guess 3 yrs ago it was unloading cargo when it flipped...and they are trying to slowly remove water from it and get it up and out so they have more room on the port. Anyhoo...it is half up and last night a few of us were sitting on the dock at about midnight when all the sudden 2 lights on it turned on and we heard a generator start...but saw no movement... Anyhoo...it was funny, cause it just happened out of no where and we saw no one working on it...so now it's the haunted boat. The lights were off this mornin. Ok, so that was probably not entertaining for anyone...but it provided us with some. I'll keep you posted...maybe we'll see pirates..lol..ok, maybe not:)

TGI Saturday?...ok, Im so not creative with titles...;)

So these are probably going to get shorter and not every day...I know...thank goodness you all are saying:)...I just want to make the most of my time here and not spend it all writing...although some days are better than others and on my days off Im sure I'll have plenty of time. Anyhoo...today a goup of 8 of us went to an orphanage...good to get off the ship, see the area and meet people...sure is an eye opening experience...something you always read about or see pictures...but so neat...and humbling to experience in person. The kids are so well behaved. We sang songs, made name tags for beds with the kids, painted nails, jump roped, played soccer, painted nails....and sweated a lot...which as most of you know, I dont mind..the heat really does not bother me that much:) The kids were sooo cute and so well behaved. After reading A Long Way Gone (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)...about a boy soldier in sierra leone...it gave me a whole new outlook on kids here since they have been through similar things. I caught myself really being drawn to the young boys and wanting to just give them a hug and picturing the boy in that book whenever I see them here. Many of them have to grow up at such a young age. Then I kicked the soccer ball around with a couple ppl on the dock after returning...almost loosing hte ball into the ocean a couple times...oops...not to mention myself. After lunch a group of us walked to one of the markets...about 45 minutes from here and bought some fabric to take to a tailor to make skirts and bags. Again...cant even being to put in to words the experience....and happy to be alive....as the road is crazy! And I wish I could have gotten pictures of the chicken wings, feet, etc. sitting in bowls in the hot sun for sale....uuuggghhhhh! Wonder what kind of things are growing in there. Did take a picture of a lockheed building though for you you lockheed martiners in texas...i will try to post it or send it to ya'll. Tonight they showed a documentary on the ship the the vvf surgeon brought. It is about women all over the world who suffer from this and how their life is a living hell because of it...many say their ownly option is suicide because EVERYONE ostracizes them..even their whole family. That is one of the surgerys they have been doing on the ship. The documentary is called A Long Walk to Beautiful. It has actually done really well in film festivals and is up for an academy award. They interviewd Dr. Arrowsmith (surgeon here) for when they play it in the U.S. on May 13th...it will be on Nova...so watch out for it...it is REALLY good...and humbling. Ok, so this wasnt short like I promised...sorry. Tomorrow is church then the beach and back to work on Monday. Thanks for the continued prayers. Pray that God continues to use me, challenge me, and grow me:)

Day 2 and stayin alive

So today I worked the evening shift...tomorrow is my first day on my own. Since all the patients are so different all I can do is throw my hands in the air and say, well, here we go...jumpin in with both feet and we'll see what happens. Glad God is my partner and can use me to do things I never dreamed I could:) Today one of the nurse here had an emergency appendectomy...I think it's the first time they have had a crew member get surgery here...she is now down in the icu. She should be fine. I guess there has been a crew member with malaria that was actually on a ventilator here who they shipped off to england and made it as well. That would be pretty scary though...being in ICU on a vent on here...eek...u should see some of the machines:) Anyhoo..I digress...I took care of a female who had had a goiter removed, a guy with a tumor on his back that had been removed and a little boy...5yrs old with burkett's lymphoma...cancer. Cutest thing ever and SO joyous despite the situation. I enjoyed playing with the kids. I love how all the patients and caregivers get up and visit with everyone...we all sang some praise songs together and I think it is so cool to have kids and adults on the same ward. Watching the kids chase balloons around made sure cheered some of them up that really needed it. Im still doin well...although this mornin woke up and went to bkfst feelin fine...then after breakfast thnought for sure I was gonna barf. I was afraid to get up...how embarassin would that have been..lol. So I skiipped the heath care devo and went back to bed...taking a garbage bag with me just in case. But after a nap I felt better...no clue what that was all about. Ok, sorry these are so long!

No Mama Papa Business

So a few other funny thoughts from the day...as background...you call the women and men mama or papa to be respectful..or by their first names. Well, when we discharged the hernia guys we had to tell them no mama papa business for 6 weeks...aka no sex...but I had to chuckle at that.
Secondly..one of the nurses was looking for honey for a wound...I was like..huh? I guess the doctors often put honey on infected wounds cause the bacteria feeds on the honey and not the wound...so you put honey on it for a while, it draws out the bacteria, then you wipe of the honey...they all say it is amazing.
And last random thought of the day....I decided I am very blessed to be able to sleep anywhere at any time. Jet lag never really seems to affect me...and I feel really bad for 2 others who came last Sunday who still are having trouble adjusting and sleeping. But Im feelin so blessed;)

First day on the job

So today I had my first orientation on the ward. It is def. different from home...but in a good way. I had 4 hernia repair pts...sent 3 home and send one to surgery. There are 4 different wards. Our ward had mostly hernia pts, some goiters, and a 5 day old baby with something like spina bifida. I love working with nurses from so many different cultures...I can't get enough of the accents and it's so fun...and humurous seeing learning how we all do things differently yet working together. The African translators lead us in some African worship songs and then we pray before each shift. Chaplains, translators, and other ship ppl who can adopt a patient come by to pray with, talk, sing, read scripture to the patients throughout the day. It is relaxed for the most part...can get busy at times, but not the stress like at home...and we as nurses have a much wider scope of practice and can pretty much do whatever we think needs to be done...to a point anyway. So nice to not have the politics like at home...or having to worry about being sued. Not that we do a lesser job, but ya know....just much less tense:) And it's the old school way...no IV pumps, draw our own labs, etc. :)
I learned that from the end of the dock to the second green gate is one mile (there and back). So I went for a nice long run today...felt so good...cloudy and breeze off the water. Lots of ppl walk that and around dinner time lots of families had their kids outside playing and some kids activities/races on the dock. Such a cool atmosphere...so different and hard to describe. At the end of my run I had to rescue a nurse who was outside on the dock locked in a gate..where they do admission....the area connects with the ship but the ship door was locked before she could get in...so I had to run down to the wards and gte the key to rescue her. Was kinda funny...she called me over and seemed kinda frazzled...and in her dutch accent said...I seem to have been locked in, can you help me. I just thought it was funny cause she seemed kinda freaked out about it...I have no clue why...but good times...:)
Every Wed. night a doctor gives an inservice if you will on a surgery or disease that is applicable to us healthcare workers here. It is optional but really cool. Tonight's actually was on short term missions...but awesome. One of the main surgeon's here talked about all of his experiences and the stuggles/blessings with short term missions. Very cool stories of how God works and heals esp. when unexpected...but reiterated:
"Medicine can cure disease and give life for an average 70 years, but God can cure the disease of sin and provide life for eternity."...That really puts things into perspective. God may or may not provide healing to all those we help..but the main point of us being here is not to provie medicine but eternal spiritual hope in Jesus Christ.
After the talk some of us played cards and went to do yoga....lol...good times as ya'll can imagine...at least those who know I cant touch my toes....I think that may be my goal for these 2 months...haha.

Escaping Prison

So it was a beautiful evening so me, priscilla, and elizabeth decided to venture off the boat. As long as you stay on the dock you dont have to scan in and out, but if you leave the green gate you have to scan out and say write where you are going. At first we just walked the dock and peered out of the big green gate...like it was a forbidden land we couldnt enter...lol. We got our dinner in tupperware to eat outside since it was SO nice and an awesome breeze. Afterwards we asked one of the nurses I know where we can go beyond the gate and be safe. She told us to walk to Jamaica street. As long as there is a group you can go. So the 3 of us signed out and ventured off the ship. It was about 6pm. It was strange leaving the gate. U have to hide your badge so ppl cant try to take it and use it to get in. We probably should have had someone with experience with us and I htink you are supposed to rent out a cell if u go out, but we were not going far so we didnt. Anyhoo...so the 3 of us walked down the road and down another dirt road. Sure looks like pictures...it was so surreal. We maybe walked 3/4ths of a mile...we felt super out of place...and had to keep pulling each other off the road so we wouldnt get run over. Anyhoo...we decided to turn around and not head too much deeper into the village since we were unfamiliar with the area and not sure where we were going. We breathed a sigh of relief once we got back into the green gate. Im sure it was perfectly fine being out, but us newbies were happy to be back inside security:) One of the longer term missionaries was telling us there are no wild animals around because the rebels killed them all. Sad. And we asked about going to the ivory coast and he said it was unsafe to drive because there were so many rebels along the road and you had to bargain for your life....hmmm...but we could fly if we wanted.:) Again...seems like sometihing I would just read about and not reality. He said he would take us around town and to the beach etc. and after we are familiar with the area we can take taxis if we have a group. I havent taken any pictures of ppl here yet since it's not safe to pull out your camera in the city and not appropriate to take pictures with patients or in the ward most of hte time. So I'll work on that. But here are a few pictures of the ship:) Tomorrow is orientation...goodnight.

This is all new to me...

So I am not much of diary person, but Im going to attempt a blog. I figure this will be a lot easier to do to keep everyone updated than trying to get everything in a long email every now and then. I will still try to do email updates here and there though. I have today off for the most part so again, once I start working 5 or more days a week I don't know how much I will update this...but we'll see how it goes...
So yesterday I had most of the day off...just had an orientation to the ward at 1pm then general orientation in the evening. It sure is different living on the ship...kinda nice...it's like a city all in one place. You have your bank, food, laundry, store, little starbucks, all in one place....and the hospital wards and OR are right down the hall from my cabin. Talk about a short commute to work:) It is interesting watching ship life...it is unbelievably organized. I loved just ppl watching last night as I was doing my devotions on the floor above starbucks. There are families that live here with their kids and the kids were getting out of "school" as I was sitting there. Some were talking and I was trying to imagine what it would be like growing up on this ship...this being your home, your city...no running around outside playing with the neighbors...school is on the deck above where you live. Crazy. Although it's really cool...the community life here. In the evening most ppl gather around starbucks and upstairs where there are computers and wireless. Ppl hang out, play games, read....it's like Im back in college again...which is really fun to some degree...except for living with 6 girls in a room with no windows so getting up and dressed or going to bed when others are trying to sleep is tricky in a pitch black room. Good thing I have my headlamp. And the toilets are SO noisy when they flush. Sorry, that was random. And I have now learned what a ship shower is...to conserve water. You rinse, shut water off, lather, then turn water on to rinse. They want us to try to use water for only 2 minutes. I love that everywhere I look though I can look outside and see water...or coastline..such a cool experience. Everyone pretty much stays on the ship. I think I may try to go for a run on the dock later...but can't go past the gate without a group and cell phone....except for sports which is right out the gate on the UN base.
Yesterday I did the orientation to the ward...def. going to be different than home...but pretty cool. The first ward I and the other nurse orienting with me (dutch nurse) walked into had a doctor telling a pt. they had TB. Lol. So if I come back with a pos. TB test we'll know why. I guess that is the second in a couple weeks and the pt had been in the ward a while. The nurse orienting us laughed...and said sarcastically.."that would be your first experience here...oops:)"
As far as life here though, I am adjusting well. Everyone is very friendly. Elizabeth and I hung out last night and a girl from Maryland who also just came. I have also met some cool nurse from the netherlands and jersey and pennsylvania...im sure I'll meet many more very soon!
We have ward nurse devos on Mondays at 4. I went yesterday...it was a unique one though because it was a debriefing session on the 2 kids who died over the weekend here...which is a more rare occasion. It was very heavy but very interesting discussion. From nurses disagreeing we should have tried to help those 2 in the first place with the limited resources we have, to others saying we had to give them a fighting chance. Lots of ethical questions. Gave me a lot to contemplate. So cool to see God working here and the support everyone gives each other..and so cool to end staff mtgs and report with prayer for each other and the patients.
So sorry this is sooooo long..but figure I can use it as part of my journal too....since it will be lot quicker to type than to write everything out. Thanks so much for the conitued prayers...as we were reminded in the large community mtg this morning...and as it says in scripture....God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. This was a cool reminder as I begin orienting as a nurse in this totally different culture and environment...and can't wait to see how God can use me among these African patients.
Ok, now that you are all asleep, Im signing off for now. I will try to take some pictures soon.