Nursing Report you won't give at home:
Report to the next charge nurse, Danielle, this afternoon went something like this, "and Ibrahim has permission to go off the ship to go kill a goat." Now, I didn't know if it was a particular goat that had offended him or what precisely was going on. Come to find out from Danielle who had made it to church this morning that the streets of Freetown are very busy, the mosques are packed and there are hundreds of goats lining the streets awaiting a sure demise. Hmm. And here i'm sitting on Deck 9 next to the pool and far away from the ever-infallible :-) Wikipedia to find out what holiday it is. It reminds me of New Year's eve in the south of Chile where hundreds of little white lambs were attached to fence posts kicking up an absolute ruckus on the 31st of December, followed by an eerie silence on the 1st. Then the most tantalizing smoke would fill the air as roasting lamb filled the town. Yummmo! I remember Auntie Nisey coming to visit us in Chile appalled by the whole little lamb thing, and she spent an entire afternoon crying next to one little white fluffy thing, stroking it's ears. Don't think the goats are gonna have the same reception though. Or maybe they do get eaten, I don't know!
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Another interesting favorite from reading another patient's History and Physical, under Social History, "4 wives, 16 children."
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We've also admitted 6 adorable two to four year olds to have their growth plates removed. They've invented a new game and taken to collectively mass-hugging anybody who walks through the door. You step into A ward and 6 tiny four year olds come yelling and plaster themselves in a group hug around your legs.
These little ones came to the ship for orthopedic surgery at the beginning of the outreach. They're called the 8 plate children, because their legs looked like parentheses - or that you could place an 8 in. plate between their knees. Growth plates were inserted to straighten their legs as they grew. However, there is more motivation to pray as some of them aren't straight yet and the ship is getting ready to depart. Decisions need to be made as to whether to remove the plates now, and still leave them better than they were before, or leave the plates in and somehow arrange for these children to make the journey to Guinea, one country over, in a few months once their legs are straighter. Travel is very difficult in West Africa and there is the risk that the journey can't be made, for any of a dozen reasons. The risk is that then their legs will keep on growing inwards until the parentheses are formed in the opposite direction. Quandry! Please pray for wisdom and traveling mercies for these children and their parents.
They are so beautiful though. Melt your heart.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Babies in knitted caps and booties
A tiny sleeping beauty needs a kiss!
I got her, I got her!
Some kind ladies knitted booties and caps for the babies on the Africa Mercy.
"Dis bed no gud!"
How do you explain to a patient that the reason why his bed is bucking is the ship's fault, not his bed?
We transferred some patients from D ward to B ward, as D was ready for some deep cleaning, and the patients were happily lodged in their newly assigned beds. Or so I thought. I came across one seriously disgruntled customer... we were getting dark looks and impatient sighs, snapping lips. Though a translator I asked what is the problem. "This bed no gud. I want my other bed back. It moves too much. It make me 'ed de turn!"
Try as I may to explain that it is very windy outside and the choppy seas are making everybody's bed move, no luck. He wanted back to D ward. "Dis bed no good!" as he waves his arms back and forth, mimicking the movement of his new crib. And this is a 46 year old patient too!
I'm afraid he wasn't satisfied at all, and we couldn't convince him that everybody's beds were bucking too :-)
We transferred some patients from D ward to B ward, as D was ready for some deep cleaning, and the patients were happily lodged in their newly assigned beds. Or so I thought. I came across one seriously disgruntled customer... we were getting dark looks and impatient sighs, snapping lips. Though a translator I asked what is the problem. "This bed no gud. I want my other bed back. It moves too much. It make me 'ed de turn!"
Try as I may to explain that it is very windy outside and the choppy seas are making everybody's bed move, no luck. He wanted back to D ward. "Dis bed no good!" as he waves his arms back and forth, mimicking the movement of his new crib. And this is a 46 year old patient too!
I'm afraid he wasn't satisfied at all, and we couldn't convince him that everybody's beds were bucking too :-)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
the Dawn of a New Day
Yesterday evening the crew of the Africa Mercy had the pleasure of a screening of the film "Dawn of a New Day". This documentary was filmed onboard in Benin in 2009, and in Cape Town, South Africa, following the steps of Dr. Tertius Venter. I'm going to get ahold of it and we'll have a movie night when we get home! Popcorn! Yeah! It shows the ship and patient's stories beautifully set to haunting music, and I can't wait to show it all to you. It was lovely to be able to see patient's stories from the beginning of their journeys at home to the ship and their joyous reunions with their families afterwards.
I'm attaching the link to the site:
http://www.journeyman.tv/62177/documentaries/the-dawn-of-a-new-day.html
I'm attaching the link to the site:
http://www.journeyman.tv/62177/documentaries/the-dawn-of-a-new-day.html
a ward funny
Translator, "What state are you from?"
Me, "Tennessee"
Translator, "Oh, I only know New York, California, Texas and Mexico!"
Me, "Tennessee"
Translator, "Oh, I only know New York, California, Texas and Mexico!"
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Starry skies and flourescent plankton
This past weekend the Lord treated a very lucky group of us to the starriest of skies and a magnificent display of what He can do.
A group of us headed off to Bureh Beach for a weekend of camping and having fun for a friend's birthday. Bureh Beach of course lived up to it's reputation with clear beaches, swaying palm trees, good food, friends playing volleyball, crystal clear waves, dark jungle-covered mountains behind us and billowy white clouds. There is a small island across from the beach over that you can swim to if you've packed your sense of adventure with you. It's about a 15 minute swim and if you take it slowly and don't try to show off your strong swimming technique you can make it just fine, not even being tired once you get there! We walked around the tiny island jumping on the rocks around and eating this fruit that yes, it was brave to pick up and eat, but tasted like passion fruit and nobody bent over double afterwards. Or got any cases of what the Sierra Leonians call the fast-fast, which involves motion out the derriere at the aforementioned speed.
The beach boys, locals who pretty much take care of what you need food and drink-wise, cooked up some delicious smoked fish, couscous, tomato and onion sauce and crab. And a huge bonfire.
We were treated to a magnificent sunset, with a few of us lodged on a large rock overlooking the orange splendour as it set behind that tiny island, the rock warm from the sun and curved so it contours perfectly to your back.
But once the sun set, the true display began. The moon was a mere sliver so the stars came out in force, the full Milky Way on display. The only break in the stars came from the outline of the black palm trees. Looking down from the stars, a magnificent lightning storm broke over the horizon and continued for awhile, nice and far away so all we saw was the crashing light, and below us, the ocean lit with flourescent plankton.
A friend and I were walking in the dark on the beach when we noticed that the sand was sparkling. Running back to tell the rest of the crowd, most everyone headed off into the water once we realized that the plankton sparkles with motion. So general waterfights, twirling in the water, and back into the ocean we all go; it looked like a scene from the movie Avatar, where what you touch glows. Even the waves sparkled when they crashed. Those who opened their eyes underwater tell of a lit up land that you couldn't even see from standing in the water.
So it was starry skies above, lightning on the horizon, and sparkling waters beneath us. A true display of God's creativity. I giggled at all of us because we were really remarking that God loves us so much to put on such a show for us; we were with a group of Peace Corp people on vacation and they must have thought us nuts - maybe it entered into their consciousness that yes, "the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Ps. 19:1. It was impossible to ignore the unexpected beauty of the night and not give notice to Him who put it there.
One of my ship friends has a tiny tatoo of a star on her foot, and when I asked her about it she told me that to her, stars are just the most effusive display of love from God for us. He didn't have to put them there at all, He just did, and we get to enjoy it. Like every good thing that comes down from the Father of Lights.
James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
A group of us headed off to Bureh Beach for a weekend of camping and having fun for a friend's birthday. Bureh Beach of course lived up to it's reputation with clear beaches, swaying palm trees, good food, friends playing volleyball, crystal clear waves, dark jungle-covered mountains behind us and billowy white clouds. There is a small island across from the beach over that you can swim to if you've packed your sense of adventure with you. It's about a 15 minute swim and if you take it slowly and don't try to show off your strong swimming technique you can make it just fine, not even being tired once you get there! We walked around the tiny island jumping on the rocks around and eating this fruit that yes, it was brave to pick up and eat, but tasted like passion fruit and nobody bent over double afterwards. Or got any cases of what the Sierra Leonians call the fast-fast, which involves motion out the derriere at the aforementioned speed.
The beach boys, locals who pretty much take care of what you need food and drink-wise, cooked up some delicious smoked fish, couscous, tomato and onion sauce and crab. And a huge bonfire.
We were treated to a magnificent sunset, with a few of us lodged on a large rock overlooking the orange splendour as it set behind that tiny island, the rock warm from the sun and curved so it contours perfectly to your back.
But once the sun set, the true display began. The moon was a mere sliver so the stars came out in force, the full Milky Way on display. The only break in the stars came from the outline of the black palm trees. Looking down from the stars, a magnificent lightning storm broke over the horizon and continued for awhile, nice and far away so all we saw was the crashing light, and below us, the ocean lit with flourescent plankton.
A friend and I were walking in the dark on the beach when we noticed that the sand was sparkling. Running back to tell the rest of the crowd, most everyone headed off into the water once we realized that the plankton sparkles with motion. So general waterfights, twirling in the water, and back into the ocean we all go; it looked like a scene from the movie Avatar, where what you touch glows. Even the waves sparkled when they crashed. Those who opened their eyes underwater tell of a lit up land that you couldn't even see from standing in the water.
So it was starry skies above, lightning on the horizon, and sparkling waters beneath us. A true display of God's creativity. I giggled at all of us because we were really remarking that God loves us so much to put on such a show for us; we were with a group of Peace Corp people on vacation and they must have thought us nuts - maybe it entered into their consciousness that yes, "the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Ps. 19:1. It was impossible to ignore the unexpected beauty of the night and not give notice to Him who put it there.
One of my ship friends has a tiny tatoo of a star on her foot, and when I asked her about it she told me that to her, stars are just the most effusive display of love from God for us. He didn't have to put them there at all, He just did, and we get to enjoy it. Like every good thing that comes down from the Father of Lights.
James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
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