I can't believe this is my last entry. This time tomorrow night I will be on the plane home all being well. Where has the time gone? Yet again I have had a fantastic time and the work that has been completed still never ceases to amaze me.
Today we were correcting an encephelocoele on a 15 month old baby. This is where there is an overgrowth of the head. Fortunately the brain was quite normal so it was well worth doing and will be a life changing operation for that child even though they will never know.
At the morning devotions for the whole of healthcare services we spoke about checking our faith was real and moving on. Tonight at the community meeting the speaker talked about the goodness of God even when times are tough i.e. when we have have problems or crisises in life God remains good- He does not change.
After the meeting we all descended too Starbucks cafe area and a few of us brought nibbles as several are leaving over the next few days. Very relaxed and informal. Last time I answered my own question - would I come back and the answer remains the same -very definitely yes. While I can help others who have far less than I do and while I have the skills and can use the gifts God has given me in this way I would come back. The ship leaves Liberia in 6 weeks time and will travel to Benin when it has finished its service in the docks in Tenerife. No doubt in Benin there are the same stories as here with the same numbers unable to afford any healthcare. Their need will be just as great.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Wedneday October 22
"You're list is moving but you're staying in this room". Doesn't always happen but when the unexpected occurs we just get on with it. And so we did today. Having been happily prepared for a max fax list with 3 smallish cases there was an emergency to do on a patient with Ludwigs angina - nothing to do with his heart. This is a condition that often occurs as a result of a dental abscess. It causes serious swelling in the neck which can impair breathing. In this situation the patient was intubated and the infection sorted out by drainage and antibiotics. because this had to be operated on first and the other OR room was free they received the emergency and their surgeon came into the OR room I was working in.
Dr Gary Parker is very well known for the surgery he performs and today's was no exception for him. A 14 year old boy with a very large posterior cleft palate who had received no previous treatment had his palate closed or rather covered over since at 14 the palate is hard and cannot be closed like it can in a new born child. What was even more remarkable was that his older sister had the same problem, although her cleft palate was not as large and she was the next patient!. these patients actually require speech therapy as they have learned to speak by raising the base of their tongue to occlude the cleft. Consonants are particularly difficult. When most of us speak we lower the base of our tongue. While they will never have brilliant speech they will be able to make themselves understood for more easily.
This filled the day which had started at 5.00am out on the dock, walking briskly. So far this week I have walked ten and a half miles to Benin. As a team we are moving slowly towards the goal. Plans for Benin are well inhand for the ship and in fact we are now being asked to make sure certain things ae done ready for the ships departure. and yet we are as busy in the OR and on the ward as ever, still patients come but we now only have a months operating tme left. it is always saddening when patients have to be turned away but we are limited and sometimes the surgery required by the patient is simply something we can't do.
Dr Gary Parker is very well known for the surgery he performs and today's was no exception for him. A 14 year old boy with a very large posterior cleft palate who had received no previous treatment had his palate closed or rather covered over since at 14 the palate is hard and cannot be closed like it can in a new born child. What was even more remarkable was that his older sister had the same problem, although her cleft palate was not as large and she was the next patient!. these patients actually require speech therapy as they have learned to speak by raising the base of their tongue to occlude the cleft. Consonants are particularly difficult. When most of us speak we lower the base of our tongue. While they will never have brilliant speech they will be able to make themselves understood for more easily.
This filled the day which had started at 5.00am out on the dock, walking briskly. So far this week I have walked ten and a half miles to Benin. As a team we are moving slowly towards the goal. Plans for Benin are well inhand for the ship and in fact we are now being asked to make sure certain things ae done ready for the ships departure. and yet we are as busy in the OR and on the ward as ever, still patients come but we now only have a months operating tme left. it is always saddening when patients have to be turned away but we are limited and sometimes the surgery required by the patient is simply something we can't do.
Tuesday October 21
The case that I thought would take a long time wasn't as long as expected. we were removing several lumps which we thought were probably benign (non cancerous) from the left side of the mouth in a fifteen year old boy. As with the previous days case in which we had removed a neurofibroma - again a non cancerous growth in the left cheek, these sort of things are dealt with quickly in the UK but because of the lack of doctors in liberia and the expense they are left to grow. In both situations had they been left then the boys would have had a slow death since they would have developed breathing difficulties as the tumours grew.
The remaining cases yesterday were generally smaller. One was the removal of a large amount of keloid scar tissue in a young girl aged 18 years, who had had a previous injury to her ear lobe. The scar was bigger than her ear and hanging almost like an earring from the lower edge of her ear. Operations like this are reasonably simple but make a huge difference, especially to a young girl like her. Incidentally she brought her 2 month old daughter in with her as she is still nursing her.
We also have a paediatric surgeon currently with us and whilst I was busy in my OR he was performing a nephrectomy on a very small person. I only saw from the outside of the door but certainly under one year. Again and again it is amazing to see exactly what work is acheived here.
But we do have the opportunity to relax and the OR team went out for dinner last night. The food was good and the company excellent even if the service was a little slow. It just gave us time to chat with each other and get to know one another a little better. The journey to the restaurant took over 30 minutes as the only bridge is single lane and causes bottlenecks. thankfully it took only 15 minutes to arrive back at the ship. We had to leave some behind on the ship as 2 OR STaff have to be on call along with anaesthetists etc but other staff were very kind in swopping on-call duties so that others could go.
Just a small aside to say hello to the housegroup members. I have a few photos but not narly as many as last time partly because I have worked in the same areas but I will see what I can pull off the pictures in the ships database which is available to us here. Just remember that Liberia is one hour behind UK.
The remaining cases yesterday were generally smaller. One was the removal of a large amount of keloid scar tissue in a young girl aged 18 years, who had had a previous injury to her ear lobe. The scar was bigger than her ear and hanging almost like an earring from the lower edge of her ear. Operations like this are reasonably simple but make a huge difference, especially to a young girl like her. Incidentally she brought her 2 month old daughter in with her as she is still nursing her.
We also have a paediatric surgeon currently with us and whilst I was busy in my OR he was performing a nephrectomy on a very small person. I only saw from the outside of the door but certainly under one year. Again and again it is amazing to see exactly what work is acheived here.
But we do have the opportunity to relax and the OR team went out for dinner last night. The food was good and the company excellent even if the service was a little slow. It just gave us time to chat with each other and get to know one another a little better. The journey to the restaurant took over 30 minutes as the only bridge is single lane and causes bottlenecks. thankfully it took only 15 minutes to arrive back at the ship. We had to leave some behind on the ship as 2 OR STaff have to be on call along with anaesthetists etc but other staff were very kind in swopping on-call duties so that others could go.
Just a small aside to say hello to the housegroup members. I have a few photos but not narly as many as last time partly because I have worked in the same areas but I will see what I can pull off the pictures in the ships database which is available to us here. Just remember that Liberia is one hour behind UK.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Monday October 20
The observant among you will note that this entry is being made on Tuesday morning. very simple reason - the computer system had a major glitch yesterday so I simply couldn't get into my blog page to write.
The reason for the glitch was a problem with generators onboard. In the middle of operating I was aware that the generator on one side of the ship was shutting down. We had a temporary loss of power while the auxillary power supply kicked in and then of course we had to switch over to tanks of oxygen in the OR rather than the usual supply which comes in via the boons. All added interest to the day and kept everyone on their toes. it also meant being resourceful in what we were doing.
In the middle of a difficult case it would be easy to stress about these things but it is not quite so unusual when operating on a ship and we ultimately trust God to help us. The result is that no-one panics and indeed we seem to bond together even more as a team.
I scrubbed yesterday for just one case but it took 8 hours. it's a while since I've scrubbed for that long! I was fed coffee during the case to keep me going! This is a technique that requires some practice. If you have ever tried to help someone with a drink from a cup and no straw you may have some understanding, throw in the factor of keeping oneself sterile and it adds another dimension to the whole thing. I find tha anaesthetists are usually pretty good at these things and indeed he did not let me down.
So as I write this blog I'm looking out of the window on deck 6 and can see several people either running or walking the dockside, (and feeling ever so slightly smug because I've already walked my distance this morning) the sun is coming up rapidly and activity in the docks is increasing. The crane is already working at the Maersk site unloading containers and the tug boats are around ready to help vessels pull out of port. The is some cloud but not enough to not see the pinks of the sunrise on the edge of the clouds although they are whitening as the sun rises as fast as I write.
Today I have another long case and tonight am out for dinner having organised about a week ago. We have 2 vehicles going so about 18 people in total. We are going to eat at a Mexican restaurant called Casablanca. It has a good reputation so I shall look forward to that while being fed coffee again later!
The reason for the glitch was a problem with generators onboard. In the middle of operating I was aware that the generator on one side of the ship was shutting down. We had a temporary loss of power while the auxillary power supply kicked in and then of course we had to switch over to tanks of oxygen in the OR rather than the usual supply which comes in via the boons. All added interest to the day and kept everyone on their toes. it also meant being resourceful in what we were doing.
In the middle of a difficult case it would be easy to stress about these things but it is not quite so unusual when operating on a ship and we ultimately trust God to help us. The result is that no-one panics and indeed we seem to bond together even more as a team.
I scrubbed yesterday for just one case but it took 8 hours. it's a while since I've scrubbed for that long! I was fed coffee during the case to keep me going! This is a technique that requires some practice. If you have ever tried to help someone with a drink from a cup and no straw you may have some understanding, throw in the factor of keeping oneself sterile and it adds another dimension to the whole thing. I find tha anaesthetists are usually pretty good at these things and indeed he did not let me down.
So as I write this blog I'm looking out of the window on deck 6 and can see several people either running or walking the dockside, (and feeling ever so slightly smug because I've already walked my distance this morning) the sun is coming up rapidly and activity in the docks is increasing. The crane is already working at the Maersk site unloading containers and the tug boats are around ready to help vessels pull out of port. The is some cloud but not enough to not see the pinks of the sunrise on the edge of the clouds although they are whitening as the sun rises as fast as I write.
Today I have another long case and tonight am out for dinner having organised about a week ago. We have 2 vehicles going so about 18 people in total. We are going to eat at a Mexican restaurant called Casablanca. It has a good reputation so I shall look forward to that while being fed coffee again later!
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Sunday October 19
Pillar of Fire may sound like a church that preaches fire and damnation but it couldn't be further from that. It's a small local church where one of the day workers is the pastor. Several of us went there for the service this morning and arrived in time to catch the end of the Sunday school. There is an orphanage about 5 minutes walk away and some of the children come to the Sunday school and stay for the service. At this church there is no sound system. Probably not required as it is built of woven walls and a tin roof. All the preacher did this morning was raise his voice when the rain was hard and lowered it when the rain stopped. There is only one drum - an african one of course and played well. No other instruments apart from the human voice. Follow my leader style of singing. It was a great service.
The plan was to go to the beach but rain stopped play so I made banana cake instead. Mary-Lou the dining room supervisor is happy for me to take the soft bananas that no-one will eat. I just add the remaining ingredients. While in the kitchen I was able to share recipes with another fellow baker from the States who was making cookies. Can't wait to try them out when I get home.
After dinner Rosie, Hannie, Mary, Martine, Frances and I went to a different ward and sang songs. Some of the younger male patients were in ward A before and joined in with us. The community evening service was a little earlier but meant we could enjoy Starbucks together. So really a restful day and not so different ffrom the way I would spend a Sunday at home.
The plan was to go to the beach but rain stopped play so I made banana cake instead. Mary-Lou the dining room supervisor is happy for me to take the soft bananas that no-one will eat. I just add the remaining ingredients. While in the kitchen I was able to share recipes with another fellow baker from the States who was making cookies. Can't wait to try them out when I get home.
After dinner Rosie, Hannie, Mary, Martine, Frances and I went to a different ward and sang songs. Some of the younger male patients were in ward A before and joined in with us. The community evening service was a little earlier but meant we could enjoy Starbucks together. So really a restful day and not so different ffrom the way I would spend a Sunday at home.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Saturday 18 October
What a fun day I've had and busy too. If any one ever thought Christians were stuffy they need to meet the crew of mercyships.
It's the 30 year anniversary of Mercy Ships and to celebrate we had a challenge afternoon followed by a BBQ and then a time of reflection.
So first the challenge afternoon. A team of six of OR's best, all volunteers, no cajoling required, met on the dockside along with 19 other teams of six to take part in ten activities around the ship and on the dockside. Teams included cheeky monkeys, the All Blacks - complete with the Huka, some strange looking western style cowboys, the "dentrimentalz" - dental team, I-Spy, the eye team and various others.
I feel we did things the right way round. Started in the dining room with a table tennis challenge, then a memory game (a version of Kim's game) basketball challenges and darts. Off to the swimming pool with strange ducks and hoops and things began to get a little wet. An onion & spoon obstacle race (eggs would be messy on Deck 8) and then the water really began to flow. Throwing balloons between teams followed by seeing how much water we could get from one bucket to the next using just a mophead. By now we were really working well, had sorted team tactics and managed to fill the bucket to overflowing -the first team to do so. However we felt we hadn't gotten quite wet enough so the buckets of water went flying. No-one was spared. Even our official got wet and we didn't lose points!
We tied for the fastest balanced broomhandle race but it was the bean bags that let us down. Although we actually scored quite well and had the highest personal score for one of our players it was there that we lost the vital points and became the first place losers (second place). We actually won the most number of games but hey - it was really good fun and we have a certificate now hanging in the OR department.
The BBQ was only slightly delayed and considering all this is done either on the ship or dockside we had a great time watching the sunset as we all ate outside. the rain began just as we were walking in to the ship. The presentation in the lounge was a mix of speakers who had worked on other Mercyship vessels and powerpoint presentations. This was followed by a celebratory chocolate cake in the midships lounge area otherwise known as town square.
Having walked 4 miles first thing this morning with a friend to a particular shop around doing my washing it's been a remarkably full day with a lot of laughter. God I'm sure was laughing with us and enjoyed seeing his people play.
It's the 30 year anniversary of Mercy Ships and to celebrate we had a challenge afternoon followed by a BBQ and then a time of reflection.
So first the challenge afternoon. A team of six of OR's best, all volunteers, no cajoling required, met on the dockside along with 19 other teams of six to take part in ten activities around the ship and on the dockside. Teams included cheeky monkeys, the All Blacks - complete with the Huka, some strange looking western style cowboys, the "dentrimentalz" - dental team, I-Spy, the eye team and various others.
I feel we did things the right way round. Started in the dining room with a table tennis challenge, then a memory game (a version of Kim's game) basketball challenges and darts. Off to the swimming pool with strange ducks and hoops and things began to get a little wet. An onion & spoon obstacle race (eggs would be messy on Deck 8) and then the water really began to flow. Throwing balloons between teams followed by seeing how much water we could get from one bucket to the next using just a mophead. By now we were really working well, had sorted team tactics and managed to fill the bucket to overflowing -the first team to do so. However we felt we hadn't gotten quite wet enough so the buckets of water went flying. No-one was spared. Even our official got wet and we didn't lose points!
We tied for the fastest balanced broomhandle race but it was the bean bags that let us down. Although we actually scored quite well and had the highest personal score for one of our players it was there that we lost the vital points and became the first place losers (second place). We actually won the most number of games but hey - it was really good fun and we have a certificate now hanging in the OR department.
The BBQ was only slightly delayed and considering all this is done either on the ship or dockside we had a great time watching the sunset as we all ate outside. the rain began just as we were walking in to the ship. The presentation in the lounge was a mix of speakers who had worked on other Mercyship vessels and powerpoint presentations. This was followed by a celebratory chocolate cake in the midships lounge area otherwise known as town square.
Having walked 4 miles first thing this morning with a friend to a particular shop around doing my washing it's been a remarkably full day with a lot of laughter. God I'm sure was laughing with us and enjoyed seeing his people play.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Friday October 17
Well I have 7 sleeps left on the ship. Time really does pass by so quickly and I feel like I've only just arrived. Today we said goodbye to several of the team as they travel home, two ladies from NI, a guy from the States and two surgeons, both from Oz. Next week will be strange without them but we have new staff and surgeons coming onboard. I did a quick count today and at our morning meet around the board in the OR department There were 11 different nationalities represented.
Our meet around the board in the mornings is at the start of the day but after any meetings for in the international lounge, this morning being programz reporting. i.e. different departments talking about what they are doing. Any changes to the lists are discussed and there is freedom to bring up any issues about equipment. The doctors are present too so that they have an input . After the morning, someone will pray for the day. This morning one of our translators prayed. Earlier this week our swedish nurse prayed - in Swedish as as she felt more comfortable praying in her own language. And there is absolutely no problem with this.
I started my morning down at the dockside watching the YAG laser being used on eye patients. As the patients who have cataracts frequently develop secondary cataracts after their surgery they come back 6weeks post op to have the laser treatment. It takes literally seconds. In the UK this would only be done if there was definite signs of a cataract but we will be leaving Liberia in about 6 weeks so they are done as a routine part of post op care.
Afterwards I had chance to work with one of the Aussie surgeons removing quite a substantial thyroid. Then spent some time trying to sort out a minature set of plate and screws. They are used in facial reconstruction work. Some of the screws are just 3mm long. So a busy and varied day.
Tonight I watched one of four films about the history of Liberia. Tonight's film looked at the 50's through to the early nineties and included the early part of the civil war. There were some graphic scenes in it and sometimes one can only wonder at just how inhuman man can be to his fellow man.
But on a rather more cheerful note, tomorrow is Saturday and we have the games which I have been warned could be wet. Not such a problem outside the ship as it will be warm but more of a problem inside with the air con running!! - Happy days
Our meet around the board in the mornings is at the start of the day but after any meetings for in the international lounge, this morning being programz reporting. i.e. different departments talking about what they are doing. Any changes to the lists are discussed and there is freedom to bring up any issues about equipment. The doctors are present too so that they have an input . After the morning, someone will pray for the day. This morning one of our translators prayed. Earlier this week our swedish nurse prayed - in Swedish as as she felt more comfortable praying in her own language. And there is absolutely no problem with this.
I started my morning down at the dockside watching the YAG laser being used on eye patients. As the patients who have cataracts frequently develop secondary cataracts after their surgery they come back 6weeks post op to have the laser treatment. It takes literally seconds. In the UK this would only be done if there was definite signs of a cataract but we will be leaving Liberia in about 6 weeks so they are done as a routine part of post op care.
Afterwards I had chance to work with one of the Aussie surgeons removing quite a substantial thyroid. Then spent some time trying to sort out a minature set of plate and screws. They are used in facial reconstruction work. Some of the screws are just 3mm long. So a busy and varied day.
Tonight I watched one of four films about the history of Liberia. Tonight's film looked at the 50's through to the early nineties and included the early part of the civil war. There were some graphic scenes in it and sometimes one can only wonder at just how inhuman man can be to his fellow man.
But on a rather more cheerful note, tomorrow is Saturday and we have the games which I have been warned could be wet. Not such a problem outside the ship as it will be warm but more of a problem inside with the air con running!! - Happy days
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Thursday October 16
Our esteemed leader in eye theatres remains poorly so we have managed the day without her but we have missed her. Why is it that it's always the last general anaesthetic patient that has problems - not severe, but just enough to not make things straightforward? Such are the days here.
And where else would you find Consultant Ophthalmic surgeon who is also one of the directors of the organisation, playing his guitar as part of the worship group, at the community evening meeting. Again this is what makes Mercy Ships unique. Apart for the largest NGO hospital ship, simply the way that everyone "mucks in", and does so willingly.
I've had chance today to spend some time down on the ward with the patients singing again and they really do enjoy it. Two of the men down there are reading the bibles provided and singing with gusto. My prayer is that when they return home they will continue to read their bibles and find a church close by they can attend.
What with laundry, fitting in dinner, the ward time and community meeting it's been a busy time from finishing work at 5.00pm. There is always a treat after community meeting, Tonight it was ice-cream - always good.
I've also managed to raise a team for the 30th anniversary games on Saturday and a meal out on Tuesday evening. Social organiser too as well as baker. The dining room supervisor has discovered that someone can use the bananas that go off so I have a load more banana cake to make. Better hope it's a wet Sunday afternoon and I don't want to go to the beach!!
And where else would you find Consultant Ophthalmic surgeon who is also one of the directors of the organisation, playing his guitar as part of the worship group, at the community evening meeting. Again this is what makes Mercy Ships unique. Apart for the largest NGO hospital ship, simply the way that everyone "mucks in", and does so willingly.
I've had chance today to spend some time down on the ward with the patients singing again and they really do enjoy it. Two of the men down there are reading the bibles provided and singing with gusto. My prayer is that when they return home they will continue to read their bibles and find a church close by they can attend.
What with laundry, fitting in dinner, the ward time and community meeting it's been a busy time from finishing work at 5.00pm. There is always a treat after community meeting, Tonight it was ice-cream - always good.
I've also managed to raise a team for the 30th anniversary games on Saturday and a meal out on Tuesday evening. Social organiser too as well as baker. The dining room supervisor has discovered that someone can use the bananas that go off so I have a load more banana cake to make. Better hope it's a wet Sunday afternoon and I don't want to go to the beach!!
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Wednesday October 15
Halfway through my time and having absolutely no regrets about being here. In the UK I'm sure I wouldn't see the type of old injuries to eyes that I've seen here. Quite amazing. And these make up part of my working day. I'm so pleased that I have an eye speacialist nurse working with me as we did a couple of things today that I hadn't seen.
But the beginning of the day started with a lovely story. One I had heard before but nonetheless worth listening too. it was about a baby born very prematurely. Doctors told the parents to prepare for the worst. Certain the baby wouldn't survive the dad tried to talk to the mum about a funeral service but she was determind the baby would live. Doctors at every stage of slight improvement continued to prophesize gloom and doom. As a new born prem her parents couldn't even cuddle their baby as her nerves were so underdeveloped it caused her immense pain. Despite all the odds the baby did survive and at the age of five years, talking non stop to her mum while watching her big brother play ball suddenly said,"Can you smell it?" "Smell what?" she replied. the daughter repeated her question. Thinking she meant the oncoming rain her mum said "Yes it's the rain". "No can you smell Him?" she asked. Her mum was now really puzzled. Then the light dawned. As christians her parents had prayed for her. What their daughter had remembered was the smell of Father God who had laid her gently on his chest to cuddle her her when her parents couldn't.
We too can know that closeness of God. I hope that as I work with patients, praying with them before they come through for surgery that they will be come aware of the closeness of Father God.
I have also apart from listening to stories done some work, been to the gym and walked to Benin. Part of making sure that I don't injure myself on Saturday when the OR team enter into the games that are being held here to celebrate 30 years of Mercy Ships. We have been assured that we don't have to be fit for the games but it's worth taking precautions! These will be followed by a BBQ on the dock and then a vidoe of 30 years of Mercy ships and a worship service. Should be a fun day.
But the beginning of the day started with a lovely story. One I had heard before but nonetheless worth listening too. it was about a baby born very prematurely. Doctors told the parents to prepare for the worst. Certain the baby wouldn't survive the dad tried to talk to the mum about a funeral service but she was determind the baby would live. Doctors at every stage of slight improvement continued to prophesize gloom and doom. As a new born prem her parents couldn't even cuddle their baby as her nerves were so underdeveloped it caused her immense pain. Despite all the odds the baby did survive and at the age of five years, talking non stop to her mum while watching her big brother play ball suddenly said,"Can you smell it?" "Smell what?" she replied. the daughter repeated her question. Thinking she meant the oncoming rain her mum said "Yes it's the rain". "No can you smell Him?" she asked. Her mum was now really puzzled. Then the light dawned. As christians her parents had prayed for her. What their daughter had remembered was the smell of Father God who had laid her gently on his chest to cuddle her her when her parents couldn't.
We too can know that closeness of God. I hope that as I work with patients, praying with them before they come through for surgery that they will be come aware of the closeness of Father God.
I have also apart from listening to stories done some work, been to the gym and walked to Benin. Part of making sure that I don't injure myself on Saturday when the OR team enter into the games that are being held here to celebrate 30 years of Mercy Ships. We have been assured that we don't have to be fit for the games but it's worth taking precautions! These will be followed by a BBQ on the dock and then a vidoe of 30 years of Mercy ships and a worship service. Should be a fun day.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Tuesday October 14
"God is good, all the time, all the time God is good". One of the great things about being on the ship is the friendships that are made. Tomorrow an Australian couple are leaving the ship so I was asked if I would like to come and say goodbye to them and "by the way, can you bring something edible with you". Along with half a dozen others I indeed took something edible - banana bread made from scratch (much to the amazement of a young american looking on when I was making last night).
We had such a fun time and even managed to sing a bit having borrowed a guitar. But these friends have invited me to call in if ever I make it to Oz and since I already have reles over there that is a real possibility. Importantly though they have set the example by going to one of the wards and singing with the patients and I'm going to carry that on along with a couple of others while I am still onboard.
As for work, oh yes, that place where I have so much fun ... same again with the same team so now we are working well together. we are getting to the stage of not having to ask all the time for things as they appear. One of our patients caused us a little anaesthetic problem and took rather more than the average amount of drugs to get hime to sleep. It just goes to show that one has to be prepared for all eventualities especially onboard ship. With changes of staff caused by emergencies on the ward we all need to be very adaptable. As one anaesthetist said, " This is just so different to the usual day"
And it is. No 2 days are ever the same. Sometimes we don't have exactly what we would like but we all just get on with it. No temper tantrums, no toys thrown out of the pram, just a calm acceptance and a quick think of how to resolve the problem together.
The other little jaunt I had was to visit the engine rooms down in the bowels of the ship. A planned visit and good to find out what it was that kept me awake last time I was here and slept on the second deck. this time I'm on 3rd deck and its so much cooler!! God is good......
We had such a fun time and even managed to sing a bit having borrowed a guitar. But these friends have invited me to call in if ever I make it to Oz and since I already have reles over there that is a real possibility. Importantly though they have set the example by going to one of the wards and singing with the patients and I'm going to carry that on along with a couple of others while I am still onboard.
As for work, oh yes, that place where I have so much fun ... same again with the same team so now we are working well together. we are getting to the stage of not having to ask all the time for things as they appear. One of our patients caused us a little anaesthetic problem and took rather more than the average amount of drugs to get hime to sleep. It just goes to show that one has to be prepared for all eventualities especially onboard ship. With changes of staff caused by emergencies on the ward we all need to be very adaptable. As one anaesthetist said, " This is just so different to the usual day"
And it is. No 2 days are ever the same. Sometimes we don't have exactly what we would like but we all just get on with it. No temper tantrums, no toys thrown out of the pram, just a calm acceptance and a quick think of how to resolve the problem together.
The other little jaunt I had was to visit the engine rooms down in the bowels of the ship. A planned visit and good to find out what it was that kept me awake last time I was here and slept on the second deck. this time I'm on 3rd deck and its so much cooler!! God is good......
Monday, 13 October 2008
Monday October 13
My day started early as I just couldn't sleep. Having watched sunset last night I saw an unspectacular sunrise. The dock became increasingly busy with people walking and running in the vague coolness of the morning. I spent some reading my bible up on the 7th deck. It can be quite difficult at times to find quiet places to be on one's own but I managed this morning. I started reading Mark's gospel which summarises the first 30 years of Christs life into a very short space. The remainder tends to focus on what he did. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it in a short space of time and seeing what God wants to teach me through it.
I was back in the eye theatre (OR) again today and I suspect I'll be there all week. It's really quite fun as both the surgeons have a good sense of humour. working with a specialist eye nurse is great. Anneli is brilliant at explaining things so I can understand. We had a new nurse join us today so we were both teaching too.
This evening I was invited to attend the Toastmasters Meeting. It's an organisation set up to help people with public speaking and a level of leadership too. There is an official Toastmaster group on the ship. The speakers for the evening can choose the subject and are then assessed by others. I had been invited to attend but was a little surprised to be asked to speak too!
During the meeting they had 2 people speak as part of their assessment and then had "Table Top Topics" where people have to speak for no more than 2 minutes with little notice. I was asked to speak about a person who had influenced my life. I spoke about Uncle Dick - not a real uncle but someone who was very dear to me, had a huge influence on my life and who prayed for me regularly. I actually tole a couple of funny stories to illustrate my points.
Banana cake had to be made ready for a little celebration tomorrow as 2 crew members leave to return to Oz. They live in the same town as my grandmother lived and I thought Australia was such a huge place!
I have been sent 2 lovely photographs of my grandaughter - hockey stick in hand. Her aunty Boo is getting her ready to play early in life by the looks of it.......
I was back in the eye theatre (OR) again today and I suspect I'll be there all week. It's really quite fun as both the surgeons have a good sense of humour. working with a specialist eye nurse is great. Anneli is brilliant at explaining things so I can understand. We had a new nurse join us today so we were both teaching too.
This evening I was invited to attend the Toastmasters Meeting. It's an organisation set up to help people with public speaking and a level of leadership too. There is an official Toastmaster group on the ship. The speakers for the evening can choose the subject and are then assessed by others. I had been invited to attend but was a little surprised to be asked to speak too!
During the meeting they had 2 people speak as part of their assessment and then had "Table Top Topics" where people have to speak for no more than 2 minutes with little notice. I was asked to speak about a person who had influenced my life. I spoke about Uncle Dick - not a real uncle but someone who was very dear to me, had a huge influence on my life and who prayed for me regularly. I actually tole a couple of funny stories to illustrate my points.
Banana cake had to be made ready for a little celebration tomorrow as 2 crew members leave to return to Oz. They live in the same town as my grandmother lived and I thought Australia was such a huge place!
I have been sent 2 lovely photographs of my grandaughter - hockey stick in hand. Her aunty Boo is getting her ready to play early in life by the looks of it.......
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Sunday October 12
Doesn't time fly when you're enjoying yourself. I've already been here for a week.
This morning I went to a local church with several others. The drumkit has definitely seen better days although the drumsticks were new! These drums certainly don't need to be miked up as the drummers are so enthusiastic they just hit the skins very hard. They even give quick flourishes as the preacher is speaking. In a church which has a timber structure with woven walls and a tin roof, they are loud, very very loud. The service lasted about one and a half hours. The worship team was 2 singers and the drums. 3 offerings were taken, 2 at the same time but rather than going round with baskets everyone walks round the church and places their gift in a box at the front of the church along with singing and dancing.
The beach then beckoned and so I returned to the ship and met up with a few others and went off to the beach for the afternoon. It was actually cool by Liberian standards and certainly not warm enough for me to take a dip. In fact at one point there were rumbles of thunder and it rained. Parasols on the beach of thatch kept us dry. The ship has several vehicles that are available for this kind of trip provided they are booked and everyone makes a contribution to the cost of the fuel - typically $1.00 for a short trip like the beach run but no-one has to pay to go to church on the vehicles so everyone has a chance of going.
After dinner I borrowed a guitar with nylon strings (much easier on the fingertips) and went to the ward with others to sing on the with the patients. They absolutely love these times and it's a way of reaching them with the gospel. Some of the songs I haven't sung in a long time but I learned to play folk guitar with some of these old choruses. In fact I remembered more than I thought I would and have even learned some new ones.
All things considered it's been a quiet day and I watched the sunset, not as spectacular as it has been on other evenings but I was on my own and had time to reflect on the way God paints the colours in the skies.
This morning I went to a local church with several others. The drumkit has definitely seen better days although the drumsticks were new! These drums certainly don't need to be miked up as the drummers are so enthusiastic they just hit the skins very hard. They even give quick flourishes as the preacher is speaking. In a church which has a timber structure with woven walls and a tin roof, they are loud, very very loud. The service lasted about one and a half hours. The worship team was 2 singers and the drums. 3 offerings were taken, 2 at the same time but rather than going round with baskets everyone walks round the church and places their gift in a box at the front of the church along with singing and dancing.
The beach then beckoned and so I returned to the ship and met up with a few others and went off to the beach for the afternoon. It was actually cool by Liberian standards and certainly not warm enough for me to take a dip. In fact at one point there were rumbles of thunder and it rained. Parasols on the beach of thatch kept us dry. The ship has several vehicles that are available for this kind of trip provided they are booked and everyone makes a contribution to the cost of the fuel - typically $1.00 for a short trip like the beach run but no-one has to pay to go to church on the vehicles so everyone has a chance of going.
After dinner I borrowed a guitar with nylon strings (much easier on the fingertips) and went to the ward with others to sing on the with the patients. They absolutely love these times and it's a way of reaching them with the gospel. Some of the songs I haven't sung in a long time but I learned to play folk guitar with some of these old choruses. In fact I remembered more than I thought I would and have even learned some new ones.
All things considered it's been a quiet day and I watched the sunset, not as spectacular as it has been on other evenings but I was on my own and had time to reflect on the way God paints the colours in the skies.
Saturday, 11 October 2008
Saturday 11 October
I really don't believe what happened this morning. At 5.55am there was an announcement over the ship's tannoy for the medical emergency team (MET) to report to ward B. Whilst not part of the MET OR staff are strongly advised to show up as there may be a need to take the patient into OR. Duly attending it was decided that the patient did not require to go to the OR.
So I collected my mug and went to the dining room for tea. A couple of mugs later, the shower was the next stop followed by a trip to the laundry room where I had booked a washing machine. Before I had time to sort my washing, a second call came over the tannoy for the MET to attend B ward. I shot past one of the other OR staff who had walked into the laundry 5 seconds before the annoucement.
We ended taking the patient to the OR as we thought we may need to put in a tracheostomy tube. After due examination under general anaesthetic it was decided that wasn't required but that the patient would be ventilated and spend 48 hours in ICU waiting for the sweeling to go down. After helping with arterial lines and transfering the patient, I went to the dining room for coffee.
By the time I went to the laundry room my washing had been done by the colleague from OR whom I had shot by earlier and was in the drier even separating the whites out. That act of kindness is very typical on the ship.
Having sat and read for a short time to soak up the rays I went out with Christian (from Benin) and Ria (from Holland). We went to call on friends of theirs and then to the YWAM centre. It was great just to be off the boat and seeing a little more of Monrovia and experiencing some of the potholes.
We were back in good time for dinner, after which I was sought out to help with singing down on one of the wards. One of the guys who came with us explained very simply about becoming a Christian by sharing his testimony. we sang songs and prayed with them. all in all about an hour with the patients.
As we sat round sharing popcorn and Starbucks (please note coffeemate!!) we shared some of our funny stories. One of the girls is a real good storyteller and had us in stitches with her nursing home jokes.
By the way, I had an early wake up call on a Saturday when I was here in June for exactly the same reason..MMmmmmmmm
So I collected my mug and went to the dining room for tea. A couple of mugs later, the shower was the next stop followed by a trip to the laundry room where I had booked a washing machine. Before I had time to sort my washing, a second call came over the tannoy for the MET to attend B ward. I shot past one of the other OR staff who had walked into the laundry 5 seconds before the annoucement.
We ended taking the patient to the OR as we thought we may need to put in a tracheostomy tube. After due examination under general anaesthetic it was decided that wasn't required but that the patient would be ventilated and spend 48 hours in ICU waiting for the sweeling to go down. After helping with arterial lines and transfering the patient, I went to the dining room for coffee.
By the time I went to the laundry room my washing had been done by the colleague from OR whom I had shot by earlier and was in the drier even separating the whites out. That act of kindness is very typical on the ship.
Having sat and read for a short time to soak up the rays I went out with Christian (from Benin) and Ria (from Holland). We went to call on friends of theirs and then to the YWAM centre. It was great just to be off the boat and seeing a little more of Monrovia and experiencing some of the potholes.
We were back in good time for dinner, after which I was sought out to help with singing down on one of the wards. One of the guys who came with us explained very simply about becoming a Christian by sharing his testimony. we sang songs and prayed with them. all in all about an hour with the patients.
As we sat round sharing popcorn and Starbucks (please note coffeemate!!) we shared some of our funny stories. One of the girls is a real good storyteller and had us in stitches with her nursing home jokes.
By the way, I had an early wake up call on a Saturday when I was here in June for exactly the same reason..MMmmmmmmm
Friday, 10 October 2008
Friday October 10
Well, the good news is the cake worked. It all disappeared at some speed. That was after the program reporting which happens every Friday. This week though was the turn of OR and its report consisted of 2 stories - one a case that was not going well - a 4 months old airway was proving very difficult to manage as a tumour was being removed from his neck so much so that the translator asked if she could pray for the infant. It proved a pivotal point and from that moment there were no more problems. The second story was about a flood in the department caused when a sprinkler was accidentally knocked. 60 gallons of water per minute causes something of a flood. Teamwork by the whole crew of the ship sorted out the clear up.
My first case this morning was on a one year old who had managed to fall over and break his two front teeth. The remaining parts just had to come out. there is a crew dentist on board from Norway who came to complete the deed. it took longer to anaesthetise the infant than for him to pull the roots out. The nappy on the child nearly defeated me. There were 4 layers!!! The state of the child's teeth were not good, probably had never seen a toothbrush so the dentist took the opportunity to teach the father about the importance of brushing his son's teeth.
Outstanding paperwork had to be completed and involved a trip down to the eye clinic on the dockside. I had hoped to be able to stay and watch the YAG laser being used but quite a few patients were "no shows" so I missed out on that today - maybe next week.
The rest of the day was spent with a plastics surgeon who in the UK specialises in treating cancer. Seeing half a mandible removed and a plate put in place is quite something. I then had to introduce a new canadian anaesthetist to the mercy ships style of anaesthesia. Here they have to collect together their own tubes, airways, laryngoscopes and anything they think they may require. There is no ODP or anaesthetic nurse to do it for them. There is an anaesthetic tech in the department but she was having a well deserved day off. I helped him as much as I could and everything was fine. I think he was a little surprised when I mentioned that he had to clean down his own machine at the end of the list and restock what he had used. Imagine that in the UK.
Tonight I walked 3 miles in my bid to add to the total miles walked to Benin. After supper I went to watch a film called "Iron Ladies". it followed the first year of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's first year of presidency. She has several women in high positions and is keen to move the country on after 14 years of civil war. She came to power 3 years ago and is still the President. Things are improving in Liberia so she is beginning to make progress.
With coffee came singing and a small group of us got together quite informally. Dutch, Brits, Ozzies and US. Amazing number of songs in common, some translated into other languages. But the common theme of Christ threaded through it all. It was good fun and very relaxed. I'm on call tonight but I very much doubt I'll be called..
My first case this morning was on a one year old who had managed to fall over and break his two front teeth. The remaining parts just had to come out. there is a crew dentist on board from Norway who came to complete the deed. it took longer to anaesthetise the infant than for him to pull the roots out. The nappy on the child nearly defeated me. There were 4 layers!!! The state of the child's teeth were not good, probably had never seen a toothbrush so the dentist took the opportunity to teach the father about the importance of brushing his son's teeth.
Outstanding paperwork had to be completed and involved a trip down to the eye clinic on the dockside. I had hoped to be able to stay and watch the YAG laser being used but quite a few patients were "no shows" so I missed out on that today - maybe next week.
The rest of the day was spent with a plastics surgeon who in the UK specialises in treating cancer. Seeing half a mandible removed and a plate put in place is quite something. I then had to introduce a new canadian anaesthetist to the mercy ships style of anaesthesia. Here they have to collect together their own tubes, airways, laryngoscopes and anything they think they may require. There is no ODP or anaesthetic nurse to do it for them. There is an anaesthetic tech in the department but she was having a well deserved day off. I helped him as much as I could and everything was fine. I think he was a little surprised when I mentioned that he had to clean down his own machine at the end of the list and restock what he had used. Imagine that in the UK.
Tonight I walked 3 miles in my bid to add to the total miles walked to Benin. After supper I went to watch a film called "Iron Ladies". it followed the first year of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's first year of presidency. She has several women in high positions and is keen to move the country on after 14 years of civil war. She came to power 3 years ago and is still the President. Things are improving in Liberia so she is beginning to make progress.
With coffee came singing and a small group of us got together quite informally. Dutch, Brits, Ozzies and US. Amazing number of songs in common, some translated into other languages. But the common theme of Christ threaded through it all. It was good fun and very relaxed. I'm on call tonight but I very much doubt I'll be called..
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Thursday 9 October
I discovered that out of the three nursing staff working in room 6 today I'm from the furthest south. Catherine travelled from Oban and Annelie from a town 800 km north of Stockholm. For those for whom Geography was not one of your strongest subjects at school, that's still 200 km short of the arctic circle. The sun rises about 20m on December 22. Sunrise and sunset all rolled in to one.
And yet there the eye surgeons have developed a technique whereby they inject a patients eye immediately before surgery and the pupil dilates immediately. Thus there is no putting of regular drops in the eye for an hour before surgery no need for eye shields and much less time spent in the hospital. Sounds good to me..
So there is staff development whilst we work and laugh and have some good fun. How many of you have ever seen an eye surgeon checking instruments using the ophthalmic microscope? The picture was superb and crystal clear.
Meanwhile 30 procedures were carried out in the eye OR's alone. The advantage of having 3 surgeons working all at once in 2 rooms. Inputting data into the computer afterwards helps to slow me down when I've been impersonating the whirling dervlish for the previous 7 hours.
I found time to go shopping in the onboard shop, so there is cake tomorrow for OR. Variation on a theme but I think it's worked. The cake has risen so I'm hopeful.
Thursday evenings is community meeting, Rather like a midweek service to which all crew members are encouraged to attend. Much like a Sunday service there is worship, prayer, testimony and preaching of the word. Tonight Henry Gwami, senior chaplain was speaking about us using our gifts and making sure that we did not lose sight of those gifts. Are we really using to the full , the gifts God has given, in serving on the ship and within the community here. After the meeting there is always an edible treat in the town square and I joined with folk I hadn't met before. They are retired teachers and are working both in hospitality but also some teaching in the academy - music and art.
I'm hoping to be able to go down to the dockside tomorrow to see the YAG laser being used with the eye patients. Better go and make sure my camera is charged........
And yet there the eye surgeons have developed a technique whereby they inject a patients eye immediately before surgery and the pupil dilates immediately. Thus there is no putting of regular drops in the eye for an hour before surgery no need for eye shields and much less time spent in the hospital. Sounds good to me..
So there is staff development whilst we work and laugh and have some good fun. How many of you have ever seen an eye surgeon checking instruments using the ophthalmic microscope? The picture was superb and crystal clear.
Meanwhile 30 procedures were carried out in the eye OR's alone. The advantage of having 3 surgeons working all at once in 2 rooms. Inputting data into the computer afterwards helps to slow me down when I've been impersonating the whirling dervlish for the previous 7 hours.
I found time to go shopping in the onboard shop, so there is cake tomorrow for OR. Variation on a theme but I think it's worked. The cake has risen so I'm hopeful.
Thursday evenings is community meeting, Rather like a midweek service to which all crew members are encouraged to attend. Much like a Sunday service there is worship, prayer, testimony and preaching of the word. Tonight Henry Gwami, senior chaplain was speaking about us using our gifts and making sure that we did not lose sight of those gifts. Are we really using to the full , the gifts God has given, in serving on the ship and within the community here. After the meeting there is always an edible treat in the town square and I joined with folk I hadn't met before. They are retired teachers and are working both in hospitality but also some teaching in the academy - music and art.
I'm hoping to be able to go down to the dockside tomorrow to see the YAG laser being used with the eye patients. Better go and make sure my camera is charged........
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Wednesday October 8th
Another busy day today. 13 eye cases to scrub for - just in my OR and with me the only one scrubbing. The connecting eye OR completed 17 cases with 2 scrub nurses and included patients having procedures completed under general anaesthetic.
Another 24 patients can see because of the surgery they have had today and an adult with double vision because of a squint will see straight tomorrow (when her eye patch comes off). Here in Liberia an operation like that can completely change a persons life as they can again look for work or simply be able to fulfill tasks that others have had to do for them because they couldn't see.
The other 3 operating rooms have been just as busy with plastic surgery and head and neck surgery. Huge goitres have been removed and large parotid tumours (one on an 8 year old girl).
I have again met some really good people here and am making more new friends fast including a couple from Nowra in Australia - a stone's throw away from some of my relatives. Mealtimes are never lonely. It's quite expected custom and practice to join a table if there's a spare seat. Thankfully English is the official language onboard but just how many versions are there - probably about 30 at present as that is how many nationalities there are onboard at present.
I missed out on the french lessons tonight. As the ship will be in Benin next year the crew are being offered the chance to learn french (no cost apart from time to attend the class). The walking to Benin project seems to have inspired some keen walkers of all shapes and sizes. I managed about 2 and a half miles tonight. It's more fun with a friend as the dock can be pretty boring especially in the dark. There is some street lighting which comes on when it is completely inky black dark. I'm sure the crickets have something to do with this as the cacophony of sound starts so suddenly Literally it's reasonably quiet then suddenly they all start and boy, are they noisy!!
I've arranged an afternoon out on Saturday so will buying supplies for cake baking - I have a reputation to maintain in taking cake to work each week. The onboard shop is just a little limited and being american has mainly cake mixes. It's more fun to try and buy the ingredients or think of substitutes. Golden syrup is not available but Hershey's chocolate syrup and maple syrup can both be bought. So it adds a different flavour to my usual fodder.
Tomorrow brings more eyes........
Another 24 patients can see because of the surgery they have had today and an adult with double vision because of a squint will see straight tomorrow (when her eye patch comes off). Here in Liberia an operation like that can completely change a persons life as they can again look for work or simply be able to fulfill tasks that others have had to do for them because they couldn't see.
The other 3 operating rooms have been just as busy with plastic surgery and head and neck surgery. Huge goitres have been removed and large parotid tumours (one on an 8 year old girl).
I have again met some really good people here and am making more new friends fast including a couple from Nowra in Australia - a stone's throw away from some of my relatives. Mealtimes are never lonely. It's quite expected custom and practice to join a table if there's a spare seat. Thankfully English is the official language onboard but just how many versions are there - probably about 30 at present as that is how many nationalities there are onboard at present.
I missed out on the french lessons tonight. As the ship will be in Benin next year the crew are being offered the chance to learn french (no cost apart from time to attend the class). The walking to Benin project seems to have inspired some keen walkers of all shapes and sizes. I managed about 2 and a half miles tonight. It's more fun with a friend as the dock can be pretty boring especially in the dark. There is some street lighting which comes on when it is completely inky black dark. I'm sure the crickets have something to do with this as the cacophony of sound starts so suddenly Literally it's reasonably quiet then suddenly they all start and boy, are they noisy!!
I've arranged an afternoon out on Saturday so will buying supplies for cake baking - I have a reputation to maintain in taking cake to work each week. The onboard shop is just a little limited and being american has mainly cake mixes. It's more fun to try and buy the ingredients or think of substitutes. Golden syrup is not available but Hershey's chocolate syrup and maple syrup can both be bought. So it adds a different flavour to my usual fodder.
Tomorrow brings more eyes........
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Tuesday October 7
So the day brought EYES and plenty of them. I was a little rusty in places but rather like riding a bike, it all came back to me.
I worked for part of the time with Dr Glenn Strauss with whom I worked last time but spent the remainder of the time with an ophthalmologist from Oz. Even scrubbed for phaeco - so watch out when I come home workmates!!
I'm still meeting people whom I met last time one of whom really couldn't believe it was me. She was actually speechless.
The ship is "walking to Benin". In an effort to encourage fitness among the crew a map has been drawn up of the coast from Liberia to Benin. It's just over 900 miles and crew are encouraged to form teams of no more than 6 and then record the number of miles walked by the team. There is a measured distance. By walking from one end of the dock to the UN gates and back a distance of one mile is covered. So tonight I walked a mile, not far I know but I had a busy evening ahead.
The chaplins on the ship invite all new crew members round for a coffee after dinner one evening and just spend a social hour with the crew. It's quite fun and a good way to meet other new crew members.
Then there was a DVD to watch in the international lounge by a guy who has no arms and very little in the way of legs. He's an evangelist and visited the ship last week. I really enjoyed his DVD and he was actually speaking to a school group. Nonetheless his message was clear and very applicable to young people who often have their own doubts about understanding who they are. His point was that no matter what they thought of themselves or what problems they had, they did not need to walk through them alone, that they could walk with Christ.
Lastly I had to unpack - yes, my case has arrived and the purser very kindly went to pick it up for me from the airlines office in the city. Even more grateful as it was pouring with rain when he collected it. Perhaps what struck me more though was the way friends lent me clothes to keep me going in the interim. So tomorrow I have to decide which scrubs to wear......
I worked for part of the time with Dr Glenn Strauss with whom I worked last time but spent the remainder of the time with an ophthalmologist from Oz. Even scrubbed for phaeco - so watch out when I come home workmates!!
I'm still meeting people whom I met last time one of whom really couldn't believe it was me. She was actually speechless.
The ship is "walking to Benin". In an effort to encourage fitness among the crew a map has been drawn up of the coast from Liberia to Benin. It's just over 900 miles and crew are encouraged to form teams of no more than 6 and then record the number of miles walked by the team. There is a measured distance. By walking from one end of the dock to the UN gates and back a distance of one mile is covered. So tonight I walked a mile, not far I know but I had a busy evening ahead.
The chaplins on the ship invite all new crew members round for a coffee after dinner one evening and just spend a social hour with the crew. It's quite fun and a good way to meet other new crew members.
Then there was a DVD to watch in the international lounge by a guy who has no arms and very little in the way of legs. He's an evangelist and visited the ship last week. I really enjoyed his DVD and he was actually speaking to a school group. Nonetheless his message was clear and very applicable to young people who often have their own doubts about understanding who they are. His point was that no matter what they thought of themselves or what problems they had, they did not need to walk through them alone, that they could walk with Christ.
Lastly I had to unpack - yes, my case has arrived and the purser very kindly went to pick it up for me from the airlines office in the city. Even more grateful as it was pouring with rain when he collected it. Perhaps what struck me more though was the way friends lent me clothes to keep me going in the interim. So tomorrow I have to decide which scrubs to wear......
Monday, 6 October 2008
Monday October 6
So I came back..
Arriving at Brussels airport when I should have already been on my way from Brussels to Monrovia didn't help with the changeover of planes. Having landed at 12.15pm instead of 09.45 UK time I along with several others were escorted with some haste to the awaiting plane. Our suitcases did not however share in the fun. They were duly left I assume on the tarmac, or the luggage conveyor, of Brussels airport. Leastways they didn't make it to Monrovia. Maybe Tuesday or Thursday or Saturday I'll see my case again. Few Mercy shippers lose their case permanently. The only irreplaceable item is my memory stick as it has all my photos on from the last trip - and yes I know I should have downloaded them but where to??
I was able to slip to the beach for a few hours this morning - it being ship's holiday (long weekend off) and this afternoon went to the OR to help Glenys rearrange on of the OR rooms back to an eye OR. Orientation with the new staff - of which there a quite a few passed the remainder of the afternoon. A little more orientation after dinner and trying to access my emails has filled the rest of the day pretty well.
What has been great is meeting up with friends I made on the last trip. They are all just so pleased to see me - even more will recognise me once I have my own scrub suits to wear again!!
And who knows what tomorrow will bring - maybe plastics - maybe eyes. I'm easy either way. That's for a blog update tomorrow.
Arriving at Brussels airport when I should have already been on my way from Brussels to Monrovia didn't help with the changeover of planes. Having landed at 12.15pm instead of 09.45 UK time I along with several others were escorted with some haste to the awaiting plane. Our suitcases did not however share in the fun. They were duly left I assume on the tarmac, or the luggage conveyor, of Brussels airport. Leastways they didn't make it to Monrovia. Maybe Tuesday or Thursday or Saturday I'll see my case again. Few Mercy shippers lose their case permanently. The only irreplaceable item is my memory stick as it has all my photos on from the last trip - and yes I know I should have downloaded them but where to??
I was able to slip to the beach for a few hours this morning - it being ship's holiday (long weekend off) and this afternoon went to the OR to help Glenys rearrange on of the OR rooms back to an eye OR. Orientation with the new staff - of which there a quite a few passed the remainder of the afternoon. A little more orientation after dinner and trying to access my emails has filled the rest of the day pretty well.
What has been great is meeting up with friends I made on the last trip. They are all just so pleased to see me - even more will recognise me once I have my own scrub suits to wear again!!
And who knows what tomorrow will bring - maybe plastics - maybe eyes. I'm easy either way. That's for a blog update tomorrow.
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Saturday June 28
Bong Mines is an amazing place to visit. if you look on google you will find it listed. What it may not tell you is how the staff from Mercyships manage to find their way there. A simple trip in a landrover or three to a railway point. Drive onto the flat bed rail carriage and then sit either on the bonnet or roof of landrover while the train chugs away for the next 2 hours passing through lush green vegetation and view a wide variety of homes, some more like shanty towns others obviously owned by the wealthy.
Todays visit was my idea and having started with a list that would allow 9 people to go plus a driver, I ended up with 23 people, 3 drivers and 3 vehicles. The rail journey was great fun as we sat and talked, waved to countless excited children and burned in the hot sun.
Saturday was washing day judging by the amount of clothes being dried "African Style" i.e. on the nearst bushes or simply laid on rocks or grass to dry. it wouldn't have taken long to day although if left out all day would have been soaked by a very short but very heavy downpour. It looked as if it was snowing the raindrops were so big!
The most unusual thing I observed was a scarecrow. You really don't see many of those in Liberia.
The driver in whose landrover I rode, is a day worker on the ship. In 2000 he was working at the Bong Mine from where they excavted iron ore for a german owned company. Rebels came and decimated the workforce very simply. They shot the workers of particular tribes. Later he took us to Elijah valley (see Elijah 39 in the old testament) so called because of the numbers of bodies the rebels threw in there. rather gruesome but there are no "dry bones" found there. Rains and animals have sorted that out. A new mine is being opened by the chinese as there are still rich deposits of iron ore in the area. There were a couple of lakes which appeared as the previous owners were mining at greater depths. The lakes have a bluish hue to them, affected by the iron ore. This driver took us to the old mining area and we saw the devasted buildings. We also visited the hospital which the company had set up, but when they withdrew after the invasion of the rebels so did the support for the hospital. The hospital still has patients but funding is poor. Until a year ago there were german nurses at the hospital.
The ride home on the train took 4 hours as the train broke down and we had to leave one of the carriages carrying iron ore at a siding. Children were still happy to wave and there was evidence of a church service with all the women wearing their colourful dresses and children in their Sunday best clothes.
I had taken a ships mobile phone with me so was able to ensure they kept dinner for us. By the time we got back the sun had set. I was filthy as were a good number of others, partly from simply climbing over pipes, jumping spaces and being around the mine. The rest came from the landrovers and smuts from the train engine.
All that is left to do now is to distribute the items I don't want to take home and then to pack. My rucksack weighed just 14kg on the way over. I dread to think of its weight tomorrow although I will probably be OK.
So here ends the blog. Best moment of the trip was helping a 4 year old girl who had been blind from birth see for the first time but there have been many other memorable moments and new friendships started. Would I come again? Absolutely..
Todays visit was my idea and having started with a list that would allow 9 people to go plus a driver, I ended up with 23 people, 3 drivers and 3 vehicles. The rail journey was great fun as we sat and talked, waved to countless excited children and burned in the hot sun.
Saturday was washing day judging by the amount of clothes being dried "African Style" i.e. on the nearst bushes or simply laid on rocks or grass to dry. it wouldn't have taken long to day although if left out all day would have been soaked by a very short but very heavy downpour. It looked as if it was snowing the raindrops were so big!
The most unusual thing I observed was a scarecrow. You really don't see many of those in Liberia.
The driver in whose landrover I rode, is a day worker on the ship. In 2000 he was working at the Bong Mine from where they excavted iron ore for a german owned company. Rebels came and decimated the workforce very simply. They shot the workers of particular tribes. Later he took us to Elijah valley (see Elijah 39 in the old testament) so called because of the numbers of bodies the rebels threw in there. rather gruesome but there are no "dry bones" found there. Rains and animals have sorted that out. A new mine is being opened by the chinese as there are still rich deposits of iron ore in the area. There were a couple of lakes which appeared as the previous owners were mining at greater depths. The lakes have a bluish hue to them, affected by the iron ore. This driver took us to the old mining area and we saw the devasted buildings. We also visited the hospital which the company had set up, but when they withdrew after the invasion of the rebels so did the support for the hospital. The hospital still has patients but funding is poor. Until a year ago there were german nurses at the hospital.
The ride home on the train took 4 hours as the train broke down and we had to leave one of the carriages carrying iron ore at a siding. Children were still happy to wave and there was evidence of a church service with all the women wearing their colourful dresses and children in their Sunday best clothes.
I had taken a ships mobile phone with me so was able to ensure they kept dinner for us. By the time we got back the sun had set. I was filthy as were a good number of others, partly from simply climbing over pipes, jumping spaces and being around the mine. The rest came from the landrovers and smuts from the train engine.
All that is left to do now is to distribute the items I don't want to take home and then to pack. My rucksack weighed just 14kg on the way over. I dread to think of its weight tomorrow although I will probably be OK.
So here ends the blog. Best moment of the trip was helping a 4 year old girl who had been blind from birth see for the first time but there have been many other memorable moments and new friendships started. Would I come again? Absolutely..
Friday, 27 June 2008
Friday June 27
Ship's holiday has made today very quiet. But this technophobe has managed, without the aid of a safety net, to download onto my memory stick the photos in my camera. A new digital camera has been great but takes a moment or two longer than my old "point and shoot" but does mean less wasted paper.
The ships' computer system also has thousands of photos archived that we are liberty to download. The wide variety of shots means that I don't have to take hundreds of pictures and the ones on the computer are porbably better than mine. This exercise has kept me occupied for a good chunk of the day.
Peter very kindly went to the shop for me that was closed last night as I was on call today. In return I ws able to teach him how to put sterile operating gloves on - there is a special technique for this procedure. He then went to make pavlova so during the intervals spent on the computer I advised him on the cooking of pavlova and started a good discussion on whether pavlova originates from Oz or NZ. There is disagreement about this apparently. I left the crew galley before the food fight commenced (joke) but have yet to sample the the finished product.
As organiser of a trip tomorrow to an old iron ore mine Iwas slightly disturbed for a few minutes when it was thought that we didn't hae enough drivers. Thankfully the issue was soon resolved. We are taking three vehicles - all Landrovers 110's. The trip is largely by train but rather like the Chunnel means the vehicles are driven on to the train. The BIG difference is the lack of roof and sides to the train. The choice is either to stay in the vehicle or to sit on its roof. The train does move slowly so I'm looking forward to the trip. It's been fun organising it in the main so I hope everyone enjoys it.
My cabin mate left this afternoon so I'm on my own for a couple of nights, probably just as well with a 5.3oam alarm call tomorrow. I have a couple of loaves of bread and plates of meat and cheese ready to make sandwiches as some people have taken up the spare places caused by others dropping out. The dining room won't open until after we've left.
It's strange to think that the next group of people to leave the ship will include me. Tonight I sat with a couple of the OR nurses as we drank coffee and just talked about a whole range of issues, some very mundane, others more profound.
I had chance tonight to watch the sun go down and be reminded of the immensity of God. The sun looked as if it had been covered in gold leaf it was so bright.
.
The ships' computer system also has thousands of photos archived that we are liberty to download. The wide variety of shots means that I don't have to take hundreds of pictures and the ones on the computer are porbably better than mine. This exercise has kept me occupied for a good chunk of the day.
Peter very kindly went to the shop for me that was closed last night as I was on call today. In return I ws able to teach him how to put sterile operating gloves on - there is a special technique for this procedure. He then went to make pavlova so during the intervals spent on the computer I advised him on the cooking of pavlova and started a good discussion on whether pavlova originates from Oz or NZ. There is disagreement about this apparently. I left the crew galley before the food fight commenced (joke) but have yet to sample the the finished product.
As organiser of a trip tomorrow to an old iron ore mine Iwas slightly disturbed for a few minutes when it was thought that we didn't hae enough drivers. Thankfully the issue was soon resolved. We are taking three vehicles - all Landrovers 110's. The trip is largely by train but rather like the Chunnel means the vehicles are driven on to the train. The BIG difference is the lack of roof and sides to the train. The choice is either to stay in the vehicle or to sit on its roof. The train does move slowly so I'm looking forward to the trip. It's been fun organising it in the main so I hope everyone enjoys it.
My cabin mate left this afternoon so I'm on my own for a couple of nights, probably just as well with a 5.3oam alarm call tomorrow. I have a couple of loaves of bread and plates of meat and cheese ready to make sandwiches as some people have taken up the spare places caused by others dropping out. The dining room won't open until after we've left.
It's strange to think that the next group of people to leave the ship will include me. Tonight I sat with a couple of the OR nurses as we drank coffee and just talked about a whole range of issues, some very mundane, others more profound.
I had chance tonight to watch the sun go down and be reminded of the immensity of God. The sun looked as if it had been covered in gold leaf it was so bright.
.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Thursday June 26
It's getting close to departure date and yet I feel like I've only recently joined the ship, not been away from home for 3 weeks already.
In order to leave the ship there are a number of signatures that have to be collected on the "release paper", including the bank, the post office and various other departments. Some are on the day of departure and as I want to attend the ward service again I shall not be able to lie-in. Also included as part of the disembarking procedure is an evaluation and debrief with supervisor of your department. I spent about 45 minutes with Alison, my Kiwi supervisor, today in my debrief. The bottom line was that she would allow me back in the department. We even talked about training and professional development needs. Any surprises there?
One of the really good parts of today as there was no eye surgery lists, was being able to go to the dockside to see the patients who had their cataract surgery yesterday. There was a delightful old lady, toothless, with a stick to aid her walking but with the biggest smile I could ever wish to see. it was written all over her face and in her body language. English wasn't necessary to realise that for her, a miracle had been performed as she could see again. I'm sure that had she been physically capable she wold have danced. At this clinic there are day workers who sing and prayer with the patients, telling them the good news of Christ's saving power and love. I had already been to the ward and joined Dr Glenn on his ward round to see the young children we had operated on yesterday too. the eldest was not keen to open his eyes and didn't seem to demonstrate any real sight. Uncertain of how he would do, I found out this evening that having gone to the dockside to get his glasses and to complete a visual acuity test (to see how well he could see) his eyes were working together and he was reaching out to touch and even grab items. We sat among the patients at the dockside and made use of the opportunity to have a "team photo".
I spent the rest of the day helping out wherever necessary, so spent time in orthopaedic OR where they were correcting a severe deformity in a 10 tear old who had a severe deformity of his right leg and elsewhere helping to change a plaster cast on a young boy who had previous surgery to correct a club foot.
A quick trip with a colleague to the tailor who had made a couple of bits for me, back in time for dinner and then a good walk with another couple of friends up to a particular shop which was unfortunately closed when we got there. Peter has very kindly offered to go there for me tomorrow as I'm on call and can't leave the ship. This shop is probably one and a half to one and three-quarters of a mile away so it's no small undertaking. However I shall be giving him a free lesson later on how to put on sterile gloves when he's in the OR....
Sunset happened as we were walking to the shop so by the time we came back it was dark and that's when the streets take on a different life. The braziers are lit and a smell of roasted maize pervades the fumes of the cars. People are pushing wheelbarrows with goods for sale and cyclists are in danger of being knocked off their bikes - no lights on their bikes and passengers rarely look before opening a car door. Traffic drives on the right which has confused me as in East Africa they drive on the left. At what point do they change over and how??
The speaker at the community meeting this week was the patient services co-ordinator. She again reminded us about trusting God and spoke from her own experiences. After the meeting I had been invited to join others from OR who are also leaving over the next couple of days for coffee and cake which another member had prepared. It was fun just to spend time together socially. So tomorrow brings the boring bits I guess. Sorting out laundry, what I need to throw out or give away before I leave and trying to download my photos onto my stick and the organising them. That could take a while......
In order to leave the ship there are a number of signatures that have to be collected on the "release paper", including the bank, the post office and various other departments. Some are on the day of departure and as I want to attend the ward service again I shall not be able to lie-in. Also included as part of the disembarking procedure is an evaluation and debrief with supervisor of your department. I spent about 45 minutes with Alison, my Kiwi supervisor, today in my debrief. The bottom line was that she would allow me back in the department. We even talked about training and professional development needs. Any surprises there?
One of the really good parts of today as there was no eye surgery lists, was being able to go to the dockside to see the patients who had their cataract surgery yesterday. There was a delightful old lady, toothless, with a stick to aid her walking but with the biggest smile I could ever wish to see. it was written all over her face and in her body language. English wasn't necessary to realise that for her, a miracle had been performed as she could see again. I'm sure that had she been physically capable she wold have danced. At this clinic there are day workers who sing and prayer with the patients, telling them the good news of Christ's saving power and love. I had already been to the ward and joined Dr Glenn on his ward round to see the young children we had operated on yesterday too. the eldest was not keen to open his eyes and didn't seem to demonstrate any real sight. Uncertain of how he would do, I found out this evening that having gone to the dockside to get his glasses and to complete a visual acuity test (to see how well he could see) his eyes were working together and he was reaching out to touch and even grab items. We sat among the patients at the dockside and made use of the opportunity to have a "team photo".
I spent the rest of the day helping out wherever necessary, so spent time in orthopaedic OR where they were correcting a severe deformity in a 10 tear old who had a severe deformity of his right leg and elsewhere helping to change a plaster cast on a young boy who had previous surgery to correct a club foot.
A quick trip with a colleague to the tailor who had made a couple of bits for me, back in time for dinner and then a good walk with another couple of friends up to a particular shop which was unfortunately closed when we got there. Peter has very kindly offered to go there for me tomorrow as I'm on call and can't leave the ship. This shop is probably one and a half to one and three-quarters of a mile away so it's no small undertaking. However I shall be giving him a free lesson later on how to put on sterile gloves when he's in the OR....
Sunset happened as we were walking to the shop so by the time we came back it was dark and that's when the streets take on a different life. The braziers are lit and a smell of roasted maize pervades the fumes of the cars. People are pushing wheelbarrows with goods for sale and cyclists are in danger of being knocked off their bikes - no lights on their bikes and passengers rarely look before opening a car door. Traffic drives on the right which has confused me as in East Africa they drive on the left. At what point do they change over and how??
The speaker at the community meeting this week was the patient services co-ordinator. She again reminded us about trusting God and spoke from her own experiences. After the meeting I had been invited to join others from OR who are also leaving over the next couple of days for coffee and cake which another member had prepared. It was fun just to spend time together socially. So tomorrow brings the boring bits I guess. Sorting out laundry, what I need to throw out or give away before I leave and trying to download my photos onto my stick and the organising them. That could take a while......
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Wednesday June 25
So it's exactly 6 months to Christmas and there was a relaxed air in the eye OR today but I really didn't expect to hear Christmas carols being played. Perhaps it helped our 20 cases to pass by very smoothly and even effortlessly dare I say.
The cake went down so I have a new recipe called "Dr Glenns Chocolate Fudge Cake". It's probably the best use of Hershey's Chocolate syrup that I can think of anyway. Today was the last eye list that I will be doing as there is no operating for the next 2 days in the eye OR. I just hope that I will be able to transfer the knowledge I've gained over the last 2 weeks to my paid employment.
It the spirit the pervades the department of co-operation I carried a lively 10year old boy to another OR where he was to have correction of a club foot. In the UK there a few 10 year olds that I would be able to carry but this young lad was so light that I was able to to easily carry him down the corridor, making him giggle as we went - I discovered that he was ticklish. It was a real joy to be able to perform that small task and to leave the child laughing.
Later still I was able to help another OR out albeit briefly, in positioning a patient and being able at the same time to remind the staff about health and safety issues with regard to manual handling.
Space being available I went out for dinner with the team I have been working with for the last 2 weeks and a couple of other people, one a nurse and one of our supplies co-ordinators. Having done this last week too, I know that it helps with working together as we now know each othera little better. With an ever changing crew it's hard to know everyone but at least I know a few others outside of OR now.
There are departmental devotions once a week on Wednesday mornings and as one wanders round the ship, small groups can be seen meeting together in various parts of the ship. OR staff meet in the international lounge and therefore can see videos etc. This morning we watched one of the Rob Bell Noona series. In the one viewed this morning, he was talking about how he had taken his one year old son out for a walk in the woods and at exactly the half way point it had begun to rain. His son had whimpered at the beginning but as the rain grew harder and a storm broke his whimper became a real cry of terror from deep within. He describes he stopped and took his son out of the back pack carrier and cuddled him up the last mile home constantly remindinghime that he loved him and that he would make sure he was OK. Rob Bell went on to remind us that our heavenly Father is like that. When we are crying out to Him from the depths of our heart, He hears us and wants to comfort us. I have seen the video before but maybe this time I listened more as last time I saw it I was responsible for making sure it played at the right time and didn't really concentrate. We were then given time to simply reflect on what we had heard and to spend 10 minutes or so speaking to God on our own and given the freedom to move away from the lounge area and to go wherever we wanted. The only proviso wasto be at work at the specified time. What a great way to begin the day.
The cake went down so I have a new recipe called "Dr Glenns Chocolate Fudge Cake". It's probably the best use of Hershey's Chocolate syrup that I can think of anyway. Today was the last eye list that I will be doing as there is no operating for the next 2 days in the eye OR. I just hope that I will be able to transfer the knowledge I've gained over the last 2 weeks to my paid employment.
It the spirit the pervades the department of co-operation I carried a lively 10year old boy to another OR where he was to have correction of a club foot. In the UK there a few 10 year olds that I would be able to carry but this young lad was so light that I was able to to easily carry him down the corridor, making him giggle as we went - I discovered that he was ticklish. It was a real joy to be able to perform that small task and to leave the child laughing.
Later still I was able to help another OR out albeit briefly, in positioning a patient and being able at the same time to remind the staff about health and safety issues with regard to manual handling.
Space being available I went out for dinner with the team I have been working with for the last 2 weeks and a couple of other people, one a nurse and one of our supplies co-ordinators. Having done this last week too, I know that it helps with working together as we now know each othera little better. With an ever changing crew it's hard to know everyone but at least I know a few others outside of OR now.
There are departmental devotions once a week on Wednesday mornings and as one wanders round the ship, small groups can be seen meeting together in various parts of the ship. OR staff meet in the international lounge and therefore can see videos etc. This morning we watched one of the Rob Bell Noona series. In the one viewed this morning, he was talking about how he had taken his one year old son out for a walk in the woods and at exactly the half way point it had begun to rain. His son had whimpered at the beginning but as the rain grew harder and a storm broke his whimper became a real cry of terror from deep within. He describes he stopped and took his son out of the back pack carrier and cuddled him up the last mile home constantly remindinghime that he loved him and that he would make sure he was OK. Rob Bell went on to remind us that our heavenly Father is like that. When we are crying out to Him from the depths of our heart, He hears us and wants to comfort us. I have seen the video before but maybe this time I listened more as last time I saw it I was responsible for making sure it played at the right time and didn't really concentrate. We were then given time to simply reflect on what we had heard and to spend 10 minutes or so speaking to God on our own and given the freedom to move away from the lounge area and to go wherever we wanted. The only proviso wasto be at work at the specified time. What a great way to begin the day.
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Tuesday June 24
Today was easy in comparison to yesterday, well nearly anything has to be easier than the 37 patients we operated on and after a late night philosophical discussion about the work of mercy ships and the way it is different to other NGO's. We actually did well this morning too. One of my favourite operations - taking out cataracts in a 6 year old girl who tomorrow will see for the first time. As I collected her to carry her to the OR she happily cuddled up to me and was very content to allow us put her to sleep. I'd love to see her face tomorrow when the bandages come off.
The morning had gone smoothly and the afternoon soon passed including a short spell in the unit where the instruments are sterilised which brought back happy memories. A sun drenched deck with chairs, a good book and a cup of tea was very inviting at 5.00pm when I finished work. I just thought I ought to at least make an effort to look as if I had seen the sun while I've been here. Just as well I went when I did as we are now in the middle of a tropical downpour. It's windy and the water is a bit rough considering we are moored in a port so much so that the ship is moving albeit only slightly.
After dinner I headed to the crew galley (kitchen) to attempt to make a chocolate fudge cake. Not having quite all the usual ingredients was a further challenge. I just hope the Hershey's chocolate syrup works and thet the Ritter bitter chocolate on top counteracts the sweetness of the syrup. The cake is owing to the fact that tomorrow will be my last day operating with the eye surgeon and he likes chocolate cake. If the recipe works I'll have to call it Dr Glens version!
The recipe has to be done in stages so while the cake was setting I line - danced. I'm not sure if the instructor is used to quite such hilarity or with students who struggle to master such simple steps but she was exceedingly good natured about it all. The one hour class continued for a further 30 minutes such was the fun.
The chocolate should have set by now on the base since I returned to the galley to complete stage 2 of the cake before writing my blog tonight. By now it should be ready to cut and as the saying goes " The proof of the pudding is in the eating" so off I go.........
The morning had gone smoothly and the afternoon soon passed including a short spell in the unit where the instruments are sterilised which brought back happy memories. A sun drenched deck with chairs, a good book and a cup of tea was very inviting at 5.00pm when I finished work. I just thought I ought to at least make an effort to look as if I had seen the sun while I've been here. Just as well I went when I did as we are now in the middle of a tropical downpour. It's windy and the water is a bit rough considering we are moored in a port so much so that the ship is moving albeit only slightly.
After dinner I headed to the crew galley (kitchen) to attempt to make a chocolate fudge cake. Not having quite all the usual ingredients was a further challenge. I just hope the Hershey's chocolate syrup works and thet the Ritter bitter chocolate on top counteracts the sweetness of the syrup. The cake is owing to the fact that tomorrow will be my last day operating with the eye surgeon and he likes chocolate cake. If the recipe works I'll have to call it Dr Glens version!
The recipe has to be done in stages so while the cake was setting I line - danced. I'm not sure if the instructor is used to quite such hilarity or with students who struggle to master such simple steps but she was exceedingly good natured about it all. The one hour class continued for a further 30 minutes such was the fun.
The chocolate should have set by now on the base since I returned to the galley to complete stage 2 of the cake before writing my blog tonight. By now it should be ready to cut and as the saying goes " The proof of the pudding is in the eating" so off I go.........
Monday, 23 June 2008
Monday June 23
Today I was handed my "release papers". There are a number of people I have to see before I disembark. It's standard for all leaving the ship and time is given to complete it. Working in OR all day it's interesting to see what happens on the ship in the normal working day. The place is fairly quiet in reception especially if there are no people to collect or take to the airport. Some of our team left today so the lemon drizzle cake, made yesterday, went down well.
That was in between the eye theatres where I'm working at present, carrying out 39 procedures on 37 patients in 8 hours. That calls for a quick turnover and those of us involved were tired at the end but at least we felt we had completed a good day's work and earned our brownie points.
At the end of the day I had a short message to carry out but as we have to go out in pairs and if we're walking return before it gets dark (around 7.15pm here) we have to be vigilant. I walked with a colleague the short distance to the shop I needed to go to and we walked back smartly to ensure we made it back before dark. Once back inside the UN guarded gates we could relax and slow down slightly. In fact we stopped at the end of the dock, leant over the railing and watched the sun go down. If you haven't got time to watch the sun down, you're too busy. (can't remember who said that). At the end of a busy day it was wonderful to be able to stop and see God's hand paint the sky in glorious colours for a short time. What's even better is that he'll do the same tomorrow night because he never changes and he delights to give us good things.
Tonight there's a karoke night in the main lounge area and it has not disappointed my expectations although the pair that has just finished weren't bad - almost in tune...As the computers are located just upstairs from the lounge area and it's all open plan in the area it's impossible not to hear them.
Tomorrow I have to visit the library. It has a good variety of books from what I have seen and I'm running out of reading material. I have enjoyed being able to read just for the pleasure of reading rather than to study. Interestingly both the books I brought to read are based in Edinburgh. One from the Inspector Rebus collection by Ian Rankin, the other is from the Sunday Philosophers Club series by Alexander McCall-Smith. Very light reading but very relaxing. In fact I think I'll go and read some more......
That was in between the eye theatres where I'm working at present, carrying out 39 procedures on 37 patients in 8 hours. That calls for a quick turnover and those of us involved were tired at the end but at least we felt we had completed a good day's work and earned our brownie points.
At the end of the day I had a short message to carry out but as we have to go out in pairs and if we're walking return before it gets dark (around 7.15pm here) we have to be vigilant. I walked with a colleague the short distance to the shop I needed to go to and we walked back smartly to ensure we made it back before dark. Once back inside the UN guarded gates we could relax and slow down slightly. In fact we stopped at the end of the dock, leant over the railing and watched the sun go down. If you haven't got time to watch the sun down, you're too busy. (can't remember who said that). At the end of a busy day it was wonderful to be able to stop and see God's hand paint the sky in glorious colours for a short time. What's even better is that he'll do the same tomorrow night because he never changes and he delights to give us good things.
Tonight there's a karoke night in the main lounge area and it has not disappointed my expectations although the pair that has just finished weren't bad - almost in tune...As the computers are located just upstairs from the lounge area and it's all open plan in the area it's impossible not to hear them.
Tomorrow I have to visit the library. It has a good variety of books from what I have seen and I'm running out of reading material. I have enjoyed being able to read just for the pleasure of reading rather than to study. Interestingly both the books I brought to read are based in Edinburgh. One from the Inspector Rebus collection by Ian Rankin, the other is from the Sunday Philosophers Club series by Alexander McCall-Smith. Very light reading but very relaxing. In fact I think I'll go and read some more......
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Sunday June 22
What a terrific start to the day. An hour and half over breakfast. I've been on call today so haven't been able to leave the ship, not that it's stopped from doing stuff.
This morning I attended the service on one of the hospital wards. They have a team of local people who work on the ship often as translators who lead the worship. One of the patients played the drums. that with a shaker (made from a dry gourd) was all the music accompaniment we had but it was plenty. The preacher works on the ship too and is from the Faroe Islands. (pop 48,000)
The wards have low ceilings - limited by the height of the deck so it's interesting to see how they hang drips. there are no dripstands but plenty of hooks on the ceiling. The patients don't have curtains between their beds and the beds are pretty close to each other. Amazingly, there is a low incidence of infection. Obviously using good techniques.
One lemon drizzle cake was made this afternoon and a few scones as I needed to use up the butter. One group of young people got to eat the scones. While I was baking I had help from a 4 year old from Ghana with the washing up - he needed to be occupied. Cold water seemed safest.
I found a few useful photos on one of the drives on the ship's intranet so loaded the memory stick with them, but only after I had said goodbye to a couple of girls who left today. i've arranged to meet them in London for lunch next week!
This evening we had as African choir to sing and it was wonderful sound when the stuck to the African style. They are called Hallelujah and started their programme with the Hallelujah chorus from the Messiah. I think they need more practice.
There has been quite a bit of activity in the harbour today and the skill of the pilots and tugboats getting these ships into small docks is stunning, especially with all the wrecks around. Very relaxing to watch though. The crew are hoping that there is a container for the ship on the MAERSK ship that is docked close by...supplies for the shop and hospital and kit that was sent over a month ago to help muffle the noise of the ships engine. Just a bit late for me. They won't have it finished before the weekend...Oh well..
This morning I attended the service on one of the hospital wards. They have a team of local people who work on the ship often as translators who lead the worship. One of the patients played the drums. that with a shaker (made from a dry gourd) was all the music accompaniment we had but it was plenty. The preacher works on the ship too and is from the Faroe Islands. (pop 48,000)
The wards have low ceilings - limited by the height of the deck so it's interesting to see how they hang drips. there are no dripstands but plenty of hooks on the ceiling. The patients don't have curtains between their beds and the beds are pretty close to each other. Amazingly, there is a low incidence of infection. Obviously using good techniques.
One lemon drizzle cake was made this afternoon and a few scones as I needed to use up the butter. One group of young people got to eat the scones. While I was baking I had help from a 4 year old from Ghana with the washing up - he needed to be occupied. Cold water seemed safest.
I found a few useful photos on one of the drives on the ship's intranet so loaded the memory stick with them, but only after I had said goodbye to a couple of girls who left today. i've arranged to meet them in London for lunch next week!
This evening we had as African choir to sing and it was wonderful sound when the stuck to the African style. They are called Hallelujah and started their programme with the Hallelujah chorus from the Messiah. I think they need more practice.
There has been quite a bit of activity in the harbour today and the skill of the pilots and tugboats getting these ships into small docks is stunning, especially with all the wrecks around. Very relaxing to watch though. The crew are hoping that there is a container for the ship on the MAERSK ship that is docked close by...supplies for the shop and hospital and kit that was sent over a month ago to help muffle the noise of the ships engine. Just a bit late for me. They won't have it finished before the weekend...Oh well..
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Saturday June 21
Longest day today/tomorrow and I won't even notice as we're too close to the equator for it to make any difference. In Liberia it's always dark by 7.15pm. Not sure what time it gets light but it's always light by the time I see daylight in the dining room at 6.30am. With a cabin on the second deck I'm just above the engine room on the 1st deck and so there are no portholes. At least I can't make a mistake and open it and let in sea water!
The craft market and Water St market were the focus of my attention this morning. I'm hoping to get another scrub top made before I return. There is a local tailor who turns things round quickly and doesn't charge much. He has a good reputation for producing accurate work and doesn't need much in the way of measurements. I might even get him to make some theatre caps - alternatively those of you who know me and sew - watch out when I return. I even managed to find somewhere for coffee, but not Starbucks - the only one in Africa aprt from Africa mercy is in somewhere like Cairo - just a bit too far for this mornings coffee!!
We called into a supermarket on the way back so I'm hoping to bake cakes tomorrow. Lemon drizzle and a form of chocolate fudge cake. Thinking quickly in the supermarket as to what I could use as alternative ingredients was a slight challenge. But someone bought ice creams which were just perfect as the vehicle was very warm.
Having been to the markets and seen the buildings it's easy to see why Liberians could be forgiven living with out hope and yet in the midst of the obvious lack of care the new government is trying hard. Apparently fewer potholes wreck the cars and more people are seeking and finding employment. It did remind me of Kampala in Uganda with the street vendors sat by their stalls, vendors coming up to the vehicle when it was stopped. No-one has come up with food though as they do in Uganda.
After lunch on the ship I went off to the beach for a couple of hours with a girl who had taken photos of fishermen 3 weeks before at the same beach and as she is leaving tomorrow she had printed them and gave the copies to the fishermen at the beach today. While at the beach I dained to get my feet wet and the rest of me as I had fun with the waves again. Didn't go out quite so far as I was on my own at that particular depth but was still very visible from the beach.
The football game was held with camaraderie as we have both nations represented on the ship. Just a shame that Holland lost. The ship has been very quiet today as a large crowd went off to the Bong mines. Having missed out on today's trip, I've had help to organise another for next weekend. It's on my last full day so I'm hoping it's fun. So all in all a fun day.
The craft market and Water St market were the focus of my attention this morning. I'm hoping to get another scrub top made before I return. There is a local tailor who turns things round quickly and doesn't charge much. He has a good reputation for producing accurate work and doesn't need much in the way of measurements. I might even get him to make some theatre caps - alternatively those of you who know me and sew - watch out when I return. I even managed to find somewhere for coffee, but not Starbucks - the only one in Africa aprt from Africa mercy is in somewhere like Cairo - just a bit too far for this mornings coffee!!
We called into a supermarket on the way back so I'm hoping to bake cakes tomorrow. Lemon drizzle and a form of chocolate fudge cake. Thinking quickly in the supermarket as to what I could use as alternative ingredients was a slight challenge. But someone bought ice creams which were just perfect as the vehicle was very warm.
Having been to the markets and seen the buildings it's easy to see why Liberians could be forgiven living with out hope and yet in the midst of the obvious lack of care the new government is trying hard. Apparently fewer potholes wreck the cars and more people are seeking and finding employment. It did remind me of Kampala in Uganda with the street vendors sat by their stalls, vendors coming up to the vehicle when it was stopped. No-one has come up with food though as they do in Uganda.
After lunch on the ship I went off to the beach for a couple of hours with a girl who had taken photos of fishermen 3 weeks before at the same beach and as she is leaving tomorrow she had printed them and gave the copies to the fishermen at the beach today. While at the beach I dained to get my feet wet and the rest of me as I had fun with the waves again. Didn't go out quite so far as I was on my own at that particular depth but was still very visible from the beach.
The football game was held with camaraderie as we have both nations represented on the ship. Just a shame that Holland lost. The ship has been very quiet today as a large crowd went off to the Bong mines. Having missed out on today's trip, I've had help to organise another for next weekend. It's on my last full day so I'm hoping it's fun. So all in all a fun day.
Friday, 20 June 2008
Friday June 20
Today was definitely another day. I started in the eye OR where we had just one case under general anaesthetic. orthopaedic surgeons needed to change the cast of a young man who previously had had a tumour removed from his lower leg and also some reconstructive work done. he wanted to be put to sleep for this has it was potentially quite painful. While he was sat on the operating table ready for his spinal (an injection into his lower back which would make him numb in his legs for sometime) he asked us to pray with him. Imagine that happening in the average NHS or private hospital for that matter.
I spent sometime trying to locate another member of staff to undertake some training but she disappeared and I could not find her. There are only so many places a person can hide on a ship but I didn't win this game of hide and seek.
In the afternoon I was involved in quite a sad case as we had to remove part of a leg from an 18 year old girl. She had previously fractured her lower leg and now there was infection that could not be treated. the only viable treatment for her was amputation above the knee. Quite understandable that she was very upset but it had been carefully explained to her and her parents the alternative consequence. So we have good days and bad but we know that God is supreme in all things.
Late this afternoon a couple of others and I watched, fascinated, as the "Vera" was pulled out of the opposite dock and set sail for who knows where. We've seen the tanks be filled with something, we're not sure what, over the last couple of days and then as we eating dinner tonight we realised there was a tugboat making its way round to the stern of the ship (the back bit). As the ship was facing the wrong way to simply sail out the tug had to attach ropes to the stern of Vera and pull her round to face the right way. The whole process took the best part of an hour. At the same time the sun was setting. there is also photographic evidence of this event, What was restful was having the time to stand and watch and not to have to rush to the next thing.
Mind you I did go to a 1 hour aerobics class afterwards the food is too good onboard to NOT do any exercise. I need the few clothes I have brought to still fit when I travel home. Tommorow will be a busy day as I've organised a shopping trip in the morning and have been invited to join others on a short trip to the beach in the afternoon. Then of course it's the Holland match tomorrow night, so it's a busy day off!! I'm on call Sunday so can't leave the ship but I have planned my time assuming that I don't get called in so all in all, not a quiet time but still fun.
I spent sometime trying to locate another member of staff to undertake some training but she disappeared and I could not find her. There are only so many places a person can hide on a ship but I didn't win this game of hide and seek.
In the afternoon I was involved in quite a sad case as we had to remove part of a leg from an 18 year old girl. She had previously fractured her lower leg and now there was infection that could not be treated. the only viable treatment for her was amputation above the knee. Quite understandable that she was very upset but it had been carefully explained to her and her parents the alternative consequence. So we have good days and bad but we know that God is supreme in all things.
Late this afternoon a couple of others and I watched, fascinated, as the "Vera" was pulled out of the opposite dock and set sail for who knows where. We've seen the tanks be filled with something, we're not sure what, over the last couple of days and then as we eating dinner tonight we realised there was a tugboat making its way round to the stern of the ship (the back bit). As the ship was facing the wrong way to simply sail out the tug had to attach ropes to the stern of Vera and pull her round to face the right way. The whole process took the best part of an hour. At the same time the sun was setting. there is also photographic evidence of this event, What was restful was having the time to stand and watch and not to have to rush to the next thing.
Mind you I did go to a 1 hour aerobics class afterwards the food is too good onboard to NOT do any exercise. I need the few clothes I have brought to still fit when I travel home. Tommorow will be a busy day as I've organised a shopping trip in the morning and have been invited to join others on a short trip to the beach in the afternoon. Then of course it's the Holland match tomorrow night, so it's a busy day off!! I'm on call Sunday so can't leave the ship but I have planned my time assuming that I don't get called in so all in all, not a quiet time but still fun.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Thursday June 19
Did you know that it can take three anaesthetists 45 minutes to get a baby asleep ready for cataract surgery? No? It did today! This little one who was 6 months old decided he did not want to go to sleep for anybody. We won in the end. But then that is the nature of the work done here at the ship.
We did 30 eye procedures today but with no-shows i.e. patients who didn't turn up today, we didn't treat 30 patients (some had 2 procedures). There can b every good reason for people not turning up. yesterday we had tropical rainstorms that would make travelling difficult especially if the patients are reliant upon the little transport there is available and live 3 days journey away. Sometimes family matters take over , they may have a funeral or caught malaria and then too sick to travel ,any number of other reasons why they haven't made it on the day scheduled. But then they may turn up 2 or 3 days later and we try to fit them in.
Being with Mercy Ships involves community living and that includes some meetings - they are optional but we are encouraged to attend. Thursday evening is one of the main meetings so tonight - having finished work at 7.25pm I headed up to the main lounge which seats around 200 I guess for the meeting. we had the local methodist pastor preaching on Romans 12 v1 about the mercies of God. After the meeting there is always time for coffee from Starbucks and often a small nibble of something delicious. Tonight there was cake. I was able to sit and chat with some of the other crew members too.
The most exciting event of the day however was ther fire drill. For most of us it simply involves listening for an alarm and evacuating the premises. For OR staff that is always a little more difficult. Here though it was simply a case of evacuating when the alarm sounded. This is a proper drill including artificial smoke. it was down by my cabin apparently, not that I was there at the time but there is no way I could have slept through the fire alarm. I don't think I've ever heard one so loud.
Having earlier in the day suggested to the surgeon that he would like to still be operating at the appointed hour of the drill, he duly was and I was working with him. Those involved in direct patient care at the time do not have to leave the ship. But as I went through one of the OR exit doors I saw members of the fire team with breathing apparatus and fire reels running downstairs - all very realistic. The loudspeaker boomed out instructions for all crew to evacuate and it was the captain who brought it all to an end about 20 minutes later with an annoucement over said tannoy.
So what will happen tomorrow? Well it's another day, another story....
We did 30 eye procedures today but with no-shows i.e. patients who didn't turn up today, we didn't treat 30 patients (some had 2 procedures). There can b every good reason for people not turning up. yesterday we had tropical rainstorms that would make travelling difficult especially if the patients are reliant upon the little transport there is available and live 3 days journey away. Sometimes family matters take over , they may have a funeral or caught malaria and then too sick to travel ,any number of other reasons why they haven't made it on the day scheduled. But then they may turn up 2 or 3 days later and we try to fit them in.
Being with Mercy Ships involves community living and that includes some meetings - they are optional but we are encouraged to attend. Thursday evening is one of the main meetings so tonight - having finished work at 7.25pm I headed up to the main lounge which seats around 200 I guess for the meeting. we had the local methodist pastor preaching on Romans 12 v1 about the mercies of God. After the meeting there is always time for coffee from Starbucks and often a small nibble of something delicious. Tonight there was cake. I was able to sit and chat with some of the other crew members too.
The most exciting event of the day however was ther fire drill. For most of us it simply involves listening for an alarm and evacuating the premises. For OR staff that is always a little more difficult. Here though it was simply a case of evacuating when the alarm sounded. This is a proper drill including artificial smoke. it was down by my cabin apparently, not that I was there at the time but there is no way I could have slept through the fire alarm. I don't think I've ever heard one so loud.
Having earlier in the day suggested to the surgeon that he would like to still be operating at the appointed hour of the drill, he duly was and I was working with him. Those involved in direct patient care at the time do not have to leave the ship. But as I went through one of the OR exit doors I saw members of the fire team with breathing apparatus and fire reels running downstairs - all very realistic. The loudspeaker boomed out instructions for all crew to evacuate and it was the captain who brought it all to an end about 20 minutes later with an annoucement over said tannoy.
So what will happen tomorrow? Well it's another day, another story....
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Wednesday June 18
All is going well. The work is great fun and I'm learning as much as I'm teaching - not all medical either. We've had good laughs about misunderstandings over words and phrases, especially colloquial language. try explaining what "I'm done-in" means to a Swiss...
The eye surgeon I'm working with this week has been just so patient especially as I'm a novice a eye surgery. I only ever assist with anaesthetics for eyes normally. I have the photographic evidence now. On average this particular surgeon takes 6 minutes to complete a cataract!!
It's warm not hot but very humid. I've been out running again today after work but not far (about 3 miles/5k) as it's too warm to go far. We can't go beyond the UN gates on our own anyway but it's nearly half a mile to the gate from the far end of the dock. The UN gates are a reminder of the civil war that raged here until 4 years ago. There are still many UN vehicles here.
Tonight I went out with about 8 others to a chinese restaurant - in Liberia!! It was very clean, in fact the remnants of wet paint still hung in the air. There was a huge choice on the menu and I tried food that I hadn't eaten before.
Did i mention that the church I attended on Sunday just gonehad a drummer couldn't have been a day over 4 but boy, did he have rhythm!! He got real moody when his dad took it off him so the choir could sing a capella (voices only).
Yesterday we did bilateral cataracts on a 4 year old girl with congenital cataracts which means she was born with cataracts. The surgeon wasn't sure of the results he would get at the time of surgery. What a change when he brought it up later in conversation as we scrubbed together to be able to say "you've given her your best shot, you've got to leave the rest to God" and he agreed. The atmosphere it superb. If all theatres could work in the same atmosphere so much more work would be achieved. As a team all patients are prayed for at the beginning of the day when we meet as a team to discuss what is going on for the day and then the surgeons will pray for each patient just before they put knife to skin.
Oh and by the way..........the little girl could see when they took off the bandages this morning declaring that the doctor was bald, actually he was wearing a theatre cap and claiming her doll that he was holding in front of her "That's MY doll" she proclaimed in no uncertain tones.
Tomorrow promises to be a long day as we have a lot of eye cases booked. there is a chance that some of the patients won't show up but then sometimes there are patients who are seen in a clinic on the dock side who are able to come directly for surgery. this is apart from the eye team who go out to screen patients.
So today wasn't exactly dull with 27 patients through the theatre (or OR) but tomorrow should exceed 30+
The eye surgeon I'm working with this week has been just so patient especially as I'm a novice a eye surgery. I only ever assist with anaesthetics for eyes normally. I have the photographic evidence now. On average this particular surgeon takes 6 minutes to complete a cataract!!
It's warm not hot but very humid. I've been out running again today after work but not far (about 3 miles/5k) as it's too warm to go far. We can't go beyond the UN gates on our own anyway but it's nearly half a mile to the gate from the far end of the dock. The UN gates are a reminder of the civil war that raged here until 4 years ago. There are still many UN vehicles here.
Tonight I went out with about 8 others to a chinese restaurant - in Liberia!! It was very clean, in fact the remnants of wet paint still hung in the air. There was a huge choice on the menu and I tried food that I hadn't eaten before.
Did i mention that the church I attended on Sunday just gonehad a drummer couldn't have been a day over 4 but boy, did he have rhythm!! He got real moody when his dad took it off him so the choir could sing a capella (voices only).
Yesterday we did bilateral cataracts on a 4 year old girl with congenital cataracts which means she was born with cataracts. The surgeon wasn't sure of the results he would get at the time of surgery. What a change when he brought it up later in conversation as we scrubbed together to be able to say "you've given her your best shot, you've got to leave the rest to God" and he agreed. The atmosphere it superb. If all theatres could work in the same atmosphere so much more work would be achieved. As a team all patients are prayed for at the beginning of the day when we meet as a team to discuss what is going on for the day and then the surgeons will pray for each patient just before they put knife to skin.
Oh and by the way..........the little girl could see when they took off the bandages this morning declaring that the doctor was bald, actually he was wearing a theatre cap and claiming her doll that he was holding in front of her "That's MY doll" she proclaimed in no uncertain tones.
Tomorrow promises to be a long day as we have a lot of eye cases booked. there is a chance that some of the patients won't show up but then sometimes there are patients who are seen in a clinic on the dock side who are able to come directly for surgery. this is apart from the eye team who go out to screen patients.
So today wasn't exactly dull with 27 patients through the theatre (or OR) but tomorrow should exceed 30+
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Tuesday June17
So how many of you spotted the deliberate mistake? There is a spelling error on yesterdays' blog. The Dutch have not let us down. Not only is there red white and blue bunting there is also 2 long lengths of orange ribbon draped over the lounge barrier. As I write Holland are 1-0 up.
I went to the "Chaplins Tea" today, designed really for new staff but I missed last week as I was working!
My computer skills were called in to action today to help enter data into the hospital records. Just one of those jobs that has to be done, is tedious but at least completed as far as possible - until tomorrow.
I really am getting to grips with the straightforward eye surgery and certainly feel more comfortable with the whole thing. The surgeon has a great sense of humour, just as well with me around. Today we operated on a 4 year old with cataracts, I have asked the nusring staff to let me know how she gets on tomorrow when the bandages are removed.
The ship is moored up to a dock and then we use the dockside to see patients. Some are screened here to see if they are suitable for surgery, yesterday it was the new orthopaedic surgeons who saw patients there. There are x-ray facilities and a CT scanner onboard so we can screen immediately if necssary. Patients are also screened for pre-admission from there.
Eye patients are seen in and around Monrovia by a team that go out daily from the ship and if they can be helped they are given a date to attend for surgery. very often patients also try to get help with other problems but the ship is strict about who it can help. As much as anything it is decided by the surgeons available to operate. This week we have orthopaedic, Maxillary-facial and eye surgeons onboard. But we also need to have anaesthetists available who have the skills to put patients to sleep. So it is quite tough when we have to say no but it does happen from time to time.
There is also a dental team that runs a clinic in a local hospital. With them are dental nurses and technicians and they do a great work. These teams are supported by day workers from the local communities who help by translating and by doing some of the work when they have been taught. Occasionally a dental patient is refered to the hospital for treatment that they can't give.
Whilst we can't help everyone we can help some. We have to remember that Jesus couldn't help everyone with healing while he was here on earth simply because he had only 3 years of ministry, although through faith we believe he can help all now who believe in him.
Tomorrow brings more eyes!
I went to the "Chaplins Tea" today, designed really for new staff but I missed last week as I was working!
My computer skills were called in to action today to help enter data into the hospital records. Just one of those jobs that has to be done, is tedious but at least completed as far as possible - until tomorrow.
I really am getting to grips with the straightforward eye surgery and certainly feel more comfortable with the whole thing. The surgeon has a great sense of humour, just as well with me around. Today we operated on a 4 year old with cataracts, I have asked the nusring staff to let me know how she gets on tomorrow when the bandages are removed.
The ship is moored up to a dock and then we use the dockside to see patients. Some are screened here to see if they are suitable for surgery, yesterday it was the new orthopaedic surgeons who saw patients there. There are x-ray facilities and a CT scanner onboard so we can screen immediately if necssary. Patients are also screened for pre-admission from there.
Eye patients are seen in and around Monrovia by a team that go out daily from the ship and if they can be helped they are given a date to attend for surgery. very often patients also try to get help with other problems but the ship is strict about who it can help. As much as anything it is decided by the surgeons available to operate. This week we have orthopaedic, Maxillary-facial and eye surgeons onboard. But we also need to have anaesthetists available who have the skills to put patients to sleep. So it is quite tough when we have to say no but it does happen from time to time.
There is also a dental team that runs a clinic in a local hospital. With them are dental nurses and technicians and they do a great work. These teams are supported by day workers from the local communities who help by translating and by doing some of the work when they have been taught. Occasionally a dental patient is refered to the hospital for treatment that they can't give.
Whilst we can't help everyone we can help some. We have to remember that Jesus couldn't help everyone with healing while he was here on earth simply because he had only 3 years of ministry, although through faith we believe he can help all now who believe in him.
Tomorrow brings more eyes!
Monday, 16 June 2008
Monday June 16
Just when I thought I could stop learning, I was thrown a new challenge today. Eye surgery! I've only ever scrubbed for a couple of eye operations in 20 years of theatre nursing. There is somewhere photographic evidence of me scrubbing for cataract surgery. A cataract is when the lens loses its elasticity and becomes opaque and the person can not then see properly. The surgery removes that opacity and a new lens is put in. There are different ways of doing this and in the UK this is done using a special machine since the lens is still soft but in Liberia and in many parts of the world where the helthcare system is very different the lens can become like a rock and the machine is unable to work. so we use a different technique, one which the surgeon I was working with today can perform in under 10 minutes. So it's all pretty quick. after completing 9 of this type of surgery I was beginning to get the hang of it all.
Just goes to show that you never stop learning. My US surgeon had to learn to put his own gown and gloves on unlike my US colleague who automatically helped him with this!
The banana cake and supper laof were appreciated although unlike my workplace, where they would have disappeared in about 2 hours. they had to be reminded to try them out. the maple flavoured syrup in the supper laof seemed to work and having raisins instead of sultanas didn't detract any from the loaf. (Recipes available if requested)
Dinner lasted for an hour as I chatted to a guy from Holland and we were comparing notes. I've not been to his home village but I have at least travelled to Utrecht which is close by, just goeds to prove it's a small world. He's working on the ship as a plumber (Doctor of toilets!) To the locals any man who comes from the ship is a doctor
As I began writing this tonight there was a graduation celebration going on across the hallway since the academy onboard use the US education system, the football had just finished on the big screen (Germany won) and there were conversations from at least 6 different countries recognisable by either accent or language bashing my ears. And I'm trying to write in English.It takes some concentration, trust me.
So Rangers, where are you? I had hoped you might leave a comment on the blog. How did it go tonight? I might be several thousand miles away but it hasn't stopped me wondering how you are getting on! So let me know.....
Tomorrow is the Holland game. Last time they played, the dutch staff onboard decked out the area around the screen with flags and sat wearing orange shirts and hats. Wonder what they'll do tomorrow night?
Just goes to show that you never stop learning. My US surgeon had to learn to put his own gown and gloves on unlike my US colleague who automatically helped him with this!
The banana cake and supper laof were appreciated although unlike my workplace, where they would have disappeared in about 2 hours. they had to be reminded to try them out. the maple flavoured syrup in the supper laof seemed to work and having raisins instead of sultanas didn't detract any from the loaf. (Recipes available if requested)
Dinner lasted for an hour as I chatted to a guy from Holland and we were comparing notes. I've not been to his home village but I have at least travelled to Utrecht which is close by, just goeds to prove it's a small world. He's working on the ship as a plumber (Doctor of toilets!) To the locals any man who comes from the ship is a doctor
As I began writing this tonight there was a graduation celebration going on across the hallway since the academy onboard use the US education system, the football had just finished on the big screen (Germany won) and there were conversations from at least 6 different countries recognisable by either accent or language bashing my ears. And I'm trying to write in English.It takes some concentration, trust me.
So Rangers, where are you? I had hoped you might leave a comment on the blog. How did it go tonight? I might be several thousand miles away but it hasn't stopped me wondering how you are getting on! So let me know.....
Tomorrow is the Holland game. Last time they played, the dutch staff onboard decked out the area around the screen with flags and sat wearing orange shirts and hats. Wonder what they'll do tomorrow night?
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Sunday June 15
I've had a very relaxing day today. One of the great things about being on the ship is being able to take time over breakfast on Sundays. It lasted for an hour this week - not that I was eating constantly but able to sit and chat about all manner of issues with a wonderful variety of people. Finding out about how different cultures view the world.
Went to a different church this morning. The pastor is one of the day workers here at the ship who talks to the eye patients before they come in for surgery and will also pray with them. This is what makes the ship so different. Patients are asked if they would like staff to pray with them. Few refuse.
After the service Christian, who drove the landrover to get us to church was found sat with a small boy who had a fever. What I was really touched by was the way in which 2 of the young girls who are also working on the ship got together with Christian and I as we prayed for the child, who it seemed had wandered to the church. We did also try to get a message through to his mother that there would be a doctor in the village the next day and that if she took hiom there the doctors would be able to help.
Once back at the ship it was a quick lunch, easy as its a packed lunch at weekends but included seeing someone eat apple spread with nutella, (americans have some strange tastes) then off to the beach. There was confusion about the numbers going in how many vehicles but all those who wanted to go managed to find a seat. The beach was white-ish sand with a few bits of black and the waves were brilliant. Those who know me very well will be amazed by the fact that I went in the sea of my own volition and absolutely no cajouling needed. It was warm enough to not scream with cold but no so hot that it was unpleasant. There was an strong undercurrent and standing up was quite difficult if the wave was retreating. I also walked along the beach for a bit to the next beach. Walking with a camber of 45degrees is interesting if not hard work but I had the company of one of the ship's electricians who's from Bristol and he kept me regaled with stories as he's worked on Africa Mercy and the former ship Anastasis.
We came back and having thought I felt the odd drop of rain I was pleased to be in the bus 5 minutes later as indeed it started to rain. An hour later it was raining as it only can in Africa. Multiple stair-rods!! Then, during the service tonight, there was a good deal of lightening skipping around the ship and out at sea.
Hannah, my cabin "roomie", is studying for her licence exams in the US which she sits in August so I just had to come and have coffee at Starbucks. It's just so tough....
Just as well I'm back in OR tomorrow or you might think I'm here on holiday even though I worked a 42 hour week last week!
Went to a different church this morning. The pastor is one of the day workers here at the ship who talks to the eye patients before they come in for surgery and will also pray with them. This is what makes the ship so different. Patients are asked if they would like staff to pray with them. Few refuse.
After the service Christian, who drove the landrover to get us to church was found sat with a small boy who had a fever. What I was really touched by was the way in which 2 of the young girls who are also working on the ship got together with Christian and I as we prayed for the child, who it seemed had wandered to the church. We did also try to get a message through to his mother that there would be a doctor in the village the next day and that if she took hiom there the doctors would be able to help.
Once back at the ship it was a quick lunch, easy as its a packed lunch at weekends but included seeing someone eat apple spread with nutella, (americans have some strange tastes) then off to the beach. There was confusion about the numbers going in how many vehicles but all those who wanted to go managed to find a seat. The beach was white-ish sand with a few bits of black and the waves were brilliant. Those who know me very well will be amazed by the fact that I went in the sea of my own volition and absolutely no cajouling needed. It was warm enough to not scream with cold but no so hot that it was unpleasant. There was an strong undercurrent and standing up was quite difficult if the wave was retreating. I also walked along the beach for a bit to the next beach. Walking with a camber of 45degrees is interesting if not hard work but I had the company of one of the ship's electricians who's from Bristol and he kept me regaled with stories as he's worked on Africa Mercy and the former ship Anastasis.
We came back and having thought I felt the odd drop of rain I was pleased to be in the bus 5 minutes later as indeed it started to rain. An hour later it was raining as it only can in Africa. Multiple stair-rods!! Then, during the service tonight, there was a good deal of lightening skipping around the ship and out at sea.
Hannah, my cabin "roomie", is studying for her licence exams in the US which she sits in August so I just had to come and have coffee at Starbucks. It's just so tough....
Just as well I'm back in OR tomorrow or you might think I'm here on holiday even though I worked a 42 hour week last week!
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Saturday June 14
I had a real domestic day today. washing shopping, bakingand out visiting. But onboard ship in a different country it's just not so straightforward.
The laundry is towards the back of deck 6 and my cabin is towards the front of deck 2 so it's quite a walk just to reach the machines, but at least there are washing machines here.
The shopping involved a 4 mile walk in the rain and even that's different because it's too warm to wear a waterproof. I wore one to start but discarded it after I was more damp inside than outside the garment. Shopping for ingredients to bake was, shall we say a minor challenge. No golden syrup so pancake syrup had to suffice. When we eat the cake on Monday I'll let you know if the maple flavour in the syrup improved the cake or not. For those of you who know my baking it was a supper loaf I made. I also made a banana cake and that was easier.
However before the joys of shopping and baking I went to the Cheshire Home where there are 13 residents all of whom have profound physical disabilities and some also have profound mental disabilities. We stayed for around 2 hours playing, singing, painting nails, blowing up balloons and using Jenga blocks in different ways. building towers ready for knocking down - to much mirth, encouraging the residents to help build the towers, putting a couple of blocks into the Jenga container to make a shaker and even using the cylinder shaped container to roll down one of the boys legs. As with so many of these places they don't really have the facilities to care for the residents in the way we would expect at home but they do the best they can for them. There is little government support so they are reliant on charity to continue caring for them.
it's rained pretty well all day here but has finally stopped. Tomorrow I'm off to church in the morning and if the rain holds off, down to the beach. then back to OR Monday morning.
The laundry is towards the back of deck 6 and my cabin is towards the front of deck 2 so it's quite a walk just to reach the machines, but at least there are washing machines here.
The shopping involved a 4 mile walk in the rain and even that's different because it's too warm to wear a waterproof. I wore one to start but discarded it after I was more damp inside than outside the garment. Shopping for ingredients to bake was, shall we say a minor challenge. No golden syrup so pancake syrup had to suffice. When we eat the cake on Monday I'll let you know if the maple flavour in the syrup improved the cake or not. For those of you who know my baking it was a supper loaf I made. I also made a banana cake and that was easier.
However before the joys of shopping and baking I went to the Cheshire Home where there are 13 residents all of whom have profound physical disabilities and some also have profound mental disabilities. We stayed for around 2 hours playing, singing, painting nails, blowing up balloons and using Jenga blocks in different ways. building towers ready for knocking down - to much mirth, encouraging the residents to help build the towers, putting a couple of blocks into the Jenga container to make a shaker and even using the cylinder shaped container to roll down one of the boys legs. As with so many of these places they don't really have the facilities to care for the residents in the way we would expect at home but they do the best they can for them. There is little government support so they are reliant on charity to continue caring for them.
it's rained pretty well all day here but has finally stopped. Tomorrow I'm off to church in the morning and if the rain holds off, down to the beach. then back to OR Monday morning.
Friday, 13 June 2008
Friday June 13
I'm here, writing again, so I guess the cabin was sufficiently tidy for me to not have to walk the plank. And yes I made it to the gym today. I've had a relatively quiet day at "work" as there were not many cases, but I found stuff to do. We treated a six month old for a cleft lip and he looked great when we had finished. I also fulfilled one of my other roles by assisting this afternoon with a bone grafting from the pelvis taking out some of the bone to make part of a new mandible (lower jaw).
From where I sit to type in my blog I can see the lights of the docks but not many others. If ever you have the chance to fly over Africa at night look down and you'll see nothing but inky black darkness. There are just so few lights.
So having been here a week I finally made it to the gym. With next to no air conditioning in there 30 minutes on the rowing machine and bike were enough for me plus a some core exercises - yes I was sad enough to bring my gym kit with me.
Tomorrow morning I'm off to the Cheshire Home and I'm looking forward to seeing rather more of Liberia than just the docks. it was dark when i arrived and the church I attended on Sunday wasn't very far away. Camera at the ready.
Hopefully tomorrow afternoon I'm baking and teaching one of the german nurses a couple of my recipes including banana loaf. Watch this space to see how we fared.
From where I sit to type in my blog I can see the lights of the docks but not many others. If ever you have the chance to fly over Africa at night look down and you'll see nothing but inky black darkness. There are just so few lights.
So having been here a week I finally made it to the gym. With next to no air conditioning in there 30 minutes on the rowing machine and bike were enough for me plus a some core exercises - yes I was sad enough to bring my gym kit with me.
Tomorrow morning I'm off to the Cheshire Home and I'm looking forward to seeing rather more of Liberia than just the docks. it was dark when i arrived and the church I attended on Sunday wasn't very far away. Camera at the ready.
Hopefully tomorrow afternoon I'm baking and teaching one of the german nurses a couple of my recipes including banana loaf. Watch this space to see how we fared.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Thursday June 12
Well, having seen worms come from someone's mouth, nothing will surprise me now and no, I will not publish the photos. You'll have to ask me when I return.
I've had a quieter day today and even managed some weekly cleaning in the Operating Room (OR). For those of you not in the know, there are various tasks that have to be performed each week in an OR. Generally these are of a cleaning nature and even onboard ship it's no different. It does help to find out where various bits of kit are too as next week I may be asked by newcomers where kit is located and I've had all of a week to learn! I have scrubbed for a couple of small cases today but even these were patients with long standing problems. We just don't realise how fortunate we are in the UK.
equally I have been surprised by just how much kit can be stored in a department with 5 working ORs. The 6th is used as a storeroom - sound familiar to those of you working in OR? Tonight there was a meeting in the main lounge which as many staff as can attend. As I've mentioned before Mercy Ships is a christian based charity and so a mid week meeting is not so unusual especially as some folk can''t get to church on Sundays. Not many African churches have 2 services. Tonight there was a changeover of captains. They serve for 2 months at a time. The international chaplain (like a vicar) is here with his wife and she spoke at the meeting about "how to fail successfully" using the example of John Mark - same guy who wrote Marks gospel in the bible. The overall theme of what she said was the God loves BECAUSE he made us the way we are and even when we fail he still loves us. The really important thing,as it is with any 'mistake' we make is to learn from it.
Tomorrow is Friday and I will have been here a week already. I'm finding new routes around the ship even now and haven't gotten into the gym yet and it's only just round the corner from my cabin....there's always tomorrow. Just remembered - it's cabin inspection tomorrow so better tidy up the mess, actually I'm remarkably tidy, considering how little space I have and how little I brought out with me. Don't know how they let you know if you've failed, maybe I have to walk the plank.........
I've had a quieter day today and even managed some weekly cleaning in the Operating Room (OR). For those of you not in the know, there are various tasks that have to be performed each week in an OR. Generally these are of a cleaning nature and even onboard ship it's no different. It does help to find out where various bits of kit are too as next week I may be asked by newcomers where kit is located and I've had all of a week to learn! I have scrubbed for a couple of small cases today but even these were patients with long standing problems. We just don't realise how fortunate we are in the UK.
equally I have been surprised by just how much kit can be stored in a department with 5 working ORs. The 6th is used as a storeroom - sound familiar to those of you working in OR? Tonight there was a meeting in the main lounge which as many staff as can attend. As I've mentioned before Mercy Ships is a christian based charity and so a mid week meeting is not so unusual especially as some folk can''t get to church on Sundays. Not many African churches have 2 services. Tonight there was a changeover of captains. They serve for 2 months at a time. The international chaplain (like a vicar) is here with his wife and she spoke at the meeting about "how to fail successfully" using the example of John Mark - same guy who wrote Marks gospel in the bible. The overall theme of what she said was the God loves BECAUSE he made us the way we are and even when we fail he still loves us. The really important thing,as it is with any 'mistake' we make is to learn from it.
Tomorrow is Friday and I will have been here a week already. I'm finding new routes around the ship even now and haven't gotten into the gym yet and it's only just round the corner from my cabin....there's always tomorrow. Just remembered - it's cabin inspection tomorrow so better tidy up the mess, actually I'm remarkably tidy, considering how little space I have and how little I brought out with me. Don't know how they let you know if you've failed, maybe I have to walk the plank.........
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Wednesday June 11
I must be having a good time. I had to stop and think about the date. I did make it out for a run this morning. OK it wasn't a very long run but at least I was up early enough to manage it. Actually in the heat and humidity, it was raining, not too bad for a first time in months to go out. I made it back in time for breakfast with the team where we were fed Dutch style french toast. It was pretty good stuff and I gather none left by 10.00am.
I've been working with a retired OR nurse from Canada for the last 3 days and she is just great. I've been scrubbed all day and had yet more interesting cases including one more like the every day in the UK, a child with a bead in its ear!!
The last case of the day took five hours so lunch happened at about 4.45pm!!
The dining room here has an early lunch and early dinner so it's not unusual for OR staff to have meals plated up by their colleagues. I had that twice today and as I sit typing in this post I have a pager in my pocket - my turn for on call tonight.
There are opportunities to go from the ship to various projects in Monrovia and I have signed up to go out on Saturday morning to a Cheshire Home for the handicapped. The other options were a womens prison or an orphange...the Cheshire home won. Which church I go to on Sunday has been decided by which vehicle is going to the beach afterwards! Gosh, its's just so tough out here.
The laundry system works well. You simply book out a washing machine. There are one hour slots and the wash takes 40minutes. With 10 machines available for a good part of the day it's no problem finding a slot. Well, no doubt another interesting day tomorrow.
I've been working with a retired OR nurse from Canada for the last 3 days and she is just great. I've been scrubbed all day and had yet more interesting cases including one more like the every day in the UK, a child with a bead in its ear!!
The last case of the day took five hours so lunch happened at about 4.45pm!!
The dining room here has an early lunch and early dinner so it's not unusual for OR staff to have meals plated up by their colleagues. I had that twice today and as I sit typing in this post I have a pager in my pocket - my turn for on call tonight.
There are opportunities to go from the ship to various projects in Monrovia and I have signed up to go out on Saturday morning to a Cheshire Home for the handicapped. The other options were a womens prison or an orphange...the Cheshire home won. Which church I go to on Sunday has been decided by which vehicle is going to the beach afterwards! Gosh, its's just so tough out here.
The laundry system works well. You simply book out a washing machine. There are one hour slots and the wash takes 40minutes. With 10 machines available for a good part of the day it's no problem finding a slot. Well, no doubt another interesting day tomorrow.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Tuesday June 10
Well, another busy day at the office. Started at 8.30am and was still working at 6.00pm. The last case was just too interesting to miss especially as I was scrubbed for it, but all the cases have been interesting and not the sort of thing I tend to see in the UK mainly because our healthcare system means that we go to the Drs much earlier.
Here people have to pay to see a doctor and most can't afford it which is why they come to Mercy Ships in the first place. it's not unusual though for a patient to have waited several years before seeking help.
I still haven't got my nose out of the door yet today but as a theatre team we're meeting for breakfast on Deck 7 (there are 8 altogether) where there are suitable seats and tables for us to sit round so I'll get fresh air tomorrow. I might even manage to pull on my running shoes in the morning. The ship is moored in a harbour with about a quarter long dock. it's warm out but at least a few laps will get me going.
You'll just have to read tomorrow nights episode to see if I made it!
Here people have to pay to see a doctor and most can't afford it which is why they come to Mercy Ships in the first place. it's not unusual though for a patient to have waited several years before seeking help.
I still haven't got my nose out of the door yet today but as a theatre team we're meeting for breakfast on Deck 7 (there are 8 altogether) where there are suitable seats and tables for us to sit round so I'll get fresh air tomorrow. I might even manage to pull on my running shoes in the morning. The ship is moored in a harbour with about a quarter long dock. it's warm out but at least a few laps will get me going.
You'll just have to read tomorrow nights episode to see if I made it!
Monday, 9 June 2008
Monday June 9
Started work proper today and had a really good day. I was assigned a theatre (or OR) having met all the team. It felt much like a Monday morning should to me as I was involved in head and neck surgery with an ENT surgeon!!
There were 2 of us on scrub side and I scrubbed all day. Some interesting work which covered a range of stuff. Obviously I can't go into detail here but ask me on my return!!
The surgeon was very friendly as indeed was the rest of the team. I got to work with my room mate too. We had started the day with a short devotional time before going to the department. by 2pm the temperature was rising as the air con wasn't working properly and it's still pretty warm onboard. This evening I had to attend the crew orientation and fire/safety lectures. Just now one of the alarms went off but fortunately it was a false alarm.
The day has flown passed and I'm heading to bed having not got my head outdoors at all. There's always tomorrow...
There were 2 of us on scrub side and I scrubbed all day. Some interesting work which covered a range of stuff. Obviously I can't go into detail here but ask me on my return!!
The surgeon was very friendly as indeed was the rest of the team. I got to work with my room mate too. We had started the day with a short devotional time before going to the department. by 2pm the temperature was rising as the air con wasn't working properly and it's still pretty warm onboard. This evening I had to attend the crew orientation and fire/safety lectures. Just now one of the alarms went off but fortunately it was a false alarm.
The day has flown passed and I'm heading to bed having not got my head outdoors at all. There's always tomorrow...
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Sunday 8th June
Just in case any of you are unsure what Mercy Ships is all about let me explain briefly. Its a christian organisation that has a large ship which is basically a floating hospital. It serves the needy of the world by offering surgery that they would not be able to have otherwise. It covers quite a range of surgery and includes eye surgery (cataracts etc) some orthopaedics like correctin of club foot and recontructive suergery for things like hare lip/cleft palate and removing tumours etc. So quite a range. there are 6 theatres although only 5 in use at present. Most of the staff are volunteers but some have been here for 2 years others like me come for just a short time.
I start in the department tomorrow morning at 8am. I've already had a tour of the department tonight so am looking forward to starting tomorrow morning.
So today, I went to a local church and worshipped african style - loud and with just drums no other instruments, then having returned to the ship and eaten lunch went for a walk with another volunteer who also arrived on Friday night. It was, as you would probably expect, very hot and the phrase "only mad dogs and englishmen go out in the midday sun" sprang to mind. We were out for about and hour but it was long enough. Starbucks is open tonight and I can hear the coffee machine calling me for a cappucino!!
Just in case any of you are unsure what Mercy Ships is all about let me explain briefly. Its a christian organisation that has a large ship which is basically a floating hospital. It serves the needy of the world by offering surgery that they would not be able to have otherwise. It covers quite a range of surgery and includes eye surgery (cataracts etc) some orthopaedics like correctin of club foot and recontructive suergery for things like hare lip/cleft palate and removing tumours etc. So quite a range. there are 6 theatres although only 5 in use at present. Most of the staff are volunteers but some have been here for 2 years others like me come for just a short time.
I start in the department tomorrow morning at 8am. I've already had a tour of the department tonight so am looking forward to starting tomorrow morning.
So today, I went to a local church and worshipped african style - loud and with just drums no other instruments, then having returned to the ship and eaten lunch went for a walk with another volunteer who also arrived on Friday night. It was, as you would probably expect, very hot and the phrase "only mad dogs and englishmen go out in the midday sun" sprang to mind. We were out for about and hour but it was long enough. Starbucks is open tonight and I can hear the coffee machine calling me for a cappucino!!
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Leaving tomorrow
Rucksack is packed. Daysac is nearly ready. Finish work at 1.00pm and leave home at 2.30ish.
If it's not in the rucksack now the visa card will have to pay for it!!
If it's not in the rucksack now the visa card will have to pay for it!!
Monday, 2 June 2008
Just starting
4 days to go now, before i'm off to Liberia!
Thought I should set up a blog website, so I can keep you all up-to-date with what i'm doing whilst i'm away!
Ali
Thought I should set up a blog website, so I can keep you all up-to-date with what i'm doing whilst i'm away!
Ali
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