King of D ward

Alphonse was on board for 50 days.  He had his surgery the very first week the hospital was up and running in Congo.  He had a large growth removed from his face, one that covered his eye, most of his cheek and forehead. His healing took a lot of time with some bumps in the road. As many patients came and went out of the ward, he remained. It didn't take long for a family to be formed. Every morning he would walk around and greet all the nurses with a strong paternal hug. To ward off cabin fever, which infects our patients who spend almost all their lives outside in fresh air, more than any other infection, we try to come up with fun crafts and activities.  We play many games of Uno, and Jenga, create paper chains with colorful construction paper, and fly paper airplanes to pass the time. One night, a crown was made from blue construction paper and colorful IV med caps for jewels, Alphonse became the king of D-Ward. It was incredible to see Alphonse begin to heal, a wound that looked so angry and agitated became new skin over time. On the 50th day of his stay, he was discharged to the HOPE center, the Hospital Outpatient Extension Center, where patients graduate when they no longer need as the same acuity of care. We send patients who still need daily dressing changes, or who live out of Pointe Noire, here. Soon, he will have a second surgery to build a new eye lid and then he will get to go home to his beautiful family. A wife, a son and a daughter. It was a gift to see his joy as they would come in the evenings to visit him. We got to know him in such a special way throughout his 50 days.  

City Life

In between shifts on the wards, it has been fun to get off ship and experience Pointe Noire. Trying new food, seeing city life, surviving taxi rides, riding bikes through town, swimming at the Atlantic Hotel, and going out for drinks, have all been high lights. 

It can take some determination to get off ship. To get into town there is a mile long walk through the busy port. It is a stimulating walk full of uneven ground, wide open man holes deep with trash, diesel exhaust, shouts in unknown languages and dodging of tucks, cars, motor bikes, trains, forklifts and men. Once out of the port, we take a sigh of relief and walk, hail a taxi/mini-bus to our destination. 

Exploring the Grand Marche, a large open air market full of anything you could imagine, especially shoes, produce and shoppers

Becky from KNOXVILLE!

A random Truck with Mercy Ship Surgery Posters

Cool billboards for Mercy Ships throughout town

Naomi from Australia (left), Sarah from COLORADO! (right)

A lovely patisserie, La Citronelle

Becky from Canada (left), Solveig from Norway (right) 

 Jessica from South Africa (left), unknown weirdo (right)

 Thankful to have friends with bikes, who share

"Suffering for Jesus" (not)

Our bikes were still locked up after hours at the pool, yay!

Helena from Canada (left), Amy from North Carolina (right)

Laura, a delightful friend from Australia 

KP (left), Collin, my bunk mate, middle, from Arkansas

The incredible egg sandwich made fresh with an open flame burner by the stand in the left background

Double the trouble

In nursing, it seems that things come in waves. Sometimes we see a lot of one thing at once, and then we won't see it again for a while. This makes perfect sense for infectious disease, but it happens through out all illnesses and injuries. For instance, I remember seeing many dog bites in a short period of time, then not seeing any for a year. This happens on the wards on board as well. Maybe it's because they schedule it that way, maybe not. But often, it seems many patients become friends as they face their post op days together. This happened with two little 3 year old cleft lip/palate boys.

They both were little rascals pre-op and taught us to be very patient post op. I took care of one of them a lot. I was warned pre-op that he cried for 10 min after an axillary temperature was taken. So, it didn't take long to figure out that he was going to be a tough patient. As predicted, he was very fussy post op and would cry any time a nurse would approach. As time passed, he would let a nurse approach his bed with out crying, but as soon as the blue gloves were donned, he would begin to cry. Then, as he became more comfortable he would let us play with him, and even let us pick him up and hold him. He would let me hold him on our trips to deck seven in the afternoon. He loved looking over the rail at the fish near the perimeter of the ship and loved waving at passing boats. He would point at different things and make the universal cleft lip grunt. It is a secret language between all cleft kids, they all know it, a grunting tone with a point to communicate their needs. As they heal, their language will be able to develop and they will learn to communicate normally. 

It was so fun to watch the two little guys together. They would cry together and play together. Their mama's would help each other out by watching each others boys as they left the bed to shower. As the healed they both began to warm up to the nurses in the same way. It was so fun to play with them. About a week post op, cleft lip/palate patients get their bandages removed and their new face is revealed. This happened first to the little guy that I took care of a lot, then to his little friend. It was amazing to see them look at one another and point at their lip where the bandage was removed and then point at their self and tell their little story in grunts. It seemed they were telling of how there was a bandage on me too then it was taken off and now we both are free to smile and be happy boys!

Leaving the nest

I often day dream about what my Mom would think about my life today. It has been five and a half years since she died and so much has changed.




Throughout college I always stayed pretty close to home. I went to school at The University of Northern Colorado which is only forty five minuets from my hometown Longmont, Colorado.  I often was back home spending time with a long term boyfriend I had at the time, hanging out with my Mom and Dad, doing laundry and getting home cooked meals. I think this pattern I had wasn't something my Mom was too fond of. She had moved away from her home, Juniata Nebraska, pretty much as soon as she could. I think I worried her that I stayed so close that I was not stretching my wings enough 

I had applied to the nursing program at the end of my sophomore year and been denied.  It rocked my world when I did not get accepted. I knew that I was supposed to be a nurse, nursing made my soul sing. It was what I had always wanted to be for as long as I can remember.  It was devastating.  I began to look at other schools and started making plans B, C and D.  I had to take some extra classes for different schools requirements.  It was an awkward time in my life feeling very out of synch with the perfect plan I had made;  Two years of pre-requests, get into nursing school, two years of that and then dream come true time.  It was during this transition year that my mom got sick with breast cancer.

Hindsight is always better than twenty twenty though isn't it?  That year 'in between' was part of a bigger plan. I was able to be at home a lot in the fall to help out. I knew she appreciated me being there, she thought of me as her own personal nurse. I now look back and cherish the time I spent with her.

She had completed her chemo therapy at the end of the fall and went in for her double mastectomy mid December. While she was sick, she had a very strong premonition that she was going to die. She was very nervous to have surgery for this reason. As she was recovering back in her hospital room after her surgery I vividly remember giving her a hard time that "she was wrong! She was still alive!" We had a good laugh. That was the best Christmas I had ever had, she was feeling great, my whole family was together, we had the best time. It was two days later that she got readmitted with an septic infection. She went right to the ICU and was there for eleven days before she passed away.

The following spring, I withdrew from classes. I took that time off not really knowing what the next step was going to be.  I was able to grieve.  If I had been in the nursing program, I may not have been able to continue.  That period of my life is not a fun memory to think of, I was a hot mess. Thankfully, time continued.  I was able to learn to manage the permanent hole left from her absence.

But, God's plan worked out, as it always does. I got accepted into UNC's nursing program the following summer and graduated spring 2010.

I hate that she wasn't able to be there for the excitement of receiving the thick envelope rather than the thin one from the nursing program after the second time I applied. I wish I could have vented to her about how hard the classes were. And told her about how coffee can be drank at all hours of the day and night with no sleep interruption, when one wakes at six a.m. for a twelve hour clinical after going to bed at two a.m. post care plan construction after seven hours of lecture. I wish she could have known about my preceptorship in Knoxville where I got offered my very first real job. I wish she could have been there to pin me after the five semesters of the hardest work I had ever done. I wish I could call her up and tell her stories of my patients and coworkers.

Most of all, I wish I could tell her that "I did it," I left the nest, became an independent woman. Drove 1,362 miles by myself  in my green Accord to move to a new city to start a job as a real nurse. Tell her that I had my very own one bedroom apartment that I fully furnished. That I learned to pay all my bills and even do my own taxes (something we would always get in a fight over). And now, as I am half way around the world in Africa nursing on a hospital ship, I wish I could tease her about how she used to be worried about my independence.

Before I left for The Congo, my dad gave me a card that read "The 'stay at home girl' is on her way to help others in the Congo, wow! Love Always, Mom & Dad." Thanks Dad :) I wrote this post months ago before he gave me the card.  It makes me smile and cry every time I read it.

Our last family picture at Elizabeth's college graduation

Vernel

We got to take care of the sweetest boy on D ward, 6 year old Vernel. Every child is special, of course, but some children have an extra special spirit that steals the hearts of many. This is how Vernel is. He is a life loving, playful, and joyous boy! He was born with a cleft lip. He is too young to understand that he looked different. He knew not of the way the world treats those who are different. The cruelty that exists for 'the other.' His parents loved him so, and wanted to give him the best life they could provide, so he was brought to Mercy Ships to repair his cleft. All our hearts were stolen from the first smile we saw! It was such a joy to be able to take care of him! Below are the pictures before his surgery, and after his stay with Mercy ships and his journey home. I am so thankful that the media team captures so many special moments. It really affirms the work we do on board. They provide us with an eye to see the whole picture. They did a great job capturing the joy of Vernel and the joy his family has for him. His uncle greeted him saying, "now you are such a handsome boy!" It is sort of funny to me, Vernel seems a little confused as to what all the fuss is about. I guess probably from his perspective, he never really saw a reflection of himself, he only saw the way people responded to his joyful spirit. So it is sort of funny to watch his facial expressions as he is greeted. Probably from his view, he was fine, then was put through pain and is now the same as before.  His family however, sees that now his life can continue to have his joyful spirit bless us all because he will no longer will be viewed as 'the other.'