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Trip Three: Week Eleven! August 31-September 6

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 Eleven weeks down, two to go!  Time really does move differently here on the ship. In many ways, it feels like I just left the States to come to the ship, but it also feels like I've been here forever with the routines I've established and the relationships I've built.  This was another busy week in the OR, per usual. While the photos I share are the fun, off-work moments, I usually end up working 50+ hours a week, Monday to Friday. As a team leader, I have a few additional responsibilities after surgeries finish, so most nights I finish my duties at or after 6pm. I also can't obviously share photos from inside the OR or with patients, so the photos shared are the after-work highlights!  There is not much to report from this week. I got off the ship a couple nights this week for dinner and enjoyed another sunrise run on Friday. Most of the week was spent in the OR working!  On Saturday, I spent time in town, ate a delicious lunch, then returned to say farewell ...
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Trip Three: Week Ten! August 24-30

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 Ten weeks down, three to go (for now)! See the end of this post for an exciting update! :)  Praise the Lord for a great week! I am thankful for a good week, time off the ship, and new & intentional friendships.  This week, I continued working in the thyroid room. It was a fairly productive week with 3 surgeries per day. It was the second week working with the same team, so we were able to establish an efficient routine! We finished by 5pm each day, allowing us to enjoy some time off the ship getting ice cream or going for a walk. This was a much-needed change from previous weeks, so I am thankful for the gift of time.  On Tuesday night, I went off ship for dinner and enjoyed a beautiful sunset (and moonrise) looking out over the port.  After work on Wednesday, a group from the OR went out for gelato. It is nice getting to spend time with co-workers off the ship and learning more about each other. I have been blessed with a great surgical team this week....
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Trip Three: Week Nine! August 17-23

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Nine weeks down, four to go!  This week felt like an emotional rollercoaster, honestly... and it was the quickest (and also longest) week yet.  On Monday, we had the first patient screening day for the start of the thyroid surgical block! The team saw around 30 patients, many of whom have had these large goiters for 10+ years. While we are technically still doing general surgery, it is quite different than the processes for hernia/hydrocele general surgery. It was interesting getting to learn about thyroidectomy surgeries and the steps these patients have taken before even getting to the ship. The thyroid patients need to have regular blood tests done and medication prescribed to ensure their levels are within a certain range before they can have surgery. Many of them have been receiving care from Mercy Ships for weeks/months before ever being seen by an actual surgeon. Starting this four week thyroid surgical block brought quite a bit of nerves for me. I haven't really done a...
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