Week Three! April 28-May 4

This week was another busy week of surgeries, game nights, and adventures with friends! Three weeks down, eleven still to go! 

Ship Life

    One shared area in the middle of the ship, fittingly named "midships," is a popular place to play games, simply relax, or chat with friends! There was some friendly competition a couple nights this week after work. I learned some new games but also played some familiar favorites, including Code Names. Turns out playing Code Names with people from all over the world can be a bit challenging (but entertaining)! I also have enjoyed playing volleyball on the dock!  


    On Wednesday evening, a local band came to the café area of the ship and performed. They were all very talented and played well known worship songs and we all sang along! The night ended on a high note when homemade ice cream was served. 


      I unfortunately caught a sinus bug that was going around, but thankfully was better by the end of the week. I took it a bit easier this week and slept in instead of going to the gym, but I did enjoy a run with my friend April and the run club on Friday morning! It had rained so the weather was a little cooler and there was a nice breeze. I'm definitely trying to build up my mileage again! 



    In line with the Mercy Ships way, I had to say goodbye to more people this weekend. It was a big departure weekend for many on the OR team, including some people who'd become dear friends to me. To celebrate and say goodbye, a large group of us went out for dinner on Friday night and then sang karaoke & line danced. 


 



    Three of my friends - Jenelle, Imogen, and April, all departed the ship this weekend. They were some of my first friends on the ship and all worked in the OR department. On Saturday, we spent the day together watching our friends play soccer in town, going to the market, and enjoying a sweet treat. I am thankful we had the day together before they left! 



    One tradition when crew leave the ship is to gather and pray around those leaving and then form a tunnel of hands to run through before loading the van. It is done every time someone leaves and I'm not sure how it will ever get easier saying goodbye! I will cherish these friends for a long time and hope to visit them around the world!


 

Surgery On Board

    I was on the plastic surgery rotation again this week and we performed many similar operations to last week. Since I had not really done/seen plastic surgery before coming to Mercy Ships, it has been very interesting to learn new things! I am thankful for the training I've received during my time at Duke and have felt confident here on the ship. There are so many resources available to help and we all share the common goal of wanting our patients to do well and heal! 

"Funky Friday"



Last day with team lead Tara (Canada)
  



Last day with plastic surgeons Dr. Tobias Laurell (Sweden) and Dr. Mike Lalibertie (Canada)




 




     





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week One! April 11-19

Image
 WOW! What an amazing (almost) first week on board! I am continually blown away by the Lord's hand in this adventure already. Below you can read about my journey to the ship, first impressions of ship life, the first three days in the OR, and a weekend away!  Travel :       Heather and I left for the airport around 3:00pm on Friday, April 11th. We flew overnight from Raleigh to Paris (~8 hours), had a ~2 hour layover, and then flew ~11 hours to Antananarivo (Tana), Madagascar. We were not originally seated together for either flight, but thanks to two kind passengers, we were able to sit next to each other! I got extra lucky and had an empty seat next to me for the 11 hour flight 🙌. Overall, the flights were not too bad. I watched a couple movies, napped, and enjoyed the meals provided by Air France.      When we arrived to Tana around 10:00pm local time, we were greeted by a Mercy Ships representative who helped us through customs and filli...
Read more

Week Ten! June 16-22

Image
Ten weeks down, four to go!  Only one more month onboard the AFM... wow! It is hard to believe that 2+ months have already passed by. It has been an amazing experience already and I know the following four weeks will be filled with more wonderful memories.  Ship Life  This week was quite busy in the OR, so I did not have much time after work for activities or going out. I did enjoy two morning runs, but not much else happened during the week nights.    On Friday night, I was able to attend a praise and worship night at the Hope Center, where the patients stay before and after surgery. The band "Reko," a popular Malagasy group from the capital Tana, was invited to perform at the service. Unfortunately no photos or videos were allowed to protect the patients' privacy, but it was a beautiful night worshipping and enjoying community together. I even got to see some of the post-op patients and their families from that week!  On Saturday morning, I went on a cult...
Read more

Week Five! May 12-18

Image
 Five weeks down, nine to go!  Ship Life      I have definitely settled into more of a routine and feel like I almost know my way around the ship. My dad would be proud of my use of "starboard, port, forward, & aft" to describe the location of something on the ship. This week included more games with friends, beautiful sunsets, and yummy food. We also had our first week of trivia on Monday night! We placed third (out of five teams), so not too shabby! I am hoping that is just the start of a successful international trivia career.          There are numerous restaurants to choose from in the area and I have yet to be disappointed with a meal! One common meal is some kind of "Zebu" which is a kind of cow and is very similar to the beef we are used to in the States. I have ordered Zebu brochette (skewers) a few times and it is always tasty! I also tried banana flambé at a restaurant this week, not putting two and two together that it wo...
Read more