Trip Two: Week Five! November 24-30
Five weeks down... two to go!
Ship Life
Even with the busyness of work, I was still able to find some time to get off the ship and enjoy beautiful Madagascar. Tuesday morning, the unofficial "AFM OR Run Club" ventured out for another casual run. The discovery of this paved road next to the beach has been one of the best surprises of this trip. Sections of it are still being paved and finished, so there are no vehicles and very little foot traffic.
On Tuesday evening, some of the OR team went out for dinner at La Verandah. We piled into two tuk tuks and set off for the restaurant. It was an evening well spent with good company. It was somewhat of a "last hurrah" for Heather and Benedicte (anesthetist from Belgium) as they departed the ship Friday afternoon.
The anesthesia in-service on Wednesday morning was led by Dr. Maggie Aures, an anesthetist from Germany. She spoke about "fatigue among anesthesiologists in Europe" and the importance of good rest and recovery as a healthcare professional. There was a good discussion after the presentation about everyone's different experiences in their countries when it comes to healthy work/life balance.
Unfortunately, one of the general surgeons was sick on Wednesday so we had a shortened case load. As sad as his sickness was, it did give some of us the opportunity for an afternoon off work. I joined two other OR nurses and we adventured out in town. We went to the tailor to pick up my funky scrubs, the market for souvenirs, and got bubble/boba tea.
That evening, the medical in-service was titled "The Journey to Surgery: How Mercy Ships patients are found, selected, and scheduled." It was led by members of the pre-op team and those who have served on the patient selection team. Throughout the hour-long presentation, they just scratched the surface on the complexity behind the operation of Mercy Ships. The coordination and logistics behind selecting patients and getting them to the ship is so complex and really would not be possible without God's hand in it all. In the presentation, this podcast was referenced as a resource for those wanting to learn more about how Mercy Ships works.
Because Thanksgiving is an American holiday, the ship does not really recognize it as a "holiday" and we are all still expected to report to work as scheduled. After a busy day in the OR, I picked up a Thanksgiving inspired meal from the dining room and went to the café to join my fellow Americans to celebrate. I ate dinner with a PACU nurse Laura and her husband who are from Arizona. Even though it did not really "feel" like a normal Thanksgiving, it was a memorable way to celebrate the day!
The AFM OR Run Club was back in action on Friday morning. Madagascar is settling into its summer weather, so it is usually 80+ degrees and humid by the time we leave the ship at 0545 for our run.
Friday morning brought more farewells in the OR. Because Heather and Benedicte were leaving on Friday afternoon while we were all going to be working, we re-created the classic Mercy Ships dock sendoff in the OR with a prayer and run-through tunnel! Heather's three weeks on board flewwww by, but I'm thankful we were able to overlap on the ship again...and that we will see each other again soon in Raleigh!
I am on-call this Saturday and Sunday and have been enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation around the ship. After saying goodbye to many OR team members on Saturday morning, I read my book, napped, and did some laundry.
Surgery On Board
This week was another busy week in the OR, with five or six cases scheduled in the adult general room each day. Even with one of the adult general surgeons falling ill for two days, we still performed many surgeries this week.
OR Recap
In total, the AFM OR performed 55 surgeries across pediatric general, adult general, and maxfax specialties.
The Patient Selection podcast was fascinating. Like you said, the process is only possible by God's Hand!
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