Trip Two: Week Three! November 10-16

Three weeks down, four to go. The time is flying by... as I knew it would! 

Ship Life

This week brought more game nights, beautiful weather, and time with friends. On Monday night, we brought a different game into the rotation and played Code Names. This can be a tricky one to play with people from different countries/languages/cultures, but it proved to be a fun challenge. Heather returned to the ship on Monday! We are friends from working together at Duke Regional, and she also spent 7 weeks on the AFM earlier this year. How special that we are able to overlap again for the 3 weeks she is here this trip. 

On Tuesday mornings, we have our OR devotional time. Most weeks, we are in the OR hallway and a guest speaker comes and shares truth from the Gospel. This week, we sang a couple of worship songs and heard a message from the Bible. What a great way to start the day! 

Wednesday mornings before work, there is an anesthesia in-service. Typically, a member of the anesthesia team will come and speak about a topic, ranging from how anesthetics are done in their country, to a specific patient case where a learning opportunity took place. This week, it was a little different and we heard from a member of the sterile processing team! She gave a great and interesting presentation about the importance of sterilization and disinfection in relation to equipment and instrumentation. I think that sterile processing can be a department that is often forgotten, but it is SUCH an important aspect of the surgical process and surgeries would not be possible without them. Working in sterile processing is difficult... imagine standing at a sink and washing dishes for hours at a time... it's tough!! To anyone in healthcare, be sure to appreciate and encourage those in the sterile processing department or in a role that is often overlooked. Each member of the surgical team is important! 

The medical in-service on Wednesday night highlighted different surgeries that Mercy Ships has performed throughout the years. Dr. Leo Cheng, a maxillofacial surgeon who has served numerous times with Mercy Ships, shared before and after photos of patients from various field services/countries where Mercy Ships had docked. Some of the cases were shocking, seeing how entire faces were reconstructed after diseases like Noma or severe burns had completely disfigured appearances. Throughout the presentation, Dr. Leo gave all the glory to God and recognized that none of this would be possible without God's hand over it all. The Lord continues to show me just how special Mercy Ships is and how blessed I am to play a small part in its mission. 

On Thursday, two other crew from the OR kindly joined me on a morning run. We decided to run in the opposite direction I normally go, and we ended up discovering an amazing path! It took a bit of exploring to find where to actually get on the path, but once we were there, it was lovely! It was paved, next to the ocean, and I was able to look up and enjoy the view (rather than looking at the ground to avoid stepping in a hole). Friday was a ship holiday and no surgeries were scheduled, so the run was a perfect start to our "Friday." 

After work on Thursday, a group of us went to a restaurant in town called "Little India" for a farewell meal for some of the crew who were leaving this weekend. It was a delicious meal spent with dear friends.

Since we did not have surgeries scheduled for Friday, some of us had planned to go on an excursion to a nearby island to snorkel, climb the lighthouse, and explore the island. However, the weather was too windy and the water was too rough, so the port authority would not let any boats leave and our trip was cancelled. Because we did not want to waste the day, some of us decided to go to the markets and then spend the day at Club Nautique, a nearby sports club & restaurant (with a big pool!). At the markets, I bought some fabric to have funky scrubs made (stay tuned) and a couple other souvenirs. It is always fun seeing the markets, both the souvenir/touristy side and the areas where local people go to buy groceries and products needed. At Club Nautique, we played cards, ate lunch, and relaxed by the pool for a few hours. Even though our original plan was cancelled, it still turned out to be an amazing day! 

Saturday was one of the first days it's rained all day since I arrived. After a gym & chat session with Heather in the morning, I relaxed most of the day. Heather and my other friend Chiara were both on call and confined to the ship, so I ended up spending most of the day hanging out with them and playing (even more) games. We also decided to take advantage of the AFM salon and give each other haircuts (no qualifications present). Thankfully, no tragedies occurred... even though I did go rogue and cut off quite a chunk of my OWN hair... shoutout to Chiara for blending that in for me. 

On Sunday morning, I attended the church service at the Hope Center with Chiara and other Mercy Shippers. We are not allowed to take any photos to protect patient privacy, but it was lovely seeing some patients who had been discharged from the hospital but still needed some follow up care before going home. We sang Malagasy worship songs, and heard a teaching from Acts 24 about Paul being put in prison and Felix' selfishness. One woman at the Hope Center shared that her own mother had been thrown in prison for a crime she clearly did not commit, but was unable to leave because she could not pay the large sum of money asked for her release. She spent months in prison before she was able to afford to be released. This is a heartbreaking reality for so many people around the world. 

After the Hope Center service, Chiara and I took a tuk tuk to a local beach to relax, have lunch, and swim. The weather was great, and it was a perfect way to spend the day!  

Surgery On Board

This week was another week of hernias, lipomas, and hydroceles. Being the adult general team leader, this is typically what each week will look like for me. On my first trip to the AFM, I rotated between specialties and saw a variety of cases, but as a team leader I am typically only in that specialty. At times, I wish I could see or be involved in some of the max fax or pediatric cases, but having only one specialty also allows me to develop better skills and establish a good routine in that OR. There are pros and cons of team leading for sure, but overall I have really enjoyed it! 

I had to say goodbye to the two general surgeons I've been working with for the past two weeks. It was such a great time working with Roy and Malika, and I hope to cross paths again within the Mercy Ships world! Two new general surgeons will arrive at some point over the weekend, and we will screen another round of patients Monday to assess them for surgery. 

As always, we said "see you later" to many of the OR crew members this weekend. This has been a special group, and I hope to see everyone again someday.  

OR Recap

This week, the AFM OR saw 38 patients across the maxillofacial, pediatric, and adult general specialties.