Trip Three: Week Five! July 20-26

Five weeks down, eight to go!

This week brought a little bit of much needed rest. Even though there were a couple of busy days in the OR, I overall felt like this week was not as overwhelming. At very short notice, an anesthetist was unable to come to the ship this week and next. Because of that, we are only able to run two operating rooms instead of three. While this will sadly cause a delay of surgery for a few of our patients, it allowed some of the longer term crew to have a bit of a break. 

Two new general surgeons arrived over the weekend and will be staying for four weeks. One of them is American (Seattle) and the other is from Ethiopia. Tuesday was the general surgery screening day in the pre-op tent down on the dock. We saw almost 60 patients and evaluated whether or not they were a surgical candidate. The majority of the patients we saw had a hernia, hydrocele, or lipoma. There were a couple of patients who did not have a hernia, but who had been assessed earlier this year as possibly having one. The conversation with the patient that they are not a surgical candidate is done very sensitively, and the Malagasy hospital chaplaincy team onboard is carefully involved. Often times, these patients have already been in the port city for weeks waiting to be seen by the surgeon and have traveled very far from their hometown. The work that Mercy Ships does is amazing and truly miraculous, but unfortunately, there is no perfect system and some people do leave disappointed that their problem is not treatable by Mercy Ships. 

I was blessed with the day off on Wednesday! One of my fellow nurses covered for me so that I could have a day of rest and relaxation, all orchestrated and organized by my manager. To start the day, I went on a run with one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen here yet. After getting back to the ship, showering, and having a nice devotional time, I went back out and enjoyed the day off. I embraced the rest and relaxation mindset by going back for another massage and also a pedicure. I was pampered for almost 4 hours for the equivalent of $30 USD. It was such a sweet time, and I left feeling refreshed. After getting back to the ship around lunchtime, I took a nap by the pool in the sunshine. To end the evening, I played volleyball with a group down on the dock. I even had a quick FaceTime with some family back home! I would say it was a perfect day off. 

Thursday was one of our beloved anesthetic assistant’s birthdays. To celebrate, some of us brought our dinner outside to deck seven to enjoy some time together in honor of his special day. There was cake and singing. 

In the evening on Thursday, the amazing Malagasy band REKO performed a concert for the crew onboard. The Christian streaming platform Angel Studios has a show called The Mercy Ships, featuring stories about some Crew on board. The filming agency City Gate has been on board the ship for the last couple of weeks. They were also here last year when I was on the ship. One of their storylines relates to the Malagasy band REKO. The band recently just released their first album entirely in English called Upside Down, which they performed on Thursday evening. I recommend everybody taking a listen! It was probably one of the best concerts I have been to. The band is Christian and many of the songs have worshipful lyrics that I deeply resonated with. It was beautiful! 

 

The following morning brought another funky Friday. We started the day with a couple of games before continuing onto our surgical lists. One of the games had been going on for the past couple of weeks. We were asked to send in a baby/toddler photo of ourselves to then be displayed in the hallway for people to guess who each photo was. It was a fun way to start the day and see some throwback pictures of each other. 

I was on call on Friday and worked until around 6:30pm. After work, I did some laundry and played a couple of games with other people from the OR before going to bed. 

On Saturday morning, I stayed around the ship in the morning and enjoyed the “Christmas in July“ market. Some crew had baked goodies or crafts that they were selling and I was so impressed by the talent and creativity. Around noon, my friend Julie and I went for a walk to a new (to us) bakery in town for a treat and a coffee. We walked about 2 miles there and then back and enjoyed intentional time together. In the evening, I went to an arcade and then dinner with a friend! Overall, it was a wonderful Saturday. 

On Sunday morning, I went to the Hope Center church service. I got to see some patients who we had operated on earlier that week. Through the help of Google Translate, I was able to learn that they were feeling strong and healthy after surgery. During the service, we sang worship songs and listened to a sermon in Malagasy. Even though I could not fully understand what was being said, the spirit of God was present and it was special seeing the Lord be praised in another language. 

After church, Julie and I spontaneously decided to go to a local restaurant/sports club called Club Nautique. We invited a couple of our friends and all enjoyed the day together! We played cards, had lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool. 

In the evening, I finished writing this post and started getting ready for the week ahead! This was probably one of the quickest weeks yet, and it’s crazy that I am almost halfway done with my trip already. 

OR Recap

This week, the AFM OR saw 26 patients across MaxFax, general, and plastic surgery specialties. Of that, there were 14 general surgery patients. 

Thank you everyone for your prayers for endurance and strength! I have been having some sweet, life-giving conversations with friends and finding ways to recharge my spirit.