Sunday, December 1, 2013

My Movie Stars - Love is...

In October the children on our ward were excited to be part of filming a promotional video for Mercy Ships. We obtained a copy of the video from the communications department, and they all gathered around the computer to watch the video the evening that it was shown on ship. We played it for them three times and they still wanted to watch it again and again and again. So did I!
Now the video has been released for public viewing. These children are amazing and beautiful. Watch the video and see for yourself!
Sisters and movie stars!!!


My other two movie stars!!!

 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

A Birthday in Congo


Today I turned 26, among all of my wonderful friends on the Africa Mercy. I feel so blessed to be here with these wonderful people.






Sunday, November 17, 2013

A Congolese Dinner

I was honored to be invited to come to dinner at the home of one of our translators, Paterne. Paterne's family was wonderful and welcoming. His mother made us a very traditional dinner of fish, cassava, rice, fresh bread, and a sauce made of tomatoes and onions. The food was delicious and it just kept coming. Paterne's mother kept encouraging us to eat more, until I thought I might burst if I ate anything more. After dinner we walked around Paterne's village, played with some of the local children, and Paterne's parents showed us their garden. It was a lovely evening and I hope to return the favor one day and invite Paterne's family to come for dinner on the ship.
Paterne and his family

Group Photo :)

Steve and Shelly in their beautiful African shirts

Paterne's mother showing us peanuts from the garden


Fun with the children in Paterne's village after dinner



Village children waving goodbye

Paterne's beautiful little cousin

Paterne's family waves goodbye

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Weekend Adventure

This weekend I was given the opportunity to go to the local Congo History Museum. It was located about 60 minutes from the port in the old king's "palace". It was not a palace by any sort of western measurement. There were four rooms in total in the main building, each about the size of my bedroom at home and four outbuildings divided into two rooms each, which had once housed the kitchen, the chauffer, and the king's six wives. The museum guide was very enthusiastic and was eager to tell us all about the Congolese history.
It was sad to see the state of many of the artifacts there. I thought of the pristine, environment controlled cases that I am so used to seeing in the western world to preserve articles that are considered to be of historic importance. Compared to that, the dusty, fading, slightly decaying state of many of the artifacts in the museum made me wish that the people of Congo had a way to preserve and protect the artifacts that are of importance to them.
The Museum and old king's "palace"
On our way back to the ship we went to visit the local Catholic seminary and visited the site of the first chapel to be erected in Central Africa and saw where the first bishop had been buried. From there we walked through the local village to the ocean to relax for a while before returning to the ship.
Relaxing at the beach
As we were driving back, our translator directed us down a street that was supposed to be a "shortcut" back to the port. The road was nothing but sand and it was like driving on the beach. Eventually the road became so soft and bumpy that we worried that we were going to get stuck - which is exactly what happened. Our wheels started spinning and suddenly we weren't going anywhere. Despite being in a land rover with four wheel drive, we were well and truly stuck. After trying for a while to dig ourselves out and sticking branches and sticks under the wheels in an attempt to give the wheels some traction, we conceded defeat. We left one translator and crew member with the vehicle and the rest of us hiked back to the main road where we could catch a taxi back to the port. Then we sent our second translator back with another Mercy Ships vehicle, armed with a winch to rescue those we had left behind. Quite the unexpectedly adventurous Sunday! 
Trying to push our way to freedom - no such luck
 
Well and truly stuck in the sand

Saturday, October 26, 2013

The Joys of Being Here

It is hard to believe that we have been doing surgeries here in Africa for two months already! I love being on the ward, it is such a happy place to be, full of smiles and laughter. There are children everywhere, playing games, running, being cuddled. In between my regular nursing duties, i.e., distributing medication, checking vital signs, emptying drains, and changing dressings,  I love to spend time with the patients playing games, weaving friendship bracelets, practicing my French and Kituba, and cuddling. Cuddling is definitely near the top of my list of the joys of being here.
 
 
Maxillofacial surgeries continue to happen at a steady rate, and I love getting to see my little children come in for their cleft lip surgeries. It is typically a simple surgery, but it makes such an immediate difference in these children's lives. I had a 9 year-old girl who was scheduled for a cleft lip surgery this week. She was so very quiet and serious and despite all my efforts, I could not coax a smile out of her. I thought she might be a little frightened, so I pulled up the pictures of young Vernel on the computer (see sidebar) and showed her his before and after photos and what his bandages looked like after he had surgery so that she knew what to expect. I have no idea what she has gone through in her nine years of living with a cleft lip, but she was so withdrawn and desperate for love. She hardly spoke, but she wanted to be held constantly. If I put her down so that I could attend to my other duties, she would follow me around and wait for me to finish my work so that I could pick her up again. Nine years old is a little old to want to be held and carried like that, but she seemed to need the extra love and attention. After surgery her new lip was still swollen, and she was still quiet, and wanted to be held and cuddled. While I was on night shift I held her in my arms until she was ready to sleep. I never did get to see her new smile, she went home only two days after her surgery. She comes back next week to have her stitches removed, and I hope to see a transformed little girl.
My Serious, Snuggly Child
Plastic surgery has finished for now, and orthopedic surgeries have begun. So many lives have already been changed for the better. Of all the surgeries that we do here, the plastics patients require some of the longest healing times. Most of these patients have burn contractures which have been repaired with skin grafts. Practically speaking this means that the surgeon takes healthy skin from another place on their body (usually the thigh) and uses it to repair the open places left when the scar tissue is cut away. Many of these patients will stay in the hospital for one to two months. We develop close relationships with these patients and their families. Even though we have finished the plastics surgeries, there are still ten or so plastics patients left on the ward waiting for their grafts to heal.
 
It has been so exciting to see the first few orthopedic patients come in. Beautiful children with cheerful smiles, excited laughter, and crooked legs, eager to shake your hand as they walk past you in the halls. Some of them will not need surgery, their legs will be put in a series of casts to straighten them. Others will need surgery to correct the more severe bone deformities. The first few are already walking down the hall, with their legs casted, learning how to walk with straight legs.  
Ortho patients on the dock
The greatest joy of being here? Simply watching my patients from admission to discharge. Seeing the changes in them as they are showered with love and unconditional acceptance. True, we have helped to heal them of whatever physical ailment they had, but the greatest thing that I get to do here is to make sure that each and every one of them know that no matter what they look like, they are not cursed. To let them know that they are human, they are intelligent, they are special, they are worthy of love, and they are loved by us and by God.
Hello from A Ward!!!