Happy Goodbyes

Life on the ship is full of goodbyes. But those goodbyes are not always sad and sorrowful events.

Plastic surgery finished a few weeks ago. The surgeon who had been operating on our patients with burn contractures, extra fingers or toes, gigantism of various limbs, etc., returned home. But many of his patients remained in the hospital, their surgeries were complete but their wounds still requiring daily dressing changes and special care.

The Plastics Team

For some, struggling with infection, or slow wound healing, it seems as if they would never go home. This week we celebrated with two patients who had been in the hospital for over two months. Finally their wounds were healed and they were ready to leave the ship. They will still return to us several times a week,for physical therapy so this is not yet a final goodbye, but we will no longer see their faces on the ward.

Saying Goodbye

One of the patients that left this week was young Benjamine. Benjamine came to us with severe burn contractures to her neck and both arms. She had been burned when her clothing caught fire. But she still had a beautiful smile.

Benjamine at screening

Benjamine was with us for so long that she knew almost everyone in the hospital and believe me when I say she was loved by all. On the day she was discharged, we had a surprise goodbye party for her on Deck 7. Many of the nurses who had cared for Benjamine came to wish her goodbye. It was a time of smiles, hugs, and laughter. And perhaps also a few tears.


Goodbye Hugs and Smiles

She still returns to the ship for physical therapy, and always stops by the wards to say "Hello" to the nurses, with bright smiles and hugs for all.

The Faces of Hope

Plastics patients and family with their surgeon and nurses

Recently we invited our patients from the first round of plastic surgeries to come back to the ship for a final evaluation and to say goodbye and thank you to their surgeons and nurses. It was such a blessing to see them with new life and new hope because of their surgeries. Some faces stand out most clearly in my mind. I would like to introduce you to them:

Sabrina and Brenda



Sabrina and Brenda

Sabrina and Brenda are sisters. They were both born with congenital syndactyly. Each of their feet only had three toes, with a large cleft between the large toe and the other two, looking something like a bird's feet. Some of their fingers were also fused together. 

I met Sabrina first. I was the nurse to admit her to the ward with her mother before her surgery. Sabrina and her mother were concerned for the welfare of the younger sister who was still at home, and was scheduled to come to the ship two days later. Because both daughters had been born deformed, the family had been ostracized, and there was no one to make sure that she would make it to the ship safely.

Of course, we made sure that Brenda did indeed make it to the ship and both girls had their surgeries. The surgeon closed the cleft in both girls feet, giving them feet that would look more "normal", though missing a few toes. The surgeon also separated Sabina's thumb and forefinger which had been fused together since birth, giving her a hand that was more functional and also looked more "normal".

Me with Sabrina, Brenda, and their Mother

 

A few days after their surgery, various members of their family began to visit, including their father. The girls were in the hospital for six weeks, and then they went home to a family that now accepted them.

They returned to the ship with bright smiles and new shoes on their feet. Shoes. On feet that looked like feet, even with open toed dress shoes.

 

Wearing Shoes!

Prince and Eli

Prince

Eli

Prince and Eli are twelve year old boys who both suffered from severe burns which resulted in burn contractures. Eli's hand was burned when he was only three years old, and what was left of his hand had fused closed into a fist. Prince had also suffered burns which had caused burn contractures to his wrist, leaving him unable to use his hand properly. The boys both received surgery to free their fingers and  were both so excited to see their hands, with the individual fingers separated and free. Eli's hand had been so severely burned that he had lost the top half of his fingers, but the surgeon separated out each individual finger to give him a better ability to grasp objects. Both boys were full of fun and laughter, and life was always an adventure with the two of them together on the ward.

Prince and Eli having fun on the ward

Prince and I

Eli goofing off in the ward

Neither boy liked the physical therapy exercises that they had to do to strengthen and stretch their fingers or the dressing changes which were painful, but they were so happy to have the use of their fingers once again. After spending a little more than a month on the ship, they both went home. They returned to see us one last time with hands healed and bright smiles, a reflection of a brighter hope for their lives.

Prince showing off his hand

Eli giving a thumbs up

Faces like these are why I wake up every day with a smile, knowing that I get to go to work, and serve these beautiful people.  Faces like these make everything worthwhile.

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!!!