Today

Today was busy. A little chaotic. A little crazy. Oh the life of a nurse.

Today I helped change Esther's dressing's on her hand and thigh. She is now 16, but when she was three, rebels took her hand and burnt it in a fire. Since then, it's been permanently curled in a ball. Our surgeons preformed and contracture release and skin graph. We pre-medicated her before we started but it did not stop the flow of tears throughout the two hour process. I felt so sad for her. I bought her a crunch bar and took her to an empty room to eat it as a treat when it was all over.

Today Tarwoe told me she loved me. It was said as I left the room but I think it was genuine. This patient is 20 and went home around five pm. She was expecting to go home at 12 pm, but her mother was running late. As I waited be the gangway for her to leave, she and her mother were in a heated debate. I had a translator find out if anything was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Tarwoe was upset that her mother was late. I think my mother and I have had the exact manner of conversation. Human nature is so uniform.

Today I had my third "African lady" lesson. I'm really becoming a pro at carrying things on my head. Maybe I will start a trend in America when I come home.

Today I took care of a patient whose mother had rubella while she was in utero. She is 2 1/2 and came with her little sister who is 6 months. They wore the same size diapers. The little girl is deaf and blind. We are removing her L cataract. We already removed the R cataract and our surgeons as well as the patients mother are pretty certain she is seeing light and large objects. She had never seen anything before.

Today I never made it outside. It's been raining for 1 1/2 weeks strait. It's peak rainy season. Our Internet, which has been shady all week, was completely shutdown all day.

Today I had instant oatmeal for breakfast. A welcomed change from toast.

Today I was suppose to do my weekly load of laundry but the washers were to crowded.

There is always tomorrow.

block buckets and thunderstorms

Kin Anna and I are learning to carry things on our heads like genuine African ladies.
There was a thunderstorm tonight and it was lovely.

party

Tonight I am in the peace ward without a second nurse. Just me and my eight patients. I am able to be as crazy as I want too.

We had fun tonight.

My friend Stacy walked by our ward, came in, and said
"I saw a party and I had to come in...I'm a little jealous of the ward nurses."

I really don't want you to get the wrong impression. We do work hard here in Africa. But this weekend was a much needed ship holiday (translation: anyone who works 9 to 5 had Friday and Monday off). So we have had no fresh post-ops since Thursday night. Everyone feels pretty good at this point.

The night started with a the movie "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course" featuring the late Steve Irwin. The ward is filled with teenagers at the moment and they laughed and oohed at the scary crocodiles and slimy snakes. I sat on my patient Naymou's bed and held her hand as we watched the movie.

Mastering the art of carrying large objects on my head is a skill I am hoping to acquire during my time in Africa. Tonight I had a lesson from Prince.

Prince is a 16 year old boy who is witty, smart, and polite. His entire right leg is casted. His house has burnt down and he has nowhere to live. So he is staying a few nights with us. In Liberia, woman place carefully wrapped fabric on their heads when they want to carry something. Prince wrapped a pillow case for me and put it on my head. I then proceeded to carry a two gallon container of blocks on my head like a genuine African lady.

I walked the entire length of the hospital hallway. Every mobile patient sat at the door and watched. The others were my accompaniment. They all laughed hard at my half-hazard attempt.

So did I.

When I was finished "practicing" my developing skill, I showed them pictures of my family via the computer. Later we sang some Mary Mary songs. Patricia in bed 60 knows them all. I even tried to teach Esther, a 16 year old patient, some swing dance moves.

You always have to dance at parties.

Around 11:30 it was time for bed. Before they went to sleep I told them why I came to Africa. I told them how much God loves them. I read them the 23 Psalm,

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul."

Prince prayed a bedtime prayer and the lights were turned off.

I went to each bed and carefully tucked them in. It's been a good night.

tales of war

Yesterday I went to the market. We walked over that bridge that leads to the center of Monrovia. As we walked by I again marveled at the bullet holes that filled the posts of the street lamps. My friend Lorah pointed out that these holes were caused by missed shots. A significant number of shots had to be fired to produce that many misses.

Mercy Ships has showed several documentaries about the war since my arrival. They show the buildings and city that we walk through everyday before the war. It's filled with buildings that aren't broken down and bombed out as well as street lights and roads that work.

The civil war went on for 14 years. An entire generation has grown up dodging bullets. Liberia's children have grown up as soldiers. Busy fighting wars and using guns rather than going to school.

An orphanage worker was marveling at this fact. That this generation has no remembrance of what Liberia was like before becoming havoced by the war.

Today my roommate was visiting a prison. Liberia's president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, stopped by while they were there. She offered our crew her sympathies for the recent loss of a crew member. The prison had been had been her home during Liberia's turmoil and she was visiting her old cell. She seems to be an excellent, smart, and very approachable woman.

I would never want her job.

Rebuilding is going to be a long process. I have been educated about Liberia's civil war in the same manner in which I was educated about America's civil war. Through books and stories. But the people I am meeting have had a different education.

One of our translators told me over lunch that she gets scared whenever she hears loud noises because they remind her of the bullets she use to hide from. A 16 year old in our ward is here having a burn contracted release. When she was 3 the rebels stuck her hand in a fire. Another 15 year old came to have three bullets removed from her body. A man had his arm burnt so severely it needed to be amputated. A woman with VVF delivered her baby while running from the rebels.

They have received a different education.

What we are doing seems very small next to their stories. But it's a matter of perspective.

Seven months of free surgeries won't make a big difference in Liberia's problems. But Mary doesn't leak anymore. Esther can mover her hand. Issac is going to walk on two strong feet. We have shown them God's love.

It's a made a big difference in thier lives. And I think they are worth it.

just do it

Crystal is my new jogging buddy. Today we went for a jog in the Liberian rain.

Crystal runs marathons. My jogging is more of a glorified walk around my neighborhood. It's a healthy challenge to keep up. At home, jogging is a bit of a relaxing experience for me. It's a time to think and to pray. My neighborhood is full of old trees and wide paved roads.

But it's a little different in Liberia.

When I jog here, I feel a bit like I am in a Nike commercial. In spite of the roads condition, in spite of the weather, in spite of the people around me, I just do it (whoa, I am such a nerd).

We run on the shoulder of the road which is completely made of dirt. It takes skill and concentration to dodge/skip over the many large puddles that seem to consume the ground. Any dry area is filled with people. The men often make comments (just like men at home). Sometimes they make the classic Liberian pucker sound. Sometimes they try to be funny by saying, "You lazy girls." Sometimes they try to run with you. Sometimes they tell you that you are their wife. Sometimes they say thank you (I am not sure why).

The roads are filled with an ever flowing stream of yellow, beaten up taxi's. They often pull over to the shoulder to pick up passengers so it's good to be aware of your surroundings at all times. We do have orthopedic surgeons on board, but I really don't feel like getting my foot run over during my stay in Liberia.

Relaxing is not a word I would ever use to describe the experience. But it is fun.

my lovely patients

Kou

Kou is a three year old little girl. Who, by the way, is completely lovely. She likes to smile and laugh and play with blocks. Her dad is completely attentive to her needs and takes very good care of her. Her skin is dark and soft. She’s quite kissable.

Three months ago, Kou fell and hurt her knee. Her grew to the size of a small grapefruit forcing her to walk with an extreme limp. A once active little girl was confined to a small, painstaking movements. Her calf is already starting to whither.
In Liberia there are limited medical resources. Kou was unable to get the medical attention she needed. A minor accident could have caused this happy, active girl to be crippled for the rest of her life.

But the Africa Mercy is in Liberia. Kou won’t have to spend her entire life crippled.

Her little leg is now held hostage by a plaster cast. But she does not seem to mind. She’s actually quite feisty.

Today, I found her hysterically crying. My first instinct was to asses for pain. But Kou wasn’t in pain. She was upset because Tommy, another orthopedic patient, was holding the green car. Kou had the blue car but she wanted the green one. She was basically having a temper tantrum. Like any three year old does. Later she was sitting and eating her lunch, rice with chicken and green sauce. I pretended to eat out of her bowl. As I walked away, her father called my name. I turned around and there was little Kou holding a spoonful of rice. She thought I was really hungry and wanted to share her lunch.

Before my shift was over I was able to hold her on my lap and build with blocks. Nursing can be frustrating sometimes and today had been a bit of a frustrating day. But the last ten minutes of building blocks with Kou pretty much eradicated the previous 500 minutes. It’s pretty great.