First week of surgery

Well, the first week of surgery went really well...I worked the first day the hospital was open, so it was fun to get to take care of the first patients. There was one patient in particular named Kossi that my friend told me he had met at screening, so he was really excited about getting surgery. So, it was awesome because I ended up being Kossi's nurse two days in a row. He is 16 years old and had a very large facial tumor prior to surgery (about the size of a grapefruit). It was really cool being able to take his bandage off for the first time and give him a mirror so that he could see his face for the first time without this huge tumor that had plagued him for the last several years.

Working on the ward here is very different than back home...the shift starts and ends with prayer. All the nurses and translators gather together to pray for the shift, for the patients, and anything specific that is going on with the patients. The atmosphere is just different. Everyone helps each other out and everyone is on the same level.

One thing that blew me away this week was the humility of the doctors here. One of the nurses went on his lunch break and while he was gone, his patient vomited. So, the doctor stood there and held the bucket for the patient while he threw up. Then, when one of the other nurses offered to take the bucket for him, the doctor said "Oh, that's ok...just tell me where to take it." I stood there in shock because I have never seen a doctor do that before! It certainly isn't in their job description...but he did it anyway because of his servant's heart...it really just challenged me to have the same servant's heart about whatever I do..whether it's something I'm "supposed" to do or not.

My first shift ended in a really cool way..we prayed and then one of the translators asked if he could sing a short english song...so he started singing 'i have decided to follow Jesus...no turning back'...we all joined in and it almost gave me the chills...it was a really sweet moment...just being reminded of why I'm here...it's cool to be able to help change people's lives both physically and spiritually and to be able to work together for a common goal.

I ended up working all weekend, but it was nice to have some extra time with the patients...we took them out to Deck 7 to get some fresh air and sunshine and also got to spend some time playing games...so it was a nice slow pace, but good to have some time with them...we had some really great translators who gave us some little French lessons throughout the day too! Not all of the patients speak French, but a lot of them do, so it's nice to learn a little bit so that I can communicate better. It's also very useful when we're out and about in town!

We have another big week ahead of us! On top of surgery this week, the election is taking place for the new Togolese leader! So, no one will be able to come or go from the ship on the day of the election due to possible unrest...which means that all of our patients who are supposed to be admitted for surgery will have to come a day early...so we'll have lots of "hotel patients"...so it should be interesting..but fun...the more the merrier!

Well, that's all for now...sorry I don't have any pictures of the patients yet...there are a lot of restrictions on taking pictures of the patients..but I should be able to take some eventually...and when I do, I'll be sure to post them!