A new identity

Since my first trip to Africa, I've been doing my best to embrace African culture. When we arrived in Sierra Leone, I determined that I would do my best to fit into the culture here. I've been learning a bit of Krio, trying out some of the local foods, traveling the way a lot of the locals travel (poda-poda buses), and doing what I can to learn the culture. So, when one of our translators offered to braid my hair with extensions, I thought it would be another great way to become a bit more African.


So, after seven hours with Edwina, a lot of great conversations, a stiff neck and a few mosquito bites, I had a new look (and somewhere near 150 braids).The patients loved the braids and told me "Now you are African!" All the patients and translators starting calling me "Bioncé" because apparently they all think I look like an actress from Ghana who has a similar personality and face. (I personally don't see the resemblance, but all of them do). They had called me "Biance" before, but once I braided my hair, it really caught on and very few patients still called me by my real name. I was very amused by the whole thing and got used to answering to "Bioncé." One day, I was walking through the market and a random person I didn't know shouted "Bioncé!" as I passed by. So I guess there must be some sort of resemblance with the actress, even though I have a hard time seeing it.


Throughout my travels, I have earned a few different African nicknames here and there, but I think this one is my favorite yet.

Me & one of our ortho kids at the Hope Center

I'd really love to keep this cute & cuddly baby



It's the little things that count

It's been said that you don't realize what you have until it's gone...Over the past couple weeks, we've been reminded of those little conveniences that we have on the ship that we often take for granted...because for a brief time, those things were taken away from us. We have had issues with power outages, air conditioning issues, and most recently lack of water. There were some issues with our usual water sources coming in to the ship at the same time that our water consumption was at a record high...the result: water restrictions.


We were all informed on Friday that the water supply was low and that we should only take showers "if absolutely necessary" (that one was left for interpretation) followed by the water to the cabin showers being completely shut off on Saturday. Thankfully, a Sierra Leonian friend of mine who works in the ward picked up a couple bags full of drinking water packets for me (it was actually the result of a miscommunication we had, but it worked out quite well in the end). My roommates laughed when they saw all the water packets I came home with, but in the end they were all thankful because we got creative and poured it in the tea kettle and managed to still have make-shift showers. It kind of just felt like we were camping.
 A friend of mine recently shared with me about the water and electricity issues she's had living in a local apartment complex in Sierra Leone. She is from Europe, but has become familiar with Africa, as she has been working here for several years now. She shared that at one point, she and her roommates had to carry water up their stairs in buckets because the water lines broke. When that issue was fixed, they had power outages, with the electricity only working for a few hours each day. Hearing her share about those challenges with such a positive attitude reminded me that I have so much to be thankful for. Most days, I have air conditioning, clean water, and even wireless internet. That is much more than most people in Africa have.


The water crisis on the ship is almost over and lots of clean water has already been loaded. We can take real showers again (but only the standard 2-minute "ship showers of course!) and they will be filling the pool again soon. The paper plates and plastic cutlery have been put away and we can eat off of real dishes now. The crew galley is open again for all the people who want to bake and cook. Things are pretty much back to normal here on the ship. But, I think something has changed inside of many of us. We certainly have a new view of water, but we also realize that it's the little things in life that make a difference. And for those things, we are grateful.

No bones about it

Well, over the last month, my life has been invested in bones...helping lots of patients heal from their orthopedic surgeries. I have been learning a lot about orthopedics and have found that the more I do ortho, the more I love it. From ankle fusions to osteotomies to 8 plates, there is something really exciting about watching patients have their bones fixed. It is always exciting to show them the before & after x-rays so that they can see what it looks like inside while they're waiting to get out of their casts.

This year, I have the role of an ortho charge nurse, which has brought new learning experiences and a few challenges along with that. But, it has been a lot of fun getting to know the nurses and doctors better. We have been blessed with some great orthopedic surgeons and anesthesiologists. In fact, the man who invented a special orthopedic surgery for children known as the "8-plate surgery" was actually one of the surgeons who served with us on the ship for several weeks. I am always so blown away by the phenomenal staff we have and the way everyone is treated as equals, working together as a team.

Our team of amazing nurses

Another thing that has been fun about orthopedics is that we have quite a few patients who are with us long-term, due to treatment and the part of the country that they have to travel from. The extra time that they spend with us gives us the opportunity to get to know them better. One of the kids that has stolen my heart is named John. He is such a sweet little boy and has made huge improvements since surgery. One day he started to sing a song that he made up about how he loved Mercy Ships. The next day, we had a visit from the First Lady of Sierra Leone and he sang one of his songs for her in front of a big audience of people in the ward. I was so proud.

John getting out of bed with Physical Therapy



Another perk of all our long-term patients is that they sometimes have adorable little siblings who stay in the hospital with them. John's little sister, Gladys is one of those precious little ones. She is fourteen-months old and full of energy and attitude. But, she is just so cute that she's so hard not to love, even when she's misbehaving. Gladys has become my little helper and likes to climb up on my lap when I'm doing my computer work. We've done our best to train her well...Now she sanitizes her hands with the wall hand sanitizer (pretty much every 5 minutes, but hey at least she's clean!), waves goodbye, and blows kisses. I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to Gladys. I know I shouldn't hold her constantly, but when I put her down and look at her little pouty face and lifted arms, I can't help but pick her back up. But then again, sometimes it's better to keep her close...otherwise, we find her trying to escape from the ward or getting herself into trouble.

Me & my little helper