Sunday August 9

It's August already and therefore means that I am fast approaching my leaving date. The official notification of my leaving was posted on my door - the disemabarkation form which has to be signed by various departments. There is always red tape to be completed no matter who or where you are.

However in the meantime I have managed one more trip to Casa del Papa and also visited Ghana. Well in the overall scheme of things it's more or less next door in comparison to flying in from the UK! Having family there makes it so easy to visit and the coach trips either way were all part of the experience. Two of the translators who work in recovery were exceedingly helpful. One purchased my ticket to Ghana and then came in to work early so that she could provide cover for another translator to take me to the coach station on the back of his bike. Needless to say he went at a reasonable speed and came with me to the office while I checked in to ensure they knew I was there. Father has an amazing way of providing people for us as we travel if we just look out. A gentleman came and sat next to me on the bench and having started off in the usual french then realised that I was not a native french speaker. He was a pastor from Nigeria and therefore spoke English. We stayed together while we waited for the coach to depart at 12 noon . Departure in reality was 1.30pm. One learns to be philosophical about such things. I couldn't go anywhere until the caoch ws ready to leave so just sit and talk. There was a cover over the waiting area and in fact it was a cool day, by Benin standards, so no real problem. As I showed my ticket boarding the coach I was told to sit on the front seat. The manager was also travelling on the coach and sat by me. He spoke good English too and in fact at one point having crossed the Togo border we passed an accident right outside a cemetery. I made a joke about being close by and he saw the funny point. The crossing into Togo had to be made on foot. So everyone headed out of the coach and walked. I went with them since they all seemed to know what they were doing. A policeman came and found me and walked me back to the immigration desk which was laid back from the side of the road and not well marked. There was no problem but just made me smile. As the only white passenger on the coach I was easy to spot! Entry in to Ghana an hour later (Togo isn't very wide) was completely different. we all stayed on the coach and passports were collected up. The coach moved and then one of the officials returned to the coach to collect......me! I had to go and fill in immigration forms. No surprise but I was intrigued how the official found the correct coach and had my passport in his hand. I'm so pleased that I had gone to the effort of obtaining my visas before travelling. the coach may have left without otherwise as these things can take a while. It may seem a lot of effort but really the travelling is all part of the fun and the smile I received from my new niece made all the effort worthwhile. I think her parents were happy to see me too! My return was not dissimilar and again Father provided me with help. Another pastor working in Ghana who made sure I crossed the borders without difficulty especially when the Benin immigration wanted to see my passport which the courier from the coach had collected. It was all duly stamped when he handed it back to me on the coach.

So this week we have been a little quieter at work. On Friday was able to go and garden for the day at the agricultural project in Hevie. Mercyships has community development programs which are geared towards local needs. At Hevie local men are being taught how to grow crops efficiently and in accordance with the way God intended. There is indeed a science to it all and includes, not burning the land to clear it, not ploughing the land but allowing the soil and the animals and naturally occuring bugs to sort out the soil. Growing complementary crops as, for example, beans and corn in rows or tomato plants and soya beans. The men who are being taught will shortly be trained on a "train the trainer" course once the building of the new training centre is complete. The construction project is for this centre and is about one mile away from the area being used to grow the crops. It will have lecture rooms and dormitories for up to 12 people at a time. The idea is for this work to be ongoing when Mercyships leaves Benin.


Busy pulling out weeds!

This Sunday saw my last service at Four Square church and I was delighted that a new family onboard and one other person came with Christian and I. Even more delighted that the man to whom we witnessed several weeks ago is still coming.

Of course I am reflecting upon my time here and I have learned so many new skills and made many friends - thank goodness for facebook. Friday will be a day of sadness in many ways as I leave friends behind who have become like family and yet of course I look forward to seeing my own family too. If there is one thing I would have to remember its the little baby whose life we battled to save and yet still lost. I know I have a sovereign God who has all things in His hands and this baby is gurgling happily safe in His arms. But I have also seen great joy in women who are no longer wet and many people who can now see. There is a book in the Old Testament written by a prophet called Micah. he was around about 750 years before Christ was born. He had had a vison about Samarai and Jerusalem. He had a deep suspiscion of the phony religion of the leaders of Judah. He warned the common folk not to be deceived by this religious pretence of the nobilty. The peole asked him what they should do to please Go. Did they need to make great sacrifices in order for God to listen to them and save them and he tells them "He has shown you O man what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God". Micah 6:8
As I finish I reflect on meeting the challenges of this verse. I hope that I have acted justly, or fairly, to all with whom I have contact, That I have shown mercy and been compassionate to all that have crossed my path. Most of all I trust that I have learned to have a humble heart that enables me to carry on my walk with Father day by day.

Sunday July 19

The last two weeks have been just as hectic especially this last week as I have been the only anaesthetic nurse in the department.

Enough of the excuses and on with the news.

First I need to make a correction to my last entry (July 4). The story about the newborn baby with a problem with her eyes was incorrect. The cause was not as I stated but was in fact an infection that occurred in the womb and caused her conjunctiva to swell. Sorry about that mistake.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the ward service and to simply be apart of a service that was being simultaneously translated into 3 other languages certainly adds time but is also interesting to hear. English to French and then French to Fon and another dialect which is spoken by only a few but means that all can take part in the service. probably part of the service that most remember is the worship time. Seeing ladies up and dancing while holding onto their catheters is indeed a memory to treasure. The rhythm is something else. The whole translation thing can be time consuming as sometimes to interview patients can take 5 translations then of course we don't always know how accurate the translations are and coping with languages that have no future tense...

All the VVF surgeons have left now and for the last 2 weeks we have had just general surgery and eyes so we have been able to run 2 rooms for the general surgery too. This has proved remarkably effective as a patient can be anaesthetised in the one room while the other room is completing the surgery of their patient. This means that there is less time lost for the surgeon who moves between rooms.

Last weekend we had to close down the water,power and evac systems while the cooling system was cleaned out. Just about the entire crew left the ship for the day. I was no exception and had a very enjoyable day at a place called Casa del Papa. Basically a beach resort with swimming pools and a very pleasant restaurant. Even more importantly the coffee is good too!

Last Sunday I went to the morning service at church as Christian was back and then during lunch was invited to walk to one of the local hotels for a swim. We actually had a lift as one of the drivers for the hospitality centre was just about to go there and dropped us off on the way. Having swum, drunk coffee and chatted we decided to walk back. On our way,we called into the hospitality centre as the doctor I was with had not yet visited. I walked her through the centre and we saw some of the patients there who were busy playing cards. One lady was outside preparing the evening meal for them. On our way out we thought that by turning left we should be able to walk back to the road we needed without doubling back on ourselves. We soon realised that we were unsure of where to go next so did the female thing and asked for help. A young lad - young to me - shewed us the way through and we would undoubtedly have got very lost without him. The narrow streets and alleyways were reminiscent of a Charles Dickens novel except that it was much warmer. We later discovered that we had walked through the fishing village. In fact it reminded me very much of areas of Uganda that I have visited in the past. we had a few children calling us "Yovo" but this is simply a term meaning "white person". But far more importantly these single roomed dwellings, some with a a thatched roof others with tin, are where many of our patients live. These are the poor communities we have come to serve.

As I have mentioned there are always staff leaving and in the last two weeks more friends have left and the community of the ship continues to evolve. Sometimes its hard work having to constantly introduce oneself without it sounding either trite or too well rehearsed.

On Friday the program reporting was about the new dormitory that is being built to house "Train the Trainer" courses at the new Agricultural Centre that has been developed by Mercyships. These are programs designed to teach the locals "how to fish". The programs are going well and there were the usual collection of photos, some quite amusing - like the lorry with a delivery of stand not being able to quite reach its destination because the back wheels were in a ditch. The rainy season has been the heaviest for 10 years. Waters levels are up everywhere and in fact a state of emergency had been declared by the government. Probably the safest place to be in heavy rain is on a ship, at least it floats!

Just occasionally we have emergencies to add into the list. This lady who really is smaller than me had VVF surgery 3 weeks ago but was having problems passing urine adequately. The surgeon on board agreed to attempt to place a special kind of catheter and the result is...one very happy patient, relieved of the stress and pain. I had looked after her while the small procedure was carried out under local anaesthetic. along with a brilliant translator called Bridget. We sat either side of her, comforted her and held her hand. This picture says it all and is what "makes my day"


This next week sees the return of Esther the lead anaesthetic nurse and I am hoping that over my last few weeks here I can go and visit some of the projects that the organisation is involved with. We also have a max-fax surgeon joining us so that will create more diversity for us again. At the end of the week the main eye surgeon is going on vacation for a few weeks to attend conferences etc so the following week will see more changes.

This weekend the ship was supposed to have been to the filling station for fuel but was postponed Friday lunchtime. So hurried plans were made for day trips out and I was invited to return to Casa del Papa. Such a hard decision, it took me all of half a second to say "yes please". We had a delightful day and the sun shone for us, unlike the previous weekend where it put in only a brief appearance. Today I went to the family service. This is a new initiative for this outreach. Each family takes it turn to organise the service which is aimed very much at the children. Some weeks there are craft activities, this week we had a game of bible trumps with each family. I was simply "fostered" by one of the families. It was great fun watching the children become involved, happy to put actions to the songs and generally enjoy themselves. Afterwards I was invited to join them for snacks in the dining room and then spent a happy hour just chatting to the other mums. Children don't change that much from one generation to the next in some of the things they do or say.....

Saturday July 4

Independence Day if you're American. The ship is strangely quiet as we have a "ship's holiday", in effect a 3 day weekend. So yesterday was an extra day off and felt like Saturday too. I remained on the ship after my morning run as I was on call and am so today. Not unfair as I swopped calls with others.

So having left everyone in the lurch wondering what was happening now seems a good time to catch up. There have been moment s of joy, sadness, long nights and early mornings so situation normal really.

The workload has not been arduous but simply long days with VVF surgery running late several times simply because the nature of the surgery is complicated. The surgeons often struggle to find anything that looks like normal anatomy. But the work is rewarding. One lady who had such surgery did become quite ill one night and required a special intravenous line called a central venous line to be inserted. (CVP) Although called at 10.20pm on the Saturday evening to help with this procedure the decision was then made not to go ahead. However she deteriorated later that night and so I was called at 2.30am to help insert this line. I stayed up the rest of the night as by the time we had succeeded, having had to give the patient a general anaesthetic, and cleared up there really wasn't much point in going to bed. I did sleep well that night and had snoozed during the day.

We are very fortunate to have some excellent consultants who give of their time and one such came from Canada for a month. He specialized in paediatric anaesthesia and having several sick kids was put to the test. This included putting a CVP line in when no easy access could be found for a regular cannula. A week later I was helping him in the intensive care unit (ICU) to place another CVP. The baby was 14 months old but weighed just 5kg. She had a particular bowel problem that in the US or the UK we would deal with at birth. That she had survived this long was a miracle. Heinz and I worked with others for over 2 hours before we succeeded. Sadly later that night she died. It took both of us quite sometime to recover emotionally from that experience. It's difficult when one is holding a child and as she did, see them looking straight through as if to say" I've had enough" and not be affected.

The following day we were talking to each other and supporting each other as we tried to put our own thoughts in to some sort of order. One fights so hard to give these children the best opportunity of life but God decides in the end we accept that for her, it was the time for her to be with Father. She's probably gurgling now very contentedly!

The photo below is a much happier one. One contented 3 hour baby who was brought in from one of the local hospitals as an emergency. Normally we do not accept emergencies but this an exceptional situation. The baby had been born with her eyes the wrong way round. I deliberately haven't included the "before" photo but the "after" one is kind of cute and what we strive to achieve. Again we saw God's timing here as we had the appropriate surgeon onboard to carry out what is actually a simple procedure - if you know what your doing!



There have been yet more departures of longer term staff and a couple of these have been from the OR. Pam and Margreet left during the same weekend, leaving a huge hole in the department. With facebook, keeping in contact is so much easier these days. We knew almost immediately that they had arrived home safely and are now busy re-adjusting to life at home. Others will come and fill the space but they had been a part of the orthopaedic team and then had taken up roles within the VVF and paediatric general surgery rooms which were new areas for both of them. It can be difficult having spent 4 or 5 months working with a team that all sings from the same song sheet to suddenly be thrust back into a world where minor details seem so important to others. Keeping the mouth shut can be very hard!

In the last 3 weeks it seems that we are hot news, at least in Gloucestershire. I have had a story put up on the local BBC news website about my blood donation. Paul and Rebekah have spoken on the local BBC Gloucestershire radio Sunday morning religious program about their visit and article also appeared in the international version of Christian Today about their trip. I have also been invited by the Association for Perioperative Practitioners to speak at a conference in Harrogate during October.

This last week has seen the visit of the President of the American Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN). Mercyships has partnered with AORN and this visit was in connection with this process. We had a great time together sharing information and learning how the association could help us to improve what we are doing. Along with him there was a group that came from Instruments of Mercy and Integrated Medical Systems. They refurbish old instruments so we are hoping that they will be able to help us prolong the life of the instruments we use. thankfully they also repair endoscopes so our 2 endoscopes that we use for difficult airway intubation can also receive some TLC! Having the opportunity to chat with this group made me feel very much like home, talking about repairs and loan instruments..

As part of the eye team although not a constant member depending on the needs of the department, I am able to attend a small group that we have, led by the main surgeon, Dr Glenn Strauss. This group meets weekly for bible study for an hour and then an eye team meeting when we can discuss any problems that are arising. having the chance to share in a small group like this is all part of community living but adds to the team spirit and the sense very much of working together as a team. Opportunities occasionally arise for us to visit other parts of the team and its always good to see what is happening. It would be easy to become blinkered in our view.

The other group that has established itself to a routine now is the 6.00am running team. As people come and go the team members change but this morning has to be the most memorable. Only 2 of us met as the others were away - it being the long weekend - and being Saturday it was the long run day. Having not run for about 15 months I have been gradually building up my running again and this morning we went about 14.5k (just over 9 miles) in the wettest conditions ever. The two us were soaked before we reached the end of the dock, 500 metres from the gangway. The rain is warm so not a problem other than running with wet feet, with the best will in the world it's impossible to remain dry. The great advantage is the rain although warm keeps us cool so the long distance is easier. For the pair of us it was the longest run we have done. Sadly for me this mornings partner returns to South Africa on Thursday so next week the pace will be a little faster so I'll have to work harder. We do take small water bottles with us, the idea of which probably ought to be patented. They are empty 250ml bottles which held saline to which are then attached pieces of velcro. One piece of velcro is then wrapped around the hand so that they are easy to carry. We were dripping as we came up the gangway and stayed in the dining room just long enough to collect water and cups of tea but not long enough to create puddles of water. We really were that wet! Since then the sun has shone and dried up the puddles. Now the last Lions match to look forward to this afternoon. On call has its advantages - it gives a valid excuse for staying onboard and having to pass the time by watching such games on the screen!

Amazing to realise that I have only 6 weeks left onboard.

Tuesday June 9

I'm not sure I have the audacity to apologise for the long wait but "manners maketh man" so apologies.

One or two slight distractions - like having to share my computer with husband and daughter. They have come and both gone now. It was great to have them here. While Paul was here we shared a couples cabin on deck 4 which had air con, so for the first time in four months I actually used a duvet at night! He brought with him some belated birthday cards and even small gifts which people had very kindly sent out.

Paul spent 2 weeks working as a mechanics teacher, showing the lads how to take out a landrover 110 engine and then rebuilding it. The sweetest moment? When it started first time as the key was turned. Not sure who was most pleased, him or the lads he was working with.

I had managed to fill his spare time with a mix of social activities which included eating out - always a good activity, seeing the local countryside and environs and learning something of the history of the country. This was acheived by eating with friends at various locations, visiting Abomey, 3 hours drive away and taking him swimming at the local hotels.

I visited Abomey a few weeks ago but this time went in a Mercyships 110 so we a reliable vehicle. The journey home was a little bumpy as we took a track rather than the main road which is subject to long delays because of roadworks - no different to home really. Abomey is the home of one of the main Kings of Benin. 3 brothers came from further away and decided to split one remaining in Abomey. Testament to their lineage was the kings ruled on average for 40 years and handed over to the eldest son. It is a fascinating history and there are still a few artefacts that have survived the years.

Perhaps one of the most unusual things we did was to take part in some evangelism with the church that I have been attending regularly since being in Benin. We
went to the church to meet up with everyone for a short service - only an hour - and then went out in 12 groups. There were about 8 in our group and even then we split into 2 small groups so that we didn't overwhelm anyone. We spoke to two groups of men who were just sat at the roadside. We gave out new testaments to a couple of the men who were more interested in what we were saying. The following week one of the men turned up at church which was great to see. We actually gave him a life home and found out that he was a shoemaker and that his wife was pregnant. The man was quite badly paralysed from the waist down but managed very well. The teams were well managed as there were always a couple of others who remained with any vehicles that went and prayed for the groups.

Becky had the chance of diving with the team on the ship and even though the visibility was poor still had a great time. "Very safe but knew how to have fun" was the description from the dive master. we went to the stilt village together on Saturday, just before she went home. The ride up the lagoon to the village is probably the best part and certainly we saw plenty of fishing going on. The traps for the shrimps reminded me of the traps for the salmon on the Severn, basket like structures.

The work has continued on the ship in the meantime. VVF surgery is being undertaken again with new surgeons and as always the eye rooms continue to keep us busy. One of the eye surgeons who had been with us for 3 months has now left to go and work in Gabon and will be using the skills and techniques she has learned on the ship. we also lost another long term crewmember from the eye team as she returned to the States with a view to returning to study another nursing qualification. A pool party was help for these 2 on deck 8 one Sunday afternoon. A very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. Shaded from the burning sun and with a pool to cool off when necessary. As with all these social gatherings everyone brings something to the party so we had smoothies, ice cream and raspberries, cakes and savoury snacks plus a lot of laughter.

My work has been very mixed with some anaesthetics, scrubbing , teaching and looking at procedures/policies and how we measure up against recommended practice. Just a little variety in the day never quite knowing what I will do in any one day.

I know that others read my blog as permssion as been requested to use photos that I have put on the site or if I would share stories that I have told. Quite amazing, that you just never know who will read it.

The nature of the ship is that the population constantly changes and recently there seem to have been a lot of goodbyes especially to folk that have been here several months. this includes my cabin mate of 3 months who returned home a week ago. The cabin is strangely empty without her and there are no more long late night talks about life and the universe. It does however mean more sleep!!

I will endeavour to be more diligent in writing my blog - but please don't hold me to it!!

Saturday May 16

Apologies to all of you following my blog with avid interest. But the was good reason why I couldn't write last week. All the computer system was down for pretty well the whole weekend of civilised hours!

So much to catch up with. Two weeks ago I was invited by Anne, one of our translators to her daughters 10th birthday party. Anne lives in Cotonou during the week but her home is Abomey, a 3 hour drive from the ship. Inviting several of us we st off at 10.30am collecting people along the way. A 14 seater taxi had been organised and there was plenty of room for the 10 of us who went. The group included 3 of our day volunteers, one bringing her 2 children aged 6 and 3. Apart from the usual stops for petrol, which was poured into the fuel tank through an old T-shirt to filter it, from a very large glass flagon and food we made the trip in a little over 4 hours. Roadworks cause as much mayhem in Benin as they do at home. Anne was a superb hostess and looked stunning in her outfit. Esther her daughter was also a very good hostess as we were given cold drinks and plied with some amazing tasting food. After we had eaten we all went to visit the old palace in Abomey. It was an interesting visit and we glad to have the translators with us as the guide spoke in French. In Abomey the local dialect is Fon but is a more pure form than that spoken in Cotonou (according to our Beninoir friends).

Several of the group had decided to stay in Abomey overnight and with the experience of others on the ship had booked into a pleasant guest house for the night. having opted to return the same day with one other crew member the remainder of us set off home. About half an hour from Abomey the driver pulled over with braking problems. So we had to find alternative ways home. Stopping a taxi to drive us all to Cotonou proved a challenge, not least of which because the taxi driver of our 14 seater felt he had been insufficiently paid by us. Agreeing a price for the complete return trip before leaving Cotonou the translator who had organised the taxi paid only what she though was right. the vehicle she had booked was supposed to be in much better condition and she had been annoyed when she saw the vehicle in the first place. we did manage to hail a taxi but there was space for only one person so we gave that to the lady with 2 young children. About ten minutes later another vehicle stopped that would take the remaining 4 of us. Nina agreed a price with the driver and we all got in the car. Our first taxi driver still feeling sore about the amount we had paid him and seeing us about to leave decides that he wants yet more money and leans inside the vehicle, removes the ignition key and tries to move away quickly. He's soon stopped as by now quite a crowd has gathered. After much discussion and a little more money he finally allows us to go but part of his decision was the fact that 2 of the passengers (Linda and I) were with Mercyships. We did make it back to the ship quite safely but it was certainly an interesting time!

So on with the weeks work. The ship has an unconventional blood bank. There are no facilities to store blood. For patients to receive blood the crew members are called upon to donate at the time it is required. This means the patients receive whole blood. All crew members who give blood are volunteers, there is no coercion although a small campaign was run recently to encourage more donors. Filling in a form, checking basic levels of health and having a blood sample taken are the only requirements before being placed on a list. When I was asked to give blood I was working but as donation is seen as a priority there is never any question about being able having the time off. A ship has limited space and so often an area becomes multi-functional. For blood donation the ICU is used.

The photo shows me relaxing, with my coffee cup in hand since I was halfway through my once daily Starbucks americano and I was not going to waste it! The process is not so different to home as the blood is weighed and 500 grams of my blood was soon in a bag. What was very different however was seeing it being checked and given to a patient who was lying in a bed in one of the isolation ICU beds within 3 minutes of being donated. No need for a blood warmer. The woman to whom it was transfused would later have a below knee amputation but was actually too ill to have surgery that day. She came to the OR the following day.

Saturday May 2

Not sure that I've had a birthday this week, more a celebration of life. I've had the song sung to me so many times, had so many treats and specila events happen that I certainly won't forget this one in a hurry. It started Sunday evening the 26th with a phone call link to my home church at Gorsley near Ross on Wye at the beginning of their evening service..

Monday evening I attend Toastmasters and their too they remembered it was my birthday. tuesday at work as we met at the board for our meeting oin the OR corridor I was sung too again - I had made cake for them too. wednesday evening is the eye team small group and we shared we brownies and ice cream in honour of my birthday. Friday 33 of us went out for a meal to the local Lebanese again everyone sung to me. I've had quite a few cards and some lovely presents. I've been very spoilt and will look with fondness recalling this particular birthday.

Meanwhile there has been work to do and I have continued in my role as anaesthetic nurse for another week. I really enjoy the change and working with different people. I have spent most of my time in the orthopaedic room as that's where most of the children are and have worked again with the same anaesthetist. this always makeslife easier as we begin to work very much together as a team. The surgeons have great fun and taken the english banter well. It's amazing how certain always come back and find myself just slipping in roles that I have had before.

On Wednesday we had a little lad who was about 3 who was to have his club feet corrected. As I carried him up the corridor I was aware that his breathing was not all it should be - his chest was rattling beneath my arms! Alerting the anaesthetist to this she listened and decided that he really needed a chest xray and antibiotics for 24 hours before we should operate. At home we would give a full course of antibiotics and have the child back 3 weeks later. This option wasn't available for this little boy as the paediatric surgeon was leaving at the end of the week. By giving him 24 hours we were able at least to start the process and give a better chance. he had his surgery on Thursday to correct his club feet. as the plastering was finished the surgeon put the lads 2 feet together and stated the lad had "happy feet" meaning they were pointing in the direction they should be normally not all bent round as they were. Perhaps the most important thing though which took place each time I was in the orthopaedic room this week was the way each member of the team took it in terms to pray before we started surgery. Our prayer for this little boy was that he would grow up strong and loving tha Lord. One day hopefully he will be told about his operating on a big ship and about the people who cared for him and why.

Our community meeting on Thursday evening is always an important time on the ship and this week I had been asked to be MC for the meeting. The international lounge seats around 300 and was pretty full. The service is also shown by video link to cabins. Having had due notice I was prepared for the meeting and spoken with the main speaker, who had had some devastating news about himself just 24 hours earlier. he still wanted to speak and so I was left wondering how I should set the tone for the meeting. In fact I decided to go with the way I fely Father had led me including the short reading which was not a bible reading but one about a chinese woman who had a cracked pot that she filled each day from the river and used to water the seeds she planted. The cracked pot felt ashamed because it couldn't carry its full quota of water like the second complete pot. She reassured the pot that she had known about its flaw and explained how she had used its "flaw" to water the seeds that flourished into beautiful flowers which she used to grace her home with beauty. we all have flaws but God is able to use our flaws too to help other people. The speaker used the verses from Jeremaih ch18 v1 - 6 to illustrate his points.

....and so life continues

Saturday April 25

How much more different can the weeks be? This is one of the things I love about being here. So this week has seen me transform into an anaesthetic nurse for the week and a thoroughly enjoyable change it has been.

I have spent most of the week working with an American anaesthetist who specializes in paediatrics. As one who has not seen children under the age of three years as patients for a VERY long time this is quite a shock to the system. But God has been very good in giving me someone who loves to teach and who likes to drink black coffee. What better combination could there be? We have managed to work together exceedingly well considering the circumstances here and without all the cases being straighforward. I have twice done a "Starbucks run" which has met with great approval.

It was probably a good time for me to remind myself of the skills I need to practice once in a while to maintain my own professional practice.

One of the ladies with whom I travelled to Parakou and Natitingou right at the beginning of our time in Benin has left this week to return to the UK so off we went to the local Lebanese restaurant for a meal, all 11 of us. it's a great little place right on the beach with a view of the ship. The food was OK but the company better. Just as well as it's the place I've chosen to go for a meal next Friday to celebrate my birthday.

The general fitness levels are keeping up OK. I've been out running about 5 times this week - just as well with these meals out. The heat and humidity do take some getting used to though.

The other real fun thing I've done this week is to celebrate St Georges Day. Having a conversation about 3 weeks ago with other English folk onboard I suggested we ought to really try and mark the day so tea and scones - all 9 dozen home baked - were produced on Thursday evening after the community meeting along with strawberry jam and cream. we decorated the midships lounge with flags and balloons and even had a Lord of the Realm with us for the occasion. Hopefully the image is on here of all the people who turned up. One or two weren't actually English but have lived in England for quite sometime so we let them in! we heard the story about St George and then sang the National Anthem. It at least raised an awareness of the day (which is also Shakespeares birthday).

So yet another busy week, next weeks promises to be even busier.....

Sunday April 19

The view has changed from where I am sitting typing into the computer. We have moved the ship all of 400 metres or thereabouts as we needed to fill up the tanks with fuel. Rather like going to the petrol station but a rather slower process since we have to take on about 700 tonnes of fuel. For those who hadn't been on the sail from Tenerife it was all rather exciting. It was a good opportunity to hang over the rail and chat. Some of the crew had decided to leave the ship overnight and were off by 8.15am. Others of us decided that we would move our usual Sunday morning run to Saturday morning so I was out running out 7.00am.

However I'm rushing ahead. The week was again different as Monday was a ship's holiday it being Easter Monday. It was also a holiday in Benin. A trip to Casa del Papa in the back of a 4x4 with new crew was great fun. It's a good way to meet new staff, bumping along the beach road. The weather was typically English - raining. However our spirits were not dampened as we found the sheltered part of the resort and spent time chatting over coffee. Since one of my reasons for going was to be able to swim in the pool there, I duly changed and swam, after all I would be wet anyway and actually swimming in the rain was not an unpleasant experience.

Crew are always coming and going and this week saw a crew member leave who had become a christian whilst serving on the ship. This is not as uncommon as one might think and is always a source of great joy to the other crew members.

I spent Friday morning at the eye clinic at the hospitality centre. This is a converted warehouse about 15 minutes walk from the ship. Patients are housed there overnight and this has relieved the pressure on beds in the hospital. We have the same problems of bed occupancy as the NHS! But we also see the eye patients there post operatively and so Friday saw the first patients coming for YAG laser treatment to their eyes following their cataract surgery. This treatment helps to prevent the formation of a secondary cataract. Thankfully there is an air conditioned tent up in the warehouse so the room for the laser treatment is cooler. The tent would normally sit on the dockside but this is not possible here as the dock is narrower than Monrovia and lorries rumble up and down the dock passing very close to the ship. It would simply be too dangerous hence the reason for having a tent in the hospitality centre.

And then it's Saturday again with its chores of washing and ironing. I also made with 9 dozen scones in the afternoon with some help from one of the English ladies on the ship. We are celebrating St Georges Day with tea and scones, complete with strawberry jam and cream. I have some flags and balloons to decorate the area where we shall simply have a fun time together on Thursday evening.Watch this space and if I remember to have my camera out I shall post a picture next week.

Sunday April 12

I thought you might like to share in my easter Sunday thus far. Having set my alarm for 5.40am and I know that for some of you that does simply does not exist...I went to help finish setting up the dining room for the easter brunch which was served at 9.30am. The ward staff who would not be able to get to the brunch had the usual breakfast made available to them since the brunch was served much later than the normal weekend time of 7.30am.

We had a sunrise service which commenced at 6.30am and this is the view I had of the sunrise this morning from deck 8 of Africa Mercy overlooking the sea at Cotonou on a ship which has noticeable movement.

I left for church with Christian at 9.00am and there was a visiting speaker from Nigeria. He was the pastor who started the Four Square church in Benin. But the best part for Christian was that the Nigerian pastor preached in English! So he only had to translate a small part of the service for me. In addition the worship group started by singing a hymn in french but to a tune I knew. The words were not a translated version but I was able to sing and probably knew the tune as we ll as anyone else at the service! The Nigerian pastor also broke into a couple of english choruses which I also knew. He is Lord and one other. On the way home from the service we stopped to have a coconut each. For the princely sum of 30pence we each had a coconut. the girl cut off the top, we drank the Juice inside and then she split the coconut open, fashioned a spoon out of the "lid" and we ate the soft part inside - very refreshing!!

Saturday April 11

I am well aware that for those of you following my blog it has been way too long since I last wrote. But at least i have a couple of interesting stories to share this week. So why have I been unable to write - mostly just too busy!

The work has continued at a pace. We now have both of our translators learning to scrub for our eye cases and we planning on teaching a third member of the team too. Keeping an eye on them plus having new staff who have not previously worked in the eye rooms or even seen such operations along with eye surgeons coming in to learn the new techniques presents several challenges in the day. Add to that the need to also be the anaesthetic nurse for general anaesthetic cases and there you have my roles sorted. Teacher, mentor, theatre sister and most importantly showing the love of God in all I do in some way , shape or form.

Last week was fairly quiet for us and the rooms ran much as always. By last weekend I was ready for a break and spent Saturday at Bab's Dock with several other "Mercyshippers". This included a game of volleyball of about an hours duration. I was the oldest player by at least 12 years. No points were counted although we played approximately by the rules but its hard to judge what's in or out when the court is in water! Thankfully only knee deep but it did mean that falling over was less painful - just wet and even that was great since it helped with the whole cooling off process. In the evening the "eye team" which includes the surgeons, staff who run the clinics as well as theatres and the npost op staff all went for dinner at a local Indian restaurant. I found it easier to simply read the menu than the french translations provided. I know what Rogan Josh is and yes, it tasted very good. Sunday I was on call so attended the ward service and caught up on one or two bits.

Monday mornings we always begin with our own prayer time in the eye rooms led by Glenn Strauss. It's a time to meet new staff and surgeons, find out which surgeons should be visiting and just ask for Fathers blessing on the week. Tuesday afternoon we had an emergency case that took up the whole afternoon. A five year old girl had fallen over a couple of days earlier and a stick had penetrated her eye. Not an unusual problem here but because she had been taken to the clinic early one of our visiting surgeons was able to operate on her eye. She had ruptured the globe of her eye so it took sometime to stitch everything back in place and the decision was made to remove her lens since it was broken in several places. We have a phaecoemulsification machine which we don't use too often since it will not cope with hard lenses but in this young girl the lens was soft. So out it came and we irrigated and aspirated until the lens was out. It may be possible at a later date to put a new lens in to the girls eye. This may seem like radical surgery but it is more usual here to see an eye that has died because the injury is left unattended for too long and that then requires the whole eye to be removed. So that took us till 5.00pm to complete so for us a late finish.

Thursday saw another unusual day. We don't operate on Fridays because we do not have clinics for 1 day post op patients. Good Friday brings this a day earlier as it's a ship's holiday so we would not normally work on Thursday but we had 4 general anaesthetic cases, all children. What made this even more different was that 3 of the children were from the same family. Aged 1,3 and 7 all 3 were either completely blind or had very little sight, being able to distinguish light but no more. We could only imagine the anguish of the mother as she had all 3 children operated on in one day. The little 3 year old stole my heart. She was given a pre-med to make her sleepy but in fact all it did was to make her act as if she were drunk. She soon stopped crying as I picked her up and gently rocked her, talked and sang quietly to her. Tickling then worked well and giggles ensued, so much so the anaesthetist wondered what I had done to her! Patches come off the next day with our patients and I went to the ward yesterday morning to see her patches come off and watch her reaction. Mum was ther and happy for me to pick her up and although upset initially, as soon as I started talking to her and rocking her gently she obviously remembered me and stopped crying. I was greatly privileged to be able to remove her patches and see her trying to work out what was different. I had a small red brick in my hand and by the time I left her she had picked up from my outstretched hand several times. Her eyes had been checked while I was cuddling her as I crouched down with the eye surgeon behind me using a mobile slit lamp. The event put a whole different slant on Good Friday for me as for her this was indeed Good Friday as she will be able to see. I hope to be able to follow her progress through with her 2 and 6 week visits to the clinic.


....as for the little girl with the dreadful eye injury...she will need to wait at least a month before we know if anymore can be done for her but at least she will have a normal looking eye which is so important if she is to marry. These things matter here in West Africa.

I shall be at the sunrise service on deck 8 of the ship tomorrow morning and then helping to prepare the brunch which is being served. Tomorrow night after an early service there is "open house" or rather more aptly "open cabins" for which I have baked - so no surprises there. Monday is also a holiday for the ship and I am joining others in going out for the day - to a pool wher I can swim to my heart's content. "God is good - all the time and all the time God is good" I pray that you will have blessed Easter time.