Sorry the first post by this name didn't work!
We got to the ship on Saturday and were promptly greeted by reception and security. They took our pictures and made identification cards that we have to swipe in and out with. Goodness, after 2-3 days of travel, we looked pretty rough, and that is the picture on our ID cards! At least it will give us a laugh from time to time. We had a mini tour of the ship and dinner and then were shown to our cabins. I am in a cabin with 5 other girls, two of whom are leaving this week. I have roommates from all over the world: Switzerland, USA, South Korea and Australia. There are 3 cubicles with a bunk bed in each. I have half a closet, two shelf ledges and the top bunk. I like it! It makes me feel a bit like a kid again. There is no window in our room, which is okay because we’re almost all shift workers, so it will be nice for sleeping at any time of the day or night. We have a curtain that pulls across the entire cubicle to really shut out the world. I’m glad I brought earplugs and an eye-mask too!
The walls are magnetic, so I’ve put up many pictures of family and friends with magnets, so I think of you every day!
Sunday we had a tour of the whole ship. Incredible! They put millions of dollars into making it a hospital ship. There are 8 decks or floors, only 7 that I’m allowed to go to. It is 152 metres long and it’s maximum breadth is 23.7 metres. There are 6 operating rooms, 4 hospital wards including an ICU, a recovery room, pharmacy, lab, X-ray, clinics, outpatients, etc. It’s very nice and well equipped to do the life-altering surgeries they do here on board the ship.
There’s a beautiful dining room, meeting rooms, many cabins, a library, a school, a small workout room, a small pool on the top deck, the ship shop, Starbucks café, some nice lounges and much more. It’s nicely air-conditioned, so I actually wish I’d brought a few more long sleeved shirts! At least I won’t have trouble sleeping because of heat!
I’ve had lots of orientation in the last few days, which has been really helpful because it’s quite a large place with many people. It kind of feels like I’m in a little city because it seems like I should have seen all the 400+ people by now, but new ones keep popping out of the woodwork. I guess there’s over 50 ward nurses alone, so it will take a while before I know all of my coworkers names!
On Sunday I went to “ward church”, which is a morning service for the patients. There were lots of drums and shakers and the singing was very loud, but beautiful! I realized it will take me a while to understand “Liberian” English! They say their words quite differently and drop off parts of words. I’ve been told they often say a word twice, like “nice, nice” or “plenty, plenty”. I’m excited to start orientation to the ward tomorrow, and see what I’ll actually be doing most of the time. I have a feeling these beautiful people will really become precious to me!
During ward Church, they had a dress ceremony. This is a time where they give a new dress to each woman who has recovered from VVF surgery.
WARNING: the content described next may be a bit graphic. If you don’t want to read it, that’s okay.
VVF stands for “vesico-vaginal fistula”, which is an abnormal opening or pathway between the bladder and vagina. It is very common here in Africa due to poor maternal care (care of pregnant women and birthings). Women might be in labour for 4-5 days because they don’t have anyone to help them. They often give birth to a dead baby, which is very traumatic for them. The difficulty and trauma of labour leaves their insides in a mess. These VVF are a complication of long labours.
The problem with a VVF, is the woman will constantly leak urine because there is no sphincter in the vagina to stop it. Some women who come to us will have leaked urine for 30-40 years. This also causes chronic urinary tract infections. These women are often ostracized from their communities because they smell bad, but they can’t do anything about it! So some of these ladies have not only had a long difficult labour and given birth to a dead baby, but they are cut off and rejected by family and friends. Can you imagine how difficult that would be?
When they’ve had this surgery completed they can have hope of a normal life again! So the dress ceremony is quite a celebration! No wonder the music was loud!
I saw an operation this afternoon. It was a removal of a tumor on a little girl’s head. She is 10. She’s already had an operation to remove a large tumor on her leg that required a skin graft to cover it. It was pretty gruesome to watch, but having been a nurse for a few years now, I don’t get queasy over blood and guts. In fact, I could probably watch most surgeries while eating a meal and not get sick! A little bit of bragging on my part about how tough I am! ☺
That’s about all for now, but I’m sure I’ll have more to write in the next few days when I begin practicing on the ward!
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