18:30

Once again, our shore leave has been revoked.
But, this time, not in preparation to sail.
This time, it's for our safety in preparation for Togo's elections.

Everyone...please pray that the people of Togo are allowed to use their voice and choice without fear of any kind of retaliation.
Please join us in praying for a peaceful election process...
From tomorrow, through to the end of announcing the results.

Pharmacists here don't dispense just medicine...

We also dispense blood!

A bit of a different concept than what one would be used to in a hospital back home. All too many times, do I remember refusing a nurse or a physician for certain orders with the response, "You have to contact the blood bank for that."

Well, here on the Africa Mercy...we have a different type of blood bank. The warm, walking, talking kind. Yeppers...our crew is our blood bank. And, unlike what they do at home, the blood is given to the recipient as warm, whole blood. Back home, blood is usually given as packed red cells, after the lab has spun it to separate the red cells from the plasma and platelets. Thanks to our fantastic lab technicians, each patient that comes aboard is blood typed and then cross-matched with the available crew donors, so that if blood is needed, it can be given.

I do believe that the patient we gave blood to today is the first patient to receive blood for this outreach. And, to my luck...he was O positive...just like me. I know that it sounds weird, but I really wanted to give blood if the opportunity arose. I was lucky enough that my iron levels just made the cut off...and my weight wasn't a significant factor like it can be back home. I was healthy and willing and that was more than enough.

It wasn't a horrible experience like most people fear it would be. Did it hurt? Well, of course it hurt (although keep in mind that it wasn't painful per se, more like uncomfortable)...they put a huge needle in my arm and had to wiggle it about to get a good blood flow. Even with the wiggling and precise positioning that had to be held in place by Maggie instead of a stick of tape...bleeding me wasn't the easiest. Lucky for me, Ali came by and did a little dance that made me giggle quite a bit. Apparently, laughing is great for getting the blood flowing. Many thanks to Ali for helping me out with the donation process! Even though I gave blood, I was not the only one to do so for this patient. In total, 5 units, from 5 different people were donated...Miriam being one, too!

Naomi taking Miriam's donation.

Maggie took my donation...it was her first time doing so here. They made me lay down on the bed since this was my first time donating, to help prevent me from possibly passing out.

Ali put stars on our bandages and took this group shot for us. Thanks, Ali!

The final touch to the bandage...Maggie left her mark.

And now for an addendum to my last post. For those of you that may wonder...I am okay. I was in a funk for the better part of the next morning. I realize that in a sense, I was just being a bit of a pouty princess because, despite my efforts, things the previous night didn't work out. I tried to work myself out of my funk, but just couldn't seem to shake it.

Until the patients came, and were waiting ever so patiently outside in the hall for their x-ray or CT scan appointments at the lab next door. Until I stopped and realized why I was here, what I was doing, and that in some small way, I was helping these people. Until I realized, that my minor technical difficulties don't compare to what these people go through...with being outcasts of their society, with the fear of starvation or suffocation a threat because of tumor growth. Until, my problems were put into perspective. This is Africa...and this, in part, is why I am here.

Just one of those days...

...when you didn't know that you wanted something to work out until it doesn't...
...when everything seems to be going against you...
...when nothing goes your way...

today was one of those days.
i cried in frustration.
actually sobbed a little bit, i was so frustrated.
cried, because i didn't know it would mean so much.
and it did.
and it does.

it's funny how easily you can be defeated.
i kind of don't want to bother continuing to try...
only to be frustrated again.
i guess this is part of 'life' in Africa.
but, who knows...we'll see...

g'night.

Despair Diverted...

Quite an ominous title, I know. Now, before anyone infers that I am in the depths of depression or that things are not right with my ship world...please give it time and hear the blog out.

I am constantly finding out how things work here on the ship...learning new things every week as I experience them personally or through others. One thing that I learned this past week is how exciting it is to get snail mail...or how sad it is to check the folder and see that there is nothing for you. For hospital staff, we pick up our post in the HCS office, and we know that there is new post from afar because they 'announce' such via a sign outside the door stating, "Mail from Texas is in" or "Mail from Holland is in". This week, the second shipment of mail from Texas had come in since docking here in Togo.

This announcement thrilled me, for whatever reason (especially since I hadn't gotten mail the first time), and I told Linda and Naomi (our lab techs, and fellow auxiliary hospital crew) that mail had arrived, and I was going to check it. Naomi asked me to check for her as well since I was heading that way. So, I trotted off down the hall, and into the office, only to discover that there was no mail for me...but there was mail for Naomi.

So, with my heart a little less happy than before I started down the hall, I grudgingly brought Naomi's mail to her and stated that I was sad that I had not gotten any mail. Yes, complaining uselessly, I know. But, I did it anyways. And, I also believe that I told a friend back home that I had begun to despair that I wouldn't get any mail, even though it was only the second time that mail has come and that the outreach had just begun. But, despairing none-the-less. Despairing because, even in this day in age with all the technological advances we have with communicating through blog comments, Facebook, and e-mail...there is still something about getting something via snail mail.

The next day rolls around...my moment of despair further from my mind...and I get an e-mail from one of our secretaries in the HCS office saying that there was mail for me. Confused, I walked back down to the office and entered, all the while shaking my head and saying, "But, I don't understand. I was just in here yesterday, and there was no mail for me." She simply just shrugged her shoulders while I ruffled through the letter index, searching for the folder marked with an 'R'. Sure enough, there was a envelope marked with my name.

Without going into the details of the letter and the contents in the envelope (aside from a Starbucks card for use here on the ship)...I was being pranked... I was a bit confused, but wanted to get to the bottom of who did it. (Please note, it was not a bad "prank". It was actually quite cute and hilarious. And very much appreciated.) Not really knowing where to start, I showed the letter to Miriam, and we brainstormed who it could be. I told her that I was determined to find out who did it, even if it came down to cross-matching the writing of friends with the writing on the envelope.

I didn't have to go too far or do that much sleuthing. All I had to do was venture down the hall a few doors to the lab to find the culprits. After looking at some samples of writing in the lab and some interrogation, Linda finally admitted that the writing was hers...but the brains behind the operation, she blamed on Naomi. With my letter writer mystery solved, I happily hugged Linda and Naomi, and thanked them for being so thoughtful to me and trying to divert my no mail despair. Thanks once again, ladies!

Onto other news...

The first two days of surgery have been successful! The Mighty Ships crew from Discovery Canada left after following a few of the stories through to the recovery room. More and more patients are being admitted as the surgery schedules fill up, as are the beds on the wards. On call duties are being fulfilled and the rhythm of the outreach is slowly being drummed out...

And so it begins...

Hospital evacuation drill. Done.
Patients arriving...in progress.
Surgeries to start...TOMORROW.
And, so it begins. From where I stand, all the wards are stocked, as is our recovery room and OR pharmacy. And to me, that means...everyone is ready to rock. Judging by the excitement in the air, I think there are many others who feel the same way that I do.

For many of you who don't know me...I tend to be pessimistic at best... Lately, I've been getting a lot of comments from friends and family back home, stating that I seem really happy. Which, kind of comes as a bit of shocker to me. Not saying that I am not. I'm very glad that I made the decision to be here. But, a bit of me wonders if maybe I portray a less than real truth through my blogs. But, I also know that I write how I talk...so basically, it is what it is. Below is a surmisation that I had come to when responding to a friend's message.

"hahaha...wanna know a secret? i don't know why everyone is making such remarks over my blogs. julie says that i sound really happy and so did gen. but, i think that gen was right...perhaps i am just enjoying this season...it's one that i've been looking forward to for so long. i guess, what i am doing may seem incredible...but if you were here, you would realize that i am only one of many. and some of the people here are so young, or they have done things like this before - and i wonder to myself...what took me so long? but, i have to remember...that God has prepared me...even if i don't completely believe it myself...for a season such as this..."

So...let's rock. ;-)

My new work place...

Hey Guys!

As promised...here is a peak at the Oak Fountain Hospital, my new work place for the next few months...

This sign greets you at every entrance into the hospital on Deck 3 from the top decks.

What one of the wards looks like here at the hospital. They are all on the port side of the ship. There are 5 beds on each side of the room.

This is our ICU section for the outreach. We just have 3 beds set up, rather than an entire ward. We aren't running the ICU ward or Ward C (there are 4 wards: A, B, C, and D) because of the noise that the generators create...hence the trip to South Africa in August to get them replaced.

In this photo (of D ward), you can see that there are mattresses under the beds. These are for the patient's caretakers, usually a parent, so that they can stay with their child while recovering from surgery here on the Africa Mercy.

This is the sign that you see on our door. Welcome to the pharmacy. Please note that crew clinic hours are from 13:00 - 14:30. :-) We are located on the starboard side, towards the aft of the ship.

A peak into my work space. The pharmacy has two rooms: a front room where I've been spending most of my time, and a back room where there is another work space and our medications.

A peak into the back room of the pharmacy. This is usually where one can find Miriam.

Opposite of the work space in the back room is our rolling racks!

Here is the end of our hall (which is opposite to the wards). Past this door, you can find the 6 operating rooms here in the Oak Foundation Hospital.

I hope that you guys have enjoyed seeing just a bit of what I see everyday here. I really wish you were here so that I could give you a personal tour myself. There is so much more to it than what these few pictures dictate.

Now, I'll leave you with a quote Dr. Parker used in a few of his lectures:

"At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.’

Hungry not only for bread-but hungry for love.

Naked not only for clothing-but naked of human dignity and respect.

Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks-but homeless because of rejection.

This is Christ in distressing disguise."

- Mother Teresa

Work hard. Play hard.

Hey Everyone...

Sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you. Last I wrote, I was preparing to head out to our first official screening day for the outreach here in Togo. What can I say about it? It went well. Not a lot of people came, which is awesome, since that is what we were praying for. We did, however, get surgeries booked, x-ray and CT scan appointments booked, as well as casting for club feet. As it stands, screening has been pretty successful, new process and all. By the end of last week, I think that they had screened over 2,500 people. Please continue praying for the remaining screening days!

Since screening and now...we've had two open houses for the Oak Foundation Hospital (the name of the hospital here on the Africa Mercy). The first open house took place this past Thursday, where medical staff from all over Togo were invited to come aboard, see the hospital, meet the staff, and learn a bit of what we do and why. All of the hospital staff were required to participate in putting on the open house. All the wards and departments were open so that they could ask questions and get more information. We also worked as hosts/hostess, servers, and parking attendants (my job for the night). It was a blast, but a long night - and I hope that we represented ourselves well. I promise to put up a picture tour of the hospital for you soon!

The second open house was held last Friday (yup, back to back open houses)...but, this time, the hospital was opened up to non-medical crew. It was a fun-filled night. The ward nurses set up different stations for people to go through that taught them about inserting IVs, feeding tubes, and a chance to be in their shoes. All the operating rooms were open, with games revolving around some of the surgeries that they do - VVF, ophthalmic, general, etc. Even the kids on the ship were able to get involved, as they got dressed up in the OR to operate on a monkey, and learned how to stitch things up from our surgeons.

This weekend marked the beginning of hopefully many outings to come. What ended up being a group of 17 of us from here on the ship took a weekend trip out to a town called, Kpalimé. It was about a 2.5-3 hour ride northwest of the port here in Lomé. It was uncomfortably amusing having 19 people squish into the taxi-van/bus (originally intended to carry 15 passengers). I was lucky enough to be sitting not too far from an open window, and it was amazing watching the landscape pass me by. There is no way that I could describe to you the beauty that I had seen. It was awesome passing by the African villages and seeing the thatched huts and the people busy, going about their day.

It was a fun...although not completely relaxing weekend. We ended up having 5 hotel rooms to divvy up between the 17 of us. Our group then split off with a few of them going to see waterfalls and the other group (me included) heading to the market. The market was very lively and full of color. As we walked through the streets, you could hear children singing. They sing this song that I have grown to love and sing along with them. Basically, they sing it any time that they see a white person.

"Yovo, Yovo,
Bonsoir.
Ca va bien,
Merci."

It essentially says, "White person, White person. Good evening. It goes well (or I am well.). Thank you."

On Sunday, we all went for a hike up to the tallest mountain peak in all of Togo, Mount Agou. It stands about 986 meters (3234 ft.) tall. I never knew that I could sweat so much until yesterday. I also developed a healthy appreciation for water and keeping hydrated. Thankfully, it had rained enough the night before so the air was cooler than it normally would've been, yet the path wasn't all that muddy. We had a guide take us up the mountain, and he showed us various things...like how the locals get different dyes from the plants in the forest, as well as little tidbits about the area...like how it was one of the first areas to develop fruit.

As we made our way to the top, there were various villages built into the mountain side that we passed through. So very interesting to see how other people live and thrive. I was, and continue to be, astounded. We seemed to hit each village on our way up as they were having church. So, as we walked along the path, you could hear the drums being beaten to a tune of worship, even if it was unfamiliar to me. In one village, as soon as the worship music stopped, you could hear the music of the children's voices, saying, "Yovo! Yovo!" and then breaking out into song. At one of the villages, the children were outside the church and even came up to get a closer look at us. I love putting my hand out, and having their tiny palms smack mine...and then wander around my hand, amazed at the feel of my brown skin. They are just adorable, and they make my heart ache for my little ones back home.

When we reached the top of the mountain...we had a bit of a relaxed celebration, complete with human pyramid, jumping photos, spelling photos...and one of me being tossed in the air. I am sure that the guards were wondering just exactly what it was that we were doing.

On the way back down, we passed a village just as we met up with the road that winded back down the mountain we just climbed. We figured that this was a great place to take a break and wait for the rest of the group to catch up. As I was sitting on a log, resting, a little girl came towards us with a baby. As I watched her walking our way, I saw that she was intent on walking up to someone in particular - me! With a big smile on her face, she handed me the baby. And as soon as the baby was in my arms, the people from the village across the way erupted into laughter. I looked at the little girl, pointed to myself and said, "Je m'appelle Tatiana." She then proceeded to tell me that her name was Florence, and that the baby I held in my arms was named Emil. :-) Eventually, I returned the baby, even though Jens was trying to convince the little girl to let us pack the baby in our backpacks to come back with us. Thanks to Micah for taking this photo as evidence for me!

We had just enough time to head back to the hotel, take a quick dip in the pool to cool off, and then catch our taxi-van/bus to head back to the port. Walking back into the Africa Mercy, we were greeted by one of our Gurkhas with a big smile, and the cooling rush of air conditioning to meet us. As fun as it was to get away for the weekend and explore...it was sure nice to be back.

This week, we are preparing for the official open of the hospital. Our patients start to come in on Wednesday, 24 February and our first official operation is to commence on Thursday, the 25th. I am going to be spending the next few days before we open stocking the wards and the operating room. Everyday, it's starting to look more and more like a hospital...and even though I know that there is tons of work ahead of us...I can't help but be excited.