Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
light, glorious light
Written yesterday- Friday, January 18:
This has been a day I don't want to forget, so I am making myself take the time to write about it before the details escape me.
We are just finishing up week two of three weeks of children's cataracts and strabismus operations. Right now my work life is much busier here on ship than it was before the holidays- we have several wonderful surgeons on board, we are doing twice as many adult surgeries each day and- to my great delight- we have cataract kids on the wards! Because the kids need to have their operation done under general anesthesia, they are admitted to the ward one day before surgery and stay one day after.
Today was the first post-op visit for 11 kids who had surgery recently. Instead of doing the visit at the clinic we brought them in the eye room on ship, so I had a room full of smiling, energetic SEEING children.
Two weeks ago, every single one of these children were blind. They were quiet when they came on board the first time; they clung to their parents and took in their world caution and hesitation.
Today, everything was different. The kids walked confidently up the gangway alongside their parents. Two of the boys walked hand in hand, they were in beds next to each other on the ward last week. While they were blind they did not talk to or acknowledge each other, but once their eye patches came off the morning after surgery they became inseparable friends.
This is the first time I have had so many kids in the eye room at once. When I looked at all the wiggly 4-7 year olds, the dance teacher part of me sprang to life and saw a classroom. The opportunity for play was too good to pass up- while we were waiting for our surgeon to finish in the OR, I sat with all the kids on the floor in circle. We put all our feet in the middle and pointed and flexed our toes just like I did with the littlest dancers at home and then we played a version of "simon says". The kind nurses of A ward let me take a couple balloons out of their drawer and the kids and hit it back and forth.
The whole time I marveled at the miracle before me. Less than two weeks ago these kids saw little or not at all. Now here they are playing games with me, active as any other kids would be. The mother of a 7 year old boy told me that the very first thing her son did when they left the ship was to ask for a pen and paper. He wanted to know how to write the alphabet.
Most mornings when I get the eye room ready I listen to the same song called "oh how I need you"- it talks about seeking after the Lord and being near to Him. The bridge begins with the words "light, glorious light I will go where you shine". Those words were on my mind while watched the kids today- light is glorious, both to our physical eyes and to our souls. Today was a day of rejoicing in the light and the freedom that it brings.
This has been a day I don't want to forget, so I am making myself take the time to write about it before the details escape me.
We are just finishing up week two of three weeks of children's cataracts and strabismus operations. Right now my work life is much busier here on ship than it was before the holidays- we have several wonderful surgeons on board, we are doing twice as many adult surgeries each day and- to my great delight- we have cataract kids on the wards! Because the kids need to have their operation done under general anesthesia, they are admitted to the ward one day before surgery and stay one day after.
Today was the first post-op visit for 11 kids who had surgery recently. Instead of doing the visit at the clinic we brought them in the eye room on ship, so I had a room full of smiling, energetic SEEING children.
Two weeks ago, every single one of these children were blind. They were quiet when they came on board the first time; they clung to their parents and took in their world caution and hesitation.
Today, everything was different. The kids walked confidently up the gangway alongside their parents. Two of the boys walked hand in hand, they were in beds next to each other on the ward last week. While they were blind they did not talk to or acknowledge each other, but once their eye patches came off the morning after surgery they became inseparable friends.
This is the first time I have had so many kids in the eye room at once. When I looked at all the wiggly 4-7 year olds, the dance teacher part of me sprang to life and saw a classroom. The opportunity for play was too good to pass up- while we were waiting for our surgeon to finish in the OR, I sat with all the kids on the floor in circle. We put all our feet in the middle and pointed and flexed our toes just like I did with the littlest dancers at home and then we played a version of "simon says". The kind nurses of A ward let me take a couple balloons out of their drawer and the kids and hit it back and forth.
The whole time I marveled at the miracle before me. Less than two weeks ago these kids saw little or not at all. Now here they are playing games with me, active as any other kids would be. The mother of a 7 year old boy told me that the very first thing her son did when they left the ship was to ask for a pen and paper. He wanted to know how to write the alphabet.
Most mornings when I get the eye room ready I listen to the same song called "oh how I need you"- it talks about seeking after the Lord and being near to Him. The bridge begins with the words "light, glorious light I will go where you shine". Those words were on my mind while watched the kids today- light is glorious, both to our physical eyes and to our souls. Today was a day of rejoicing in the light and the freedom that it brings.
Light glorious light
I will go where You shine
Break the dawn , crack the skies
Make the wave right before me
In Your light I will find
All I need, all I need is You
On tying headwraps
Then I came here to Guinea and, with practice, have realized that there is so much you can say without speaking the language. French is most commonly spoken, as well as So So. But there is also Fula, Madingo, and a few others I can't think of right now. Sometimes, so many languages are happening at once I have patients translating for each other. On several occasion I have had deaf patients in which case I give an instruction to a day worker who then translates to a family member who then signs to the patient.
random note: (Just in case you are wondering how a blind person could see sign language) most of my patients can see "small small" as many would say here. The criteria for cataract surgery is that they have a cataract in both eyes, and see 6/60 or worse in both eyes. This how we reach people who are seeing the worst and will benefit most from the surgery. Cataracts form over time though, so some patients see better than others before surgery. End random note.
Some Mamas wearing headwraps at one of the eye screening sites.
Now to tell you about the head wraps. Keeping the hair covered is an important thing to my African Mamas. (Here in Guinea it is appropriate to call any person significantly older than oneself "mama" or "papa".) I get some pleading looks when we ask the ladies to take off their head wrap for surgery, which are quickly relieved when we put on a light blue surgical cap in its place.
So, in my first or second week of working in peri-op, I attempted to tie one Mama's headwrap back on after her surgery was over. The day workers smiled while I struggled to figure out which end to start with. After fumbling with the colorful fabric for a minute, I tied it and thought I had it on the woman's head pretty nicely. I was satisfied.
Even in her completely blind state she could tell that her hat was not on right. The moment I stepped back to admire my work her arm shot up, she pulled off the fabric and swiftly retied it herself. Oh well.
Later on I had a head wrap tying lesson from Nancy, my friend and eye team day worker. My skills have improved greatly. I think I'll always remember that first time a mama let me tie her wrap and she left it just how I put it on. She grabbed my arm and smiled a thank you.
So I guess what I am getting at is that I am able to connect with my patients. It just takes being willing to learn, being flexible, and embracing what I little I know of the culture. This is still a journey of learning, but language barrier or not they know when someone is there to care for them, and that builds trust.
I shouldn't have worried.
what eye screening day looks like
Field screenings happen about 1-2 times each week for eye team. This is not a direct part of my job since I am on ship getting people ready for surgery at the same time that the field team is doing these screenings, but I have been able to go a few times on non-surgery days. The photos included here were taken last week.
The day begins well before dawn, and a line begins to form before Mercy Ships land rovers have left the ship. A security team made up of volunteers from other ship departments leaves at 5:30 to organize the line and help with the flow of people.
A few people at a time are allowed through the gate where they are "pre-screened" by trained eye team members with a pen light. If it looks like thier eyes might fit the criteria for surgery with us we send them on to the specialist to look at them with the portable slit lamp. Each time I have gone to a field screening I have worked as one of these "pre-screeners". Each pre-screener works with one day worker who translates and uses a counter to keep track of how many people they have looked at.
We see so many eyes on screening day- eyes that are really ok, but some glasses would be good, eyes that we know we can't help, and others that could be surgical candidates. That's what screening day is about- finding the ones we came to help, ones that we can say yes to.
The day begins well before dawn, and a line begins to form before Mercy Ships land rovers have left the ship. A security team made up of volunteers from other ship departments leaves at 5:30 to organize the line and help with the flow of people.
A few people at a time are allowed through the gate where they are "pre-screened" by trained eye team members with a pen light. If it looks like thier eyes might fit the criteria for surgery with us we send them on to the specialist to look at them with the portable slit lamp. Each time I have gone to a field screening I have worked as one of these "pre-screeners". Each pre-screener works with one day worker who translates and uses a counter to keep track of how many people they have looked at.
A big thank you to everyone who helps with this screening day!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
the book that gets its own blog post
I love reading, and have been enjoying our library here on ship. Recently though I picked up a book from the boutique. The boutique is on deck 2, and it has items that other mercy shippers didn't need or donated before they left. You never know what you might find in there. Anyway, I was there one day a few weeks ago and a book caught my eye- I recognized it as one that several friends and family members had recommended: "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller.
I finished it about a day and a half later, and since then have read it again. I can tell that the last person who had it appreciated it as well, because some especially poignant paragraphs were already underlined for me.
In the book, Tim Keller explores the meaning of the parable of the Prodigal Son, which he explains should really be called the parable of the Two Lost Sons.
Having grown up attending church and Sunday school and bible study etc., I am very familiar with the story of the prodigal son. I am very familiar with the story of how the loving, forgiving father welcomes back his once wayward and now repentant son- but I was not familiar with the way Keller presents the story of the older son.
Keller reminds the reader of the audience and the setting first- Jesus was preparing to eat and spend time with "sinners" and tax collectors, and the Pharisees (the teachers and abides of the Law) scoffed at his behavior. He answered them with this famous tale of two sons. Read Luke 15 if you aren't familiar with it.
The father represents God in this story, and the two sons represent two different, but equally lost, types of people. The younger, prodigal son is the more obviously lost one. He chooses to disgrace his father, turn his back on his family and go his own way, spending and living recklessly. After some time living in this way he comes to his senses and realizes that he wants and needs the mercy of his father. He returns and is welcomed home.
The older son is the one who lives by his father's rules. He goes through the motions of being near his father and living to please him, but his true motives for his obedience are exposed when the father rejoices in the return of the younger son. Rather than rejoice with him the older son is angry. He feels that he is owed more for his obedience.
Here is an excerpt from chapter 3:
...the brother's hearts, and the two ways of life they represent, are much more alike than they first appear.
What did the younger son want most in life? He chafed at having to partake of his family's assets under his father's supervision. He wanted to make his own decisions and have unfettered control of his portion of the wealth....
...What did the older son want? If we think about it he wanted the same thing as his brother. He was just as resentful of the father as was the younger son. He, too, wanted the father's goods rather than the father himself. However, while the younger brother went far away, the elder brother stayed close and "never disobeyed". That was his way to get control. His unspoken demand is, "I have never disobeyed you! Now you have to do things in my life the way I want them to be done."
The two hearts of the brothers were the same. Both sons resented their father's authority and sought ways of getting out from under it. They each wanted to get into a position in which they could tell the father what to do. Each one, in other words, rebelled- but one did so by being very bad and the other by being extremely good. Both were alienated from thier father's heart; both were lost sons....
....they both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying and serving him for his own sake.
I think at times I can identify with either one of the sons. But, I pray that by the grace of God I would be a child of His that seeks Him for His own sake. I loved this book because it reminded me of some of the deepest truths- the ones that are a sturdy foundation and I hope are built into the core of my being:
-I have already been given the greatest reward, one that I could never earn by goodness or find on my own- and that reward is to know Christ. And It is in the pursuit of knowing and being near to him that I am filled up, and able to serve and love.
- He is all that I have that is lasting, and all that I need in this life.
- I already know who I am and Who I belong to- and my mission in this life is to follow Him whole heartedly.
So thank you, kind mercy shipper who left this book in the boutique. And if anyone else living on this vessel would like to read it, I would be happy to pass it along.
And because this is my blog and I can end this post however I like, I will end it with a song. Because it is a favorite of mine and it goes nicely with this post:
I finished it about a day and a half later, and since then have read it again. I can tell that the last person who had it appreciated it as well, because some especially poignant paragraphs were already underlined for me.
Having grown up attending church and Sunday school and bible study etc., I am very familiar with the story of the prodigal son. I am very familiar with the story of how the loving, forgiving father welcomes back his once wayward and now repentant son- but I was not familiar with the way Keller presents the story of the older son.
Keller reminds the reader of the audience and the setting first- Jesus was preparing to eat and spend time with "sinners" and tax collectors, and the Pharisees (the teachers and abides of the Law) scoffed at his behavior. He answered them with this famous tale of two sons. Read Luke 15 if you aren't familiar with it.
The older son is the one who lives by his father's rules. He goes through the motions of being near his father and living to please him, but his true motives for his obedience are exposed when the father rejoices in the return of the younger son. Rather than rejoice with him the older son is angry. He feels that he is owed more for his obedience.
Here is an excerpt from chapter 3:
...the brother's hearts, and the two ways of life they represent, are much more alike than they first appear.
What did the younger son want most in life? He chafed at having to partake of his family's assets under his father's supervision. He wanted to make his own decisions and have unfettered control of his portion of the wealth....
...What did the older son want? If we think about it he wanted the same thing as his brother. He was just as resentful of the father as was the younger son. He, too, wanted the father's goods rather than the father himself. However, while the younger brother went far away, the elder brother stayed close and "never disobeyed". That was his way to get control. His unspoken demand is, "I have never disobeyed you! Now you have to do things in my life the way I want them to be done."
The two hearts of the brothers were the same. Both sons resented their father's authority and sought ways of getting out from under it. They each wanted to get into a position in which they could tell the father what to do. Each one, in other words, rebelled- but one did so by being very bad and the other by being extremely good. Both were alienated from thier father's heart; both were lost sons....
....they both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying and serving him for his own sake.
I think at times I can identify with either one of the sons. But, I pray that by the grace of God I would be a child of His that seeks Him for His own sake. I loved this book because it reminded me of some of the deepest truths- the ones that are a sturdy foundation and I hope are built into the core of my being:
-I have already been given the greatest reward, one that I could never earn by goodness or find on my own- and that reward is to know Christ. And It is in the pursuit of knowing and being near to him that I am filled up, and able to serve and love.
- He is all that I have that is lasting, and all that I need in this life.
- I already know who I am and Who I belong to- and my mission in this life is to follow Him whole heartedly.
So thank you, kind mercy shipper who left this book in the boutique. And if anyone else living on this vessel would like to read it, I would be happy to pass it along.
And because this is my blog and I can end this post however I like, I will end it with a song. Because it is a favorite of mine and it goes nicely with this post:
Hallelujah! All I have is Chirst!
What I do. (AKA, the post that became really wordy)
The Eye Team room in the hospital on deck 3
I have not shared much about the work I do here- keeping up with a blog is challenging. In two months of being here on ship, so much has happened that I get overwhelmed with trying to sort out which things to write about. Anyway, this is how my workday normally goes:I work in the peri-op room for the eye patients. This means that the patients I take care of have already been seen at a field screening (a public location where people wait in long lines to have their eyes checked for cataracts), and also at the clinic (if patients are given a "yes" at field screening, they are given an appointment for the clinic. The clinic is about 5 minutes drive from the ship, here the patient's eyes are checked again, a diagnosis is made and they are scheduled for surgery).
Some photos of eye patients being seen in the clinic:
So, the patients have waited in lots of lines. (Sometime at field screening people will begin lining up as early as 2:00 am.) They have been to their clinic appointment, and received the good news that yes, we can help them. Finally they were given a special orange card telling them to arrive at 6:30am on our dock on their surgery day.
This whole process is both exciting and really frightening for many of my patients. There are so many rumors about the ship and what goes on here. The day workers tell me that some of the rumors are that "they will take your whole eye out of your head, wash it off and then put it back in." (That is a really common one, and if I thought that I would be worried too!). They know we are a faith based hospital ship, and some of them are concerned about how they will be treated if they aren't the same religion.
Despite the rumors, the hope of healing still brings them to the ship. So promptly at 7:00 am on surgery days I head down to the dock with two eye team day workers, and cautiously lead blind people to the eye room. That means we march up the 42-step gangway, through reception on deck 5, and down two sets of stairs to the hospital on deck 3. Sometimes this is a really long process.
On surgery days patients fill all these chairs
(the desk that I work from)
Cataracts surgery is outpatient, and most surgeries are finished before lunch. My favorite part of this work is that I get to be the person with that short window of time with these patients, and do everything I can to represent Mercy Ships well during that time. For those 12-20 patients each day, I have the opportunity to dispel the rumors and fears, and love and serve them the best I can. I am trying to find ways to make the most of the time I get to spend with them. As I learn more about the culture here it becomes easier to relate to my patients.By far the best idea I have had was making a photo book. (See photos). The photographers here have beauiful images available for us to use, so it wasn't hard to pull together. Without words it tells my patients what we do here on the ship. Once we get past the first busyness of the day, I get out the book and pass it around. Even with vision severely clouded by cataracts, they can usually see if they hold the pages close. The ones that can't see at all usually get enthusiastic descriptions of the photos from the patient sitting next to them.
Somehow- after looking through before and afters of cleft palates closed, legs straightened, and even an eye patient like themselves- the ship becomes a friendlier place. Looking at the pictures together opens doors for conversations and many mornings it changes the whole atmosphere of the room.
So that is a bit of what I do. Monday through Thursday are surgery days, and Fridays I spend prepping charts and restocking or helping out with post-op patients in the clinic. January will be busier than ever- we will have two surgeons working, and we have a special day of all children's appointments TOMORROW at the clinic! I will be on ship for surgery, but I can't wait to see some kids soon! :)
If you made it through all of that, thanks for sticking with me!
Suzanne
photos: christmas time on the AFM
A little late, but here are some photos of our holidays here on ship:
Gingerbread house competition
Candle light service on the dock
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