Saturday, October 19, 2019

October 2019 Update

Hello All!
Well, I am at it again. On December 29, 2019, I will wing my way to Dakar, Senegal to serve with Mercy Ships on the Africa Mercy! 
This time, I will be serving for just two months (last year, I was able to be in Conakry, Guinea for almost 5 months).
I will repeat my role as the General Surgery Team Lead - again working in the operating room, participating in surgeries, helping the surgeons and staff orient to our operating theater and ship life, and loving our Senegalese patients - all while working with my friends. I am very excited for this next adventure with Mercy Ships! And so thankful that God has placed me in my current path so I can go yet again.
Your prayers are so appreciated while I am in Senegal and as I get ready. If you would like to support me financially, that would be fantastic, too! You can check out my Mercy Ships support page here (it currently looks a surprisingly lot like this post...): https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=mercyshipsus&id=401&cfifid=712

Much love to you all! 
Amaanda

PS: Here is the poor, beleaguered and oft neglected blog... Watch this space (as the Aussies say!), though, as I plan to update again soon.
PSS: This blog will never be super flashy or even professional looking, so don't hold your breath (i.e., this post looks a bit strange, but... )💗A

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

March update


Hello All! 
A huge amount of fabric to choose from
or, what I do on Saturdays

I am seeing a trend in my life - delayed communication to the wider world. Probably will never be a true blogger... or a great letter writer... So, if you have been waiting with bated breath for a new update from Guinea, take a deep breath now and continue reading – it is here at last!


Here he is! Sooooo much happier than at Christmas.









The day after – actually even during – my last update, the Christmas on-call operating room (OR) team was working on a little guy who needed an emergency surgery. The week of Christmas, which we were hoping would be a lovely week of much needed rest and celebration, turned into more work as we all took a turn in the operating theatre every day. Thankfully, God was kind and He gave us rest the next week AND our little guy got better! See his smiling face! This picture was on A Ward during his long recovery, but we are all so happy to say that he is now out of the hospital! We hear reports of him doing well at the Hope Center.


Enjoying some time on the bridge with
Captain Milo from Denmark.
 
Going home & goodbye to all the Ward nurses.


The Hope Center is where many of our patients stay before and after surgery if they do not have homes or family here in Conakry. Also, if they need extra building up before surgery and extensive recovery programs after surgery and discharge from the ship. Our little orthopedic patients all hung out at the Hope Center so they were close enough to have physical therapy to learn how to walk on their newly straightened legs. They also seem to have a lot of fun over at the Hope Center!









Some highlight from the last few months:  
One highlight I don't recommend - pinkeye and isolation.
But this haiku from my friend, Joanna, made it a bit better!


This winter, I was able to learn so much more than General surgery – so I can finally show more pictures of my patients! It is so much nicer to see pretty before and after photos of people with gigantic goiters than it is to see the same images of people with inguinal hernias! Please, take my word for it - it is just so much better.

Here are some before photos:



Goiters are more uncommon in men.
But here is one guy.
I think his pants are pretty cool...
Still so beautiful! But she has to be uncomfortable...
Most patients came to screening with a scarf over their head & neck.



Dr. AJ and the same lovely goiter patients as above - pre-surgery
I was privileged to be able to work with Dr. A.J. for 3 weeks. He travels from Australia and operates on the gigantic, massive goiters in West Africa. He has been coming for many years, so everybody knows and loves him and they told me what a treat I had in store. Well, the rumors were all true and those 3 weeks were some of the most fun in my 4 months here on the Africa Mercy. He made taking out those things look easy!


So, to back-track, a goiter is a growth on the thyroid gland in your neck. (Note: As an OR nurse, I usually just stick to taking things out or repairing bits of bodies and have forgotten many of the things I learned in nursing school (sorry, Ellamae!) – yes, this is a failing, but it is mine so there we are… So please take this as a general idea of how these thyroids and hormones and things work and not as a textbook in any way! You have been warned. Also note: (thankfully) I work as part of a team, so SOMEBODY understands this and helps our patients in the ways I cannot and the patients are truly safe.) These growths wreak havoc on thyroid hormones and other important chemicals in your body. If not treated properly before surgical removal of the goiter, patients can die just from all the chemical imbalances. If that isn’t bad enough, thyroids are highly vascular – they have so many blood vessels connected to them – that if you don’t have a very skilled and careful surgeon, patients can die from bleeding out. So, up until recently, removing goiters – although done for centuries – was considered a fool-hardy surgery and one to be avoided by a thinking surgeon.


This is a diagram Dr. AJ & Dr. Dan used to teach me the difference between
an "Extended Hemithyroidectomy" and a "Subtotal Thryroidectomy"
If you want, I will explain in person, but for now - you can guess!


Some of this I knew, but a lot I learned after listening to Dr. A.J.’s talk. And there was much more that I currently don’t remember. In the middle of this in-service, I was astounded. I had not stopped to think about all that could have (but didn’t) go wrong with all my patients! And that was after a week of working with him… Like I said, Dr. A.J. made it look easy. And not least, we have an amazing God who gives those skills and right patient conditions.


Our Screening team with the Goiter patients
 Speaking of patient conditions, all our thyroid patients had gone through the Africa Mercy thyroid clinic. Our amazing screening team had worked with them since September to get their hormone and chemical levels from toxic to well-managed/almost normal. This way, we could operate and remove their thyroids without them going into a thyroid storm – the real name of the killing, chemical imbalance. So much preparation goes into what we do here! It is amazing!

Take a peek at some of our patients in the hospital and post surgery: 
I think she looks pretty happy!

That grin!


Some of our goiter patients on A Ward





I can't help it! These pictures make me so happy!


My friend, Melissa, & I with unintentional matching
scrubs. Both soon-to-be-released to regular OR nursing!
Tired & glad!

The Future:
So, what is next here for me in Guinea? Well, I have actually overstayed my original dates! I really should have left yesterday (2 March 2019)… but, early on in my time here, my boss, Merryl, asked if I could extend to fill an open spot. Tomorrow, I start my last three weeks as an OR nurse without Team Leader responsibilities. Hurray! Exciting stuff just being a staff nurse!

Then what is next after that? Well, God is truly in control and as of yet, my life back in the US of A looks a little blank. I will get back home to Moscow, Idaho in early May (after several weeks of visiting family and friends in Europe). Between May 2019 and January 2020, I am not sure what exactly God has for me. 

However, January and February 2020 look like I will be back on the Africa Mercy serving in Senegal! So, watch this space (as my Aussie friends say), and I’ll up date you as I know things!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! May God richly bless you and may He be glorified in all we do!
Much love from Guinea,
Amaanda❤️


A note on photos: All the lovely photos of patients and crew are by our Africa Mercy photographers. The first photo of me in the fabric shop/heaven/huge amounts of indecision was taken by my friend, Melissa D. The other two odd pictures were taken by me. And the weird photo/text placement is all me, too...like I said, not a professional blogger.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Joyeux Noel from Guinea! (otherwise known as, Update 2.4.5) Part 1


Mercy Ships – A belated update at almost 2 (3?!) months on board…

Happy Christmas! Joyeux Noel! God Jul! All from the Africa Mercy Midships.

My African fabric
Christmas dress
So glad it was done in time!


On this, the second day of Christmas, I am finally writing another blog update! I have been thinking about writing for a while, but it has been pretty busy here, so now is the time. The Operating Room is closed – except for emergency cases – for two weeks over Christmas and New Years, so we are enjoying the break. It is quite the experience to have two weeks off! It almost feels like I’m back in school… also in that school mindset, I’m on my second latte as I’m procrastinating writing to you this afternoon…

As I am so good at being busy and procrastination, there is almost too much to write in one post, so I’ll do a little story telling via pictures. Most are not my own (I always forget to bring my phone/take pictures…), but are graciously made available on our shared drive – just so you know (and I'll try & give credit where due!).


Work Life:
A Canadian, an American & a Kiwi walked into an OR...
and had a great week!

My little "office" in OR 2 - pictures of my Pinkie,
Reeree and Co. to keep me going through the weeks.

Before orthopedic kiddo
* MercyShips Guinea 2018 archive

Leg Day on Deck 7! It's pretty much the cutest thing to get
stopped on my way to the OR by the tiny walker traffic jam!
Alas, no photos of this, so enjoy those pink casts.
* MercyShips Guinea 2018 archive

More working out - with lots of encouragement!
Ortho is not my specialty here, but look at those faces & legs -
a pretty dramatic change even in the in-between stage.
* MercyShips Guinea 2018 archive

He gets to rest at last!
* MercyShips Guinea 2018 archive

Way to go!
* MercyShips Guinea 2018 archive

A rare General surgery photo!
Dr. Neil revealing a newly thinned neck! Such a great surgeon.
* MercyShips Guinea 2018 archive

Look at that tiny bandage!
* MercyShips Guinea 2018 archive


Let's see - a couple of Aussies, Americans, Guineans, a North Irish,
 a South Korean, a Dutchy and a Kiwi just finished a great week.
I.e., my fantastic OR 2 team.
*photo courtesy of Dr. Michael

The last day of surgery before Christmas break!
*photo courtesy of Dr. Michael
*mustaches courtesy of Betsy & Dr. Andy
*photobomb provided by Alimou



A Very Delayed Posting of Update 1.2.5


Up date, mid-week 2 (probably 6, November, 2018):

So far, it has been a good week, but lots of work from the whole team. We are all pretty tired. We had two big surgeries – one on Monday and Tuesday. Our little patients seem to be doing well, but please pray for them – they have gone through a lot! And pray for us – it is a lot of work and stressful for planning. I’m especially feeling added pressure of new responsibilities and so much learning! The tiredness is understandable, but I would appreciate your prayers. 

(Update from a month & a half later - it took a while, but our baby was finally deemed well enough to go to the Hope Center with her momma in the middle of December! It was a long time to be in the hospital, but the prognosis is good now and she can grow up normally. Also, we all got to snuggle her for a long time. No pictures, but one evening during rounds, she just fell asleep on my shoulder in about 20 seconds. She reminds me of my niece, Pinkie.) 

This is not the patient I was talking about, but she has the same fun & enthusiastic spirit.
Also, who doesn't like a happy baby photo?!
*a photo from Mercy Ships Guinea 2018 archives


As an OR Nurse Team Leader, I get to visit with my patient the night before surgery (evening rounds). This is mainly to make sure all the paperwork is in order and they will be ready for surgery the next day. I also help the surgeons getting the consents for surgery right and a few other things (that I have not quite figured out yet!). Monday night, I met one charming little guy – he was showing me his drawing and wanting whatever I had or anybody else had – typical toddler. Tuesday afternoon, my translator and I were able to “bribe” him into not crying for his dad and coming with us by letting him keep his toys. Then, we exchanged them for his anesthetic oxygen mask swabbed with a little bubble gum flavor. Tuesday evening after surgery, he was up playing with his dad on his bed – so great to see!

I mentioned our translator – we have several translators in the OR and then lots spread throughout the hospital. We have had a couple of days where we thought our translators might not be able to make it onto the ship (they are day-workers, so as native Guineans, they live in town). If that had happened, our surgical cases would have to be delayed or even cancelled. They are invaluable!

An old photo, but here are our translators & me from Benin in 2016


There are so many languages spoken here in Guinea. French is the official language, but it is usually taught in school, so many of our patients speak their own languages. Some I can think of (and spell!) are Fullah & Susu. Each translator has his or her own language strengths, so we have to make sure we ask the right person to come to the ward to pick up our patients. They are all wonderful. Today, one sang to our baby girl patient and another played keep-away with the anesthesia mask – it makes it pretty irresistible to those little kids when they can’t have it!

One of our ward translators & a baby recovering from cleft lip/palate surgery
*a photo from Mercy Ships Guinea 2018 archives


Again, this is where I’ll end. Thank you all so much for praying for and supporting me! 
Much love,
Amaanda
PS: A disclaimer: Although I am currently serving with Mercy Ships, everything communicated here strictly reflects my personal opinions and is neither reviewed nor endorsed by Mercy Ships. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships. ~ Amaanda

PSS: Wednesday night – I was just down in A Ward getting ready for tomorrow and all our patients are up an practically running around. God is so good!

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Mercy Ships Updates 0.3 & 1.1 – and more adventures leading up to the flight & the first week of the first month


3 November 2018

Hello All!


It has been almost a week since I arrived on the Africa Mercy! And I’m so glad to be here. But more on that later…

This past month has been a rather crazy one! As you may know, my lovely parents drove all the way down to San Diego in early October, packed my oodles of stuff (we did not use such a cute description during the actual packing…), and then the three of us drove through California, Nevada, Oregon all the way up to Moscow, Idaho. Very long days!


Day one - follow the little white box - very slowly
Isn't Nevada amazing? (I felt like I was living 'Cars'...)

Day two - more Nevada
I did mention I was driving VERY slowly, right?


Still Day two, still more Nevada
- but still so amazing!
      
A strange clown motel - still haunts me...


The worst part was saying goodbye to my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. I will miss them so much. Still a little teary thinking about it… thank goodness for wifi and internet here on the Africa Mercy!

Missing San Diego just a bit... my last even was a picnic on the beach


The most exciting day (or rather night) had to be when we had mechanical difficulties on the road between Winnemuca, Nevada and Caldwell, Idaho. We were stuck on the side of the road, in the middle of the night, without cell service or any living person visible for miles – and it was about 16 degrees Fahrenheit! (I thought I was just SoCal soft, but the chill was real!). Anyway, we found safety thanks to my dad’s amazing skills with nothing much to work with (MacGyver, I guess) in the tiny town of Jordan Valley, Oregon. I will always think fondly of Jordan Valley – a warm, comfy motel room with morning windows opening on golden fields, sunny blues skies and red rock mountains. That is not even mentioning a mechanic who fixed everything! And a good breakfast at the local diner. It was the promise land God had for us on that Sunday night – so aptly named. My aunt and uncle drove down the next morning from Caldwell and brought us the parts we needed. We got to visit while everything was being fixed and then they sent us on our way. Finally, we arrived in Moscow late that night. We were very tired.

The next eleven days were spent in quite the flurry of activities – filling my storage unit (still had room for my car!), dealing with all the loose ends of life and moving (I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much time on hold), seeing friends, drinking coffee, going to my parent’s parish group, enjoying the glorious, sunny fall Moscow provided, and figuring out how and what to pack for Guinea (probably even more frustrating to me than the packing of my apartment). We even managed to go the Moscow firemen’s pancake feed! It was homecoming at most of the local colleges and universities, so it was a bit crowded in town. I also went with a friend to our nursing school’s 50 year celebration! My college church let me give a presentation on Mercy Ships and my coming time and role here – it was encouraging and I’m so glad I was able to share.


Moscow in it's fall beauty!


Finally, October 26 came around and my flight out of Moscow to Seattle was set to fly at 7pm(ish). Frantically packing, I had about 20 minutes to get there in time for check-in! Then my flight was delayed (hurray!), so Mom, Dad and I got to eat dinner with less panicked hearts. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of my flight delays…

Relief! We just have to wait now...



On my way to the Africa Mercy!
I'm going to need this coffee...
To make a long story short(er), I did make it to Seattle, to my hotel, then back to the SeaTac airport, just to wait for another 4 hours for my first flight to Newark, then delayed at Newark, then delayed in the air over the Ivory Coast (some kind of VIPs prevented us from landing and it turns out my stomach does not like going in circles in the air for 30 minutes…), finally landing, getting stuck in the check-in area of the Abidjan airport for 5 or so hours, at last being allowed to check in (yay! – there were bathrooms, internet and water then!), having that flight delayed…



Eventually, I arrived in Conakry, Guinea, was picked up by the Purser of the Africa Mercy, got through customs and all without much delay, and ended up on the ship by about 10:30pm 28 October (got to change the date arrangement now – I’m in another country!). I was so tired, without luggage (it got lost between the Ivory Coast and Guinea), stinky and all that – but it already felt like home!
So, now I’m here on the Africa Mercy and have just finished my first week of work. Still tired, but still happy to be home. Also, our OR team got to fix about 13 kiddos this week! And they are all mostly up and running around the wards or have gone home already. Next week looks to be a little more challenging for the whole Pediatric General surgery team. I’m preparing by laying low this weekend. There are lots of adventures to be had here in Conakry and the surrounding area, so I hope to be ready to explore next weekend. In the meantime, I’ll finish my training as the General Surgery Team Leader this week and take my first training shift being the primary (i.e., most responsible nurse)  call on this Thursday. It’s a little daunting, but the support of my supervisors and friends (and pretty much the whole OR team) is there, so I think – definitely with God’s guidance – this next week should go well.

Here!
Clean, but starving, just off the plane.


This is where I’ll end. Thank you all so much for praying for and supporting me! Thank you for all the kind emails this week – it has been so encouraging. It is amazing to get to work within this community who love and serve God in serving the people of Guinea. And to know all of you are on the other side of the world in this same community (of sorts) praying for me is even better!

Much love,
Amaanda

PS: A disclaimer (because I need to and this should have been on all my other communications, too, but I forgot): Although I am currently serving with Mercy Ships, everything communicated here strictly reflects my personal opinions and is neither reviewed nor endorsed by Mercy Ships. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships. ~ Amaanda 

PSS: Also, no Guinea pictures yet! Next week (or month), I'll try to be better!