Ok, people, here is, what could be my last blog post, depending on how lazy I am before the end of 9 days. To all who have been nagging me to update my blog, even though I secretly hate you, I thank you for giving me the drive to actually do this. I just have had no idea about what to write about, so this blog will be regarding some of the patients our ship has been treating since we've started.
In the last blog I wrote, I talked about the wards, and types of patients we will be treating, specifically for me, the plastics patients. Recently, I took care of a patient, Mariette, who has been living with a mass on her back for the last 30 years. This mass weighed approximately 4.5 kg, or almost 11 pounds. Here is her before picture:
She was one of the first patients on my ward to receive surgery. After the surgery, she was crying her eyes out because it was the first time in 30 years that she was able to lie flat on her back. CAN YOU IMAGINE? Her daughter came by to visit the second day after surgery and as soon as she saw the tumor was gone, she was tearing up and going around thanking every single nurse and doctor in the room because she was so thankful. This is what I experience every single day, and this is the reason I do what I do.
The next ward that I am truly blessed to witness is the OBF, or the Obstetrics Fistulas ward. Women who have had long labors during childbirth (often because they have no access to care, are afraid to seek good care, or the nearest hospital is over 50 kilometers away) who develop these fistulas that cause them to leak urine or stool constantly from their vagina. Over 75% of women who develop fistulas have endured labor that has lasted more than 3 days. Because of this problem they develop, most of them have been shunned from husbands, families, and society. When I was first learning the about Obstetric Fistulas, we were told that no only do they lose their child during childbirth, but most women die during these labors as well, so these women aren't victims, these women are survivors. these women are so incredibly strong and have lived through so much, including loss of a child, as well as a having to live with the burden of a fistula afterwards.
For these women, this surgery is changing their lives forever, and as a celebration to their survivorship, Mercy Ships holds a dress ceremony every few weeks for these women. During the dress ceremony, we provide new dresses for these women as a metaphor for a new, clean start in life. These dresses will no longer smell from urine or stool, and will represent a brand new start in life. Here is a picture of a dress ceremony from last year:
Experiencing this transformation is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel incredibly lucky to be here. This is why I do what I do, and I love it. Not only did people think I was insane for quitting my job to come here, but also PAYING to volunteer my time to do this was just unheard of. But I wouldn't have had it any other way, and I'm sure most of you would feel the same way too if you could experience what I have in the time that I have been here. This experience has changed my outlook on nursing, and on life for the better, and I cannot wait to see what's in store next.
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