Got Blood?

On the Africa Mercy, our crew is our blood bank.  All the blood that is transfused to the patients comes from the people who volunteer to work on the ship.  Last week was a busy blood week!  We had one patient who took 9 units (that's a lot!) and others who also needed blood.  We in the lab were trying to replenish our supply, but by yesterday, the refrigerator was looking a bit on the empty side.

A patient was having surgery yesterday, and our blood bank was running low!  We knew we needed to schedule some donors for today, so I went around and stuck little notes on cabin doors.

Then the call came from the operating room that our patient needed another unit of blood.  My co-worker in the lab, Michelle, is O pos, and had been screened.  So at 9 pm last night, we were working overtime!

Who has the better job?

The happy donor

So today Michelle and Claudia drew lots of blood. We had 12 people  for screening, and they also drew 7 units of blood.  Then  I went around and put some more little notes on cabin doors.  We hope we're ready for the facial tumor surgery tomorrow!

Debbie

A Killer Toothache

We are all part of a team here on the ship.  From the workers in the galley to the teachers in the school, we are all here to serve the poor of West Africa.  I appreciate how we are reminded of this when we learn about the programs that happen on and off the ship.

The dental clinic

When Dr Mark, a dentist from the US, came to the ship, he thought he was coming mainly to relieve people's pain.  If you've ever had a toothache that keeps you up all night, you can understand how people with no dental care can suffer over a long period of time.

The people that line up for dental care are in pain, and the dentists here pull a lot of teeth.  What Dr Mark didn't expect was to see osteomyelitis, which is infection of the bone caused by severe dental disease. When he was is dental school, he was told that he might see one case of this in his entire career.  In the almost six months that the ship has been in Congo, he has seen five cases.  So Dr Mark is saving lives.

Recently, the dental clinic saw a man with an abscess that was so large it was blocking his airway.  They drained it at the clinic, then sent him to the ship for surgery.  Through a series of miracles, he's recovered, and is currently at the Hope Center..

Dental disease is a disease of the poor.  No dental care, no toothbrushes, little dental hygiene.  The dental team also goes to orphanages, schools and prisons to treat patients and to teach hygiene.

More of the dental team 

Debbie

A Trip to "The Gorge" Hiking in the bush

Friday was a ship holiday.  An extra day of rest for the crew.  We joined 7 other crew mates for a trip to "The Gorge."  I don't know if this place has a name, but everyone simply calls it "The Gorge."

We decided to start at the beach and hike up to the top, reasoning that a return going downhill in the heat and sun would be the best choice.  Traveling out of Pointe Noire, we soon got beyond the city into the African country.  It was quite beautiful.
Pointe Noire is a busy place, but  the traffic is heavy and orderly.  The road is full of trucks and taxi's.  The taxi's are mostly Toyota Corolla's.

Since we traveled on a Friday, we parked at the beach without any people.  Apparently this is quite crowded on weekends.  Notice that the water is quite muddy.  This reddish brown color is caused by  a river (stream) that flows into the ocean at this point.  It carries the red clay out into the ocean.
We experienced a lot of red mud on this hike.





 We began our journey by hiking towards the gorge.
Trails in Africa are not marked.  It's not obvious where to go, but we had someone with us who was there in the dry season and generally knew the way.  Since this is the wet season, the grass had grown very tall (sometimes shoulder height) and often thick.  Sometimes we were in heavy vegetation.
Being the wet season, there was also a lot of red clay mud a numerous places.  We spent a while cleaning our shoes after the trip was completed.

Starting out to the Gorge

Being 4 degrees south of the equator, and being hot and humid, we needed a lot of sun screen, bug spay, and water. Rain might have been nice and refreshing, but in only rained while we were in the car.

A nice wide flat path was how it started out.

Soon the path narrowed, so we had to walk single file most of the way.  We were rewarded with lovely views of red rock/clay surrounded by lots of green vegetation.

Is this really a path?  

Crossing muddy streams was part of the adventure.  The shady areas were a welcome relief from the tropical sun.  I remembered this specific  spot on the return as I jumped off the logs that crossed the steam.  The only problem was I jumped into a bush instead of the path!

Did we mention the red mud along the trail?

Eventually we had to start climbing.  This part required two hands as well as two feet.  It was often on step at a time looking for a firm place to place your foot.  At one point we heard a scream from one of crew mates ahead of us who ran into an anthill that took some fast action to get rid of ants covering her and her backpack.  We detoured a bit and never saw the ants.  Fortunately there were no injuries of ant bites to remember this section.

The climb became more difficult as the rain had washed the trail away there was no way to get on top of the ridge.  Progress was slow and it did not appear that a way to the top was possible.  At some point we made a wrong turn.

 We were feeling a bit dehydrated, so we turned back after taking a few pictures from as far up as we would get on this trip.  The view was spectacular!

On our return, we heard a voice calling out "Bonjour!, Bonjour!"  We answered with a "Bonjour, ÇaVa," but we couldn't see anyone.  After trying to converse for a few minutes, we finally saw a man high up in a tree.  Apparently he was harvesting some kind of fruit.  He also explained and pointed to the path we should have taken.  At that point we didn't care.  Since it was a shady part of the trail, we drank some water and fortified ourselves with our peanut butter sandwiches.   We headed back the way we came and arrived at the beach.  We found some shade and continued with our lunch while enjoying a nice breeze off the water.

A Lovely spot at the end of a hike

Chuck

Culture in Congo

This hospital is different in a lot of ways.  We have an 80 bed hospital, but unlike at home, it isn't made up of semi-private and private rooms, but 4 wards of about 20 beds each.  And there are family members sleeping on mattresses under the beds.  The wards are busy places.  There are kids running around, people are really everywhere.  The doctors do their rounds in the morning, and later the praise team comes around with the African drums.  It’s a wild time!

We sat with some nurses at dinner last night.  They were amazed at the lack of pain medication given here after surgery.  They give lots at home in the US, but here the patients generally get a couple of days of Tylenol.  Is pain just a more accepted part of life here?  I don’t know.

One nurse, Scott, told us about the mother who was admitted for surgery.  She had a family member with her who was taking care of her baby.  After she got back from the recovery room, she took her baby back and tucked him into bed beside her.  Now that doesn't happen at home!

On Thursday nights we have a crew meeting.  Last night’s speakers were a couple from the US who have been here for the last 20 years.  They tried to explain some of the cultural differences and how we look to the patients.  We had known about the modest dress, and that men and women should always have their knees covered.  We learned that telling patients what to do, especially to an older person, is seen as disrespectful.  And patients will let you think they will do something, when in reality, saying “no” is just rude.  So they may have no intention of showing up for that follow-up appointment.

Men and women never hold hands in public.  Sometimes when men greet each other, they touch their foreheads together three times.  (if they're good friends!)

I think we have a lot to learn!

Debbie

It's the same, but different!

Our first week back on the ship has been very full.  It's been wonderful to reconnect with friends, and to meet new friends.  The cabin looks different, the port is in a different country, but everything feels strangely the same.  It some ways it's like we've never left.  We were eating breakfast with a nurse this morning, and I thought I recognized her from last year.  As we were talking, I realized that I met her earlier this week-time is blurred together and it feels strange.

Work has been busy for both of us.  There were two shipping containers delivered this week,(one from Texas and one from Holland) and the wards were full.  Both made Chuck's job very busy.  But he is  working with great people.  In fact, he trained  Scott before we left last year, and Scott is now his boss!

In the lab, I am happy to be working with the same people from last year.  Claudia is still here, and Michelle also just came back.  We just slid back into the same routines.  We've had two patients with sickle cell disease. One is a  beautiful 18 yr old girl whose surgery has been postponed so she can be transfused.
We have a little boy with HIV whose surgery is on hold- it made for a busy week.

Chuck singing with the men's group

As you can see, Chuck has already performed with the men for Valentine's Day at the ice cream social after the weekly crew meeting.

We've watched some of the Olympics with our international crew.  Canada seems to win a lot- or is it just the Canadians who keep marching around with their flag?

We took a walk out of the port to the beach this morning.  I'm never as hot as I am in Africa!

I love seeing the children on board- they've changed- they're a year older.  In fact, there's a birthday party going on right now upstairs, complete with pinata.

Yes, life is good on the Africa Mercy.  We're glad to be back.

Debbie

Welcome to The Congo

We left home between snow storms and single digit temperatures to begin our next service with Mercy Ships.  This time we are in Pointe Noire, the major port city in the Republic of the Congo.  (Not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

A short week ago we thought double digit temperatures were warm!

After 40 hours of travel, we arrived, were processed quickly through immigration, and found or luggage arrived without damage. We were greeted by friends who drove us to the ship.
Coming back is a different emotional experience.  It's a very welcoming community and even if we don't remember names, we recognize faces.  We found we quickly adjusted to life on the ship.  Jet lag from two overnight flights took a few days to get over.

The city of Pointe Noire is quite different from Conakry, Guinea.  We arrived in the morning and got to see some of the city.  It is relatively clean.  The port is huge.  It takes about 20 minutes to walk from the entrance of the port to the Africa Mercy.  The traffic is busy, but there are wide sidewalks that make it a lot safer to walk on the port premises.

Our cabin in on the port side (ie left) and faces the East, so when the sun comes up our room brightens quickly.  Fortunately sun rise is about the same time we need to get up anyway. Our cabin is the mirror image of last year's cabin, but now we have an ocean view!

Moon rise over Pointe Noire

Chuck

Sunsets  as seen from Deck 8