Surgery

Insane experience today! I viewed a cleft palate surgery, up close and personal today, from beginning to end, and I did not pass out or embarrass myself in any other way! Viewing a surgery is one of the things a crew member on board the Africa Mercy (a hospital ship, after all) can take part in but you must get on a list because the opportunities will fill up fast. The patient was a 33 year old man with a cleft (open) palate, which meant that his entire mouth/jaw area was actually sideways and the back of his mouth was not closed to his throat and esophagus. For him, this meant that he never was able to speak and that consuming food and beverages were a delicate and possibly dangerous situation. Because he was very poor, this problem was never addressed medically in his country. Because he lived in the hills, far away from the port where the ship had come before, he had never had the chance to be healed by the ships’ doctors on previous visits. He was born this way and he has never known anything else. The photographs will be close up and graphic to some degree, so if you’re not into this, do not read/view the rest of this particular blog.

This is the before photo of the man’s face. His jaw and entire mouth area is at an angle. His bottom lip is where it belongs but the top lip is actually in two sections so it appears he has 3 lips. He has never had a left nostril, per se, and his teeth jut out on top so that he has difficulty closing his mouth most of the time.

This devise is placed in his mouth to keep it open as wide open as possible for the entire surgery. You can see that the back of this mouth/throat is completely open to the esophagus which means that the parts of the throat that would vibrate to make sound and speak have never been able to do what they are supposed to do. He has been breathing deeply through his one nostril and this mouth since he was born.

A tube is placed into the working nostril to keep the airway open because once the back of the mouth is sewn shut correctly, everything he is accustomed to will change and be redirected – in a good way. Fat from the cheeks is then used to pad the back of his mouth as it is sewn shut in several different directions and blood vessels are redirected also. This part of the procedure took most of the initial work until the back of his mouth/throat area was shaped the way it was meant to be shaped and food would go down his throat at his will. He will have physical therapy for months to learn how to eat correctly and eventually how to speak – at 33 years old!

The large teeth in front are pulled out. I must admit that made me wince a little (okay, more than a little).

The 2 sections that comprise the top lip are sliced, each in the middle and so is the nose area on the left side. With incredible precision and patience on the surgeon’s part, the 2 ‘lips’ are brought together, simultaneously sewing them into the correct alignment with the place under the nose where they are supposed to meet. A padding is placed in the (new) left nostril to shape it as it heals.

All the sewing is taped into place for his protection while he heals and the swelling goes down. Dr. Gary said that, besides the visual of himself for the first time in his life, the most shocking part for the man when he wakes up is that he will be breathing through only one normal nostril at first and then 2 working nostrils so air will not be as abundant as he is accustomed to, and this will take some adjustment for him.  It may even be a little frightening at first. He will stay on board the ship for about 1½ weeks and then in a building near the port after that, where he will still be cared for by people from his country and from the ship’s hospital. Everyone on the ship ward is cared for 24 hours a day and fed the food they are used to eating in their country by the ship galley and yours truly, until they are able to be moved to another location or go home.

The team involved in this particular surgery was run by Dr. Gary Parker, who is a maxio-facial specialist and has been devoted to the Africa Mercy and its vision/cause for over 24 years. He does this now constantly, every year without fail, for no pay, and his family lives on the ship almost 12 months a year, in pursuit of this vision/cause. It is mind boggling to imagine what this family gives up and accomplishes, for no other reason than to help others. And he’s only one person in the room.

Everyone on this ship, from the janitors to the surgeons to the engineers, electricians, plumbers, secretaries, and even the Captain are volunteers and actually pay for their room and board and for that of their families (for those who brought them). Everything that is used to treat the patients, the food to feed everyone, the gas to keep the boat moving, everything is either donated or is paid for by donations. I cannot express that enough. If you have been moved by this surgery or by anything you’ve read in my blogs or heard about this organization, I ask you to put something aside for this organization and help them continue to fulfill this vision.

God Bless!

Winding Down

I got to try something new again in the galley. I had bought some fresh eggplant and some cabbage in town the other day from one of the street vendors. We haven’t had eggplant since we left South Africa and we haven’t had cabbage at all. I certainly didn’t buy enough to make a meal for the entire ship and I didn’t really know what I was going to do with what I bought. I had also bought a packet of mixed herbs and spices that promised to be yummy. Yesterday, we were scheduled to have stuffing with our chicken so I volunteered to handle the stuffing and try something new with it. I stir-fried the chopped up eggplant, shredded cabbage, and some finely chopped onion with the spices and then added them to the already-made stuffing for 400. There were just enough of the added goodies to go around. It seemed to be a hit and certainly more interesting than just plain instant, packaged stuffing. I’ll have to remember to try that at home on a much smaller (and easier) level.  We’ve never had fresh mushrooms on board, but I’ll throw some of those in when I try this recipe again later. I don’t have any photos though – sorry.

While a few of us were in town the other day we met a new little friend on the street. The gals I was shopping with didn’t like the idea of me getting too close to him but I couldn’t resist. He kept leaning closer to me and I moved in slowly in case he decided to get aggressive. Well, he just stood there and let me rub the back of his neck and his cheeks. He was such a sweetheart!

Also while wandering in town, the girls and I went to the fabric market. Basically, it’s an alley that has almost exclusively cart after cart of fabric and handmade clothing. There are also a lot of shoes. They had a bunch of (specifically) African designs of course, but also many others that were interesting and some that were downright beautiful. I picked a few and bought about 4 yards each. I have a little pant suit at home that I love to wear but it’s black velvet. It’s very simple and comfortable and I just know that, if repeated in these other, lighter fabrics, the 2 piece outfit will be adorable – several times over! Now I just have to find someone to make them for me...

It’s difficult to tell from the photos but the first and last fabrics have beautiful gold thread gleaming in the design and the black and white fabric has silver sparkles in the design.

My time here is getting close to the end now; I’m leaving in 2 days. We had numerous Easter celebrations this last weekend on the ship, including an egg hunt for the kids (I’m assuming it’s for the kids – haha). Thursday night there had been set up 2 different displays in 2 large rooms: one was the Upper Room where Jesus addressed the Disciples at the Last Supper; the other was the Garden of Gethsemine, where crew members could enter into the area, sit for awhile and rest or pray or imagine. It was quite impressive what was done with a couple of ship rooms. Sunday is a special service, of course, an Easter brunch for the whole ship, and later the Easter egg hunt. My team worked the whole weekend and we were up to our eyeballs in various types of quiches.  

Tomorrow, I will be able to view a surgery. I hadn’t really planned on doing that but Pam urged me into doing it. I’ve also been told that I may take photos of the surgery, so I’ll have a blog entry about that. I’ll put a warning at the beginning of the blog in case anyone is squeamish. Carol 1 observed one the other day where the doctors basically sliced the guy’s head in 2 parts and pealed back the outside of the skull to remove some tumorous growth. And they let her take photos!

Then I will leave on Thursday. I have to take a small boat to the other side of the port in order to get to the Freetown A/P. I’ve been warned that I will get wet on this boat ride and to be prepared to change into something else for the actual plane ride. I will have a 5 hour layover in Brussels and have also been warned that I must bring home some Belgian chocolates, if I expect to be picked up at the airport – I can take a hint. In the meantime, I’m trying to organize the stuff I need to carry home with me back into the duffle bag that Ryan loaned me for the trip. (They ask that people don’t bring large suitcases because they are difficult to store on the ship.) I’ve lost 20 lbs so most of the clothes I came with will be left here in the boutique for someone else to use when I’m gone.  ; - D

Bell Peppers and Braids!

I finally got to make the bell peppers – about 600 of them! Just lopping off the tops of the peppers took most of the day. I started with the smaller ones and when I ran out of them, moved on up to the bigger ones. They were definitely a success. Making the stuffing was completely off the cuff because I had no idea how to measure or estimate how much it would take to fill the little suckers! I started with a crouton-type stuffing mix (6 huge bags) and added the following: grated carrots, finely chopped tomatoes, chopped mushrooms (all we had were canned) some finely grated bell peppers from the tops, chopped onions, and something else finely chopped that now escapes me. I was hoping for some celery but we had none available. I added a buttload (yes EJ, that’s a technical measuring amount in my cookbook) of mixed, dried herbs, garlic, celery salt (the only salt I used). After mixing the stuffing mix with the hot water and adding all the other ingredients, we proceeded to fill the hulls of the peppers with teaspoons. We were conservative at first, not wanting to run out of stuffing. As we were running out of time for dinner, carefully placed spoonfuls became gobs rolled in the hands and shoved into the peppers. I took a little over half of the peppers and sprinkled grated cheese on the tops and rest I left plain. Then we broiled them.

Many of them were about the perfect sized for 2 or 3 bites. I was actually proud of the little guys. I actually can't wait to try them for a much smaller group, when I have a better choice of ingredients. I'm also the constant provider of homemade dill salad dressing for the salad bar...

On my next day off, I celebrated by walking into town and treating my elf to do something a little crazy – I’m sure many of you are shocked. I got my hair braided like the locals at a local shop (actually a shack on one of the main streets). It took about 2 hours and some Tylenol but here it is:

This actually started becoming more and more popular on the ship as time went on (it’s been about 3 weeks now). I don’t want to say I started the trend, but I was definitely one of the first. Also, many of the women on the ship are getting the hair extensions with their braids and I just stuck with my own hair. Boy, do I have a lot of forehead… and a very white scalp. Anyway, it’s been fun and very easy to deal with, especially since we (the ship) has been very low on water and were actually not allowed to shower for about  5 days by order of the Captain.

In the meantime, I’m still in the galley, doing dishes, helping with some of the actual cooking when they need me, and chopping veggies & fruits, which leads me to my next photo:

I have no idea what this is, but I found it on a tray in the local market and bought it. I’ve never seen one before and strictly guessed at it possibly being a prickly pear. It’s white inside and the consistency of mango, but tasted like a pineapple with less bite. The seeds were black, twice the size of watermelon seeds and looked like something that crawls across the floor of a seedy motel when the lights are out. I sent the seeds to Julie, like I send most of the seeds of produce I see here in the galley. It was kind of tasty. The locals in the galley had a name for it but I couldn’t possibly spell it or repeat the word if I tried.

Also trying to spend some time with the kids in the hospital downstairs and use the crayons and coloring books I brought all the way from the US to entertain them. We are not allowed to take any photos or film of the patients, but we see them. They are so sweet and just melt the heart. Their needs range from legs and arms growing incorrectly to cleft palates to eye issues to growths on their faces and bodies. I walked by one large room the other night and several kids were scooting around on their butts, casts on one or both legs, playing some kind of soccer with a soft ball on the ground of the ward room. They have beautiful smiles and they are amazing.

At this writing I have 14 more days on the ship.