Hospital photos

A few weeks ago, before any patients arrived, the hospital staff hosted an open-house for all of the non-medical ship staff and the staff children who attend the Mercy Ship Academy. It was such a fun night as we let the kids be a nurse for a day with nurses as 'patients', or to dress up and play surgeon in the OR. Here's some photos of the hospital, and the kids from that night.

"Nurse for a day"... my friend Stacia is the nurse in the first bed...

she might kill me for posting this picture =)

One of the Pediatric wards...

the beds are for the patients, and there are mattresses under the beds where the caregivers sleep.

The Intensive Care Unit

One of the 6 ORs on the ship

Me practicing sutures and intubating a dummy

The hospital has been buzzing with activity lately. There are usually about a dozen surgeries done each day. Today I worked in the pediatric ward with the orthopedic kids. We are not allowed to take our cameras into the hospital but Mercy Ships media department photographers can take photos. So I don't have any pictures with my kiddos in the ward, but hopefully I will eventually. So, if you look at my blog and think I either drive to town or lay on the beach all the time, I don't... it's just that those are the only things I can take photos of. =)

Today I took care of a little boy named Abu. He has bowed legs, and had surgery a few days ago to repair them. He has such a cute little shy smile, and he would scrunch up his nose at me when he smiled. He was missing his two front teeth which made him even cuter.  He liked to give ‘high-fives’ and ‘thumbs-up” when I walked past his bed. At one point, I sat by his bed and let him play with my stethoscope… When he heard his heart beat for the first time, his grin spread from ear to ear. He wanted to hear my heartbeat too then decided to listen to the bandages on his knees, and listen to his toes, giggling the whole time. Later I gave him my calculator to play with. He pushed in a few numbers on it, then held it up to his ear and yelled ‘HELLOOO’ into it like it was a cell-phone. It was adorable. Towards the end of the shift, the shift nurses pray with the on-coming shift before giving report on the patients. I was standing next to his bed, with my back to him, not really paying any attention to him, and he reached over and put his little hand in mine while we were praying. My heart melted! My heart is so happy here in Africa helping these kids. It definitely has it's ups and downs, it's challenges and its heartbreaks, but then there are those moments of pure joy and delight that make everything worth it.

After a long day working, one of my favorite things to do at approximately 6:45 pm is go up on deck 8 toward the back of the ship, and watch the sunset over the city. It is absolutely beautiful!

One last picture from our beach trip the other weekend... there was a group of local kids that we met as we walked down the beach. We started playing in the sand with them and one of the girls in our group snapped a picture while we were playing, and it's one of my favorites =) 

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way unto the Lord; trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:3-4

Y'all have a good night!  =)