All In A Night's Work

Dear friends and family, thanks for all your sweet thoughts and prayers! I was able to work my night shift on Sunday. I did not feel great at the beginning of the shift and I was wishing I had taken another sick day, but at that point it was too late to call another nurse in for the entire night, so I said, "Lord, if I am going to get through this night I really need you to help me." God answered my prayers. I enjoyed my shift, had no trouble staying awake, and felt better and stronger as the shift went on. I also got to work with a Dutch nurse, whom I did not know very well. We got to talk and discuss some interesting topics throughout the shift. We talked about everything from different foods, to wooden shoes and the moral and ethical issues in Holland. I do not know how many of you are aware about the political and ethical issues in Holland, but I learned about some of Holland's current medical advances in University and I wanted to verify what I learned with a native of Holland. It is true that "Euthanasia" or "Mercy Killing" is legal and actively practiced in hospitals in Holland. My friend spoke of standing within the presence of doctors who have listened to patients express that they are sad, depressed, and did not want to live anymore and the doctor told the patient, "not to worry, the nurse will give medicine to help with that and in the morning it will not be a problem anymore." My friend reports this is not rare, often she is faced with doctor's orders that instruct that "narcotic pain medicine doses should be increased until the patient feels nothing." I asked how my friend how she deals with this issue. She reported one time she point blank told the doctor, " I will not do that! That dose of medicine will kill the patient!" The doctor replied, "oh, don't think of it like that, we are helping the patient."My friend went on to tell me that she often has to take care of patients who come in for elective surgeries. I thought, "so what, big deal, we do the same in the US. If someone wants their knee replaced because of pain, they elect to have a surgery. But, she went on the explain that her patients are coming to the hospital to have a "routine abortion." I cannot imagine having to face these issues every day in my workplace. And I have been pondering how many of us think the big moral issues don't involve us, that we don't have to worry because it will never happen where we live. My friend and I then went on to discuss some current moral battles that are being fought in America. We talked about same sex marriage and the fight for the federal marriage amendment. Sadly, my friend said, "homosexual marriages have been legal in Holland for years." YIKES! I see the path our country is taking and we need to stop it. The reality is we need to speak up and out for what the Bible says is right and true! I am sure my friend's grandparents never thought their grand daughter of 26 years would have to worry about her job and loosing it because she refused to kill a patient. Keep praying for our country and world! Take action to stand for the truth. You and I are both called to a mission field, right now mine is here, and yours is there, but don't forget your ability to change a life. As I hold the "baby Jittas" of Africa, make sure you keep fighting for the unborn in America so that some day they too can be held. And that is that, all in one night's work.

Bath Tubs

I guess I cannot complain. I have been healthy and feeling great for two months and some days since I arrived in Africa. I managed to avoid the bugs that went around my cabin hitting all my roommates. It is my turn to feel a little under the weather. I decided to tell all of you about it now because I have been fighting this current bug for one week already. I am supposed to be in the middle of my 4 night shifts. I worked Thursday night even though I felt horrible. Randomly (God it taking care of me), I was given last night off. I woke up early this morning feeling sick and said I could not work tonight. I have been trying to sleep and get better. I am hoping to be well enough to work tomorrow night. I have a nasty sore throat, runny nose, big headaches, some nausea, and chills. It is random. Please pray for me to feel better soon. Being ill is never fun and it can get really depressing laying in my small, small cabin for days. The cabin has not felt small until now. I know many of you asked what I would miss the most while I was in Africa. This past week is the first time I have wanted something that I don't have access to. A bath tub! I never thought I would want to soak in a bath full of hot water, while in Africa, but man that would be nice right about now. I will confess that I have cheated this week on my shower time. We are supposed to take 2 minute showers or less, turning the water off in between get soapy and rinsing! I figured since my roommate from Sweden left this past week and no one has taken her spot in my cabin that I can have her 2 minutes! The hot water feels good on my aching body. So, yes, I have been horrible and used the water for 4 minutes. Well, I hope all of you are well. Thank you so much for your letters. I got a big pile of mail all at once the other day. Thanks Jay and Annette, Aunt Joy & Aunt Marilyn, Mom, Dad, Megan Schenk, and Nancy White. You all bless my heart. Take care. Next time you take a bath, thank God for clean water and your bath tub.

Jitter Bug

Her name is Jitta. She is two months old. When wrapped tight in her African blanket of vibrant colors she looks like a little caterpillar in a cocoon. We call her Jitta Bug. She arrived on the ship around June 5th. She, like many others here, had a very visual birth defect. Some called her "unicorn baby." I cannot imagine the other horrible names she has been called. Or the pain her mother felt every time someone looked at her child and then quickly turned away so they would not have to stare at the growth plunging out between the baby's eyes. This baby has a serious condition involving her brain called Encephalocele. Medical dictionaries describe encephalocele as "a neural-tube defect, which causes sac-like protrusions of the brain and the membranes that cover it to protrude through openings in the skull. This happens when the neural tube fails to close during fetal development. The cause is not really known, but it is probably related to a lack of proper nutrition and folic acid during pregnancy." This baby needed serious help. We do not have a brain surgeon on the ship, but we do have a number of very skilled, intelligent, God fearing surgeons on board. The surgeons, trusting in God, decided to help baby Jitta. One of our attending surgeons began Jitta's sugery by himself with his capable OR team. Hours into the operation it became obvious he would need more help. Another surgeon on board finished the surgery he was in, cancelled all his other cases for the day, and assisted with Jitta's surgery. After numerous hours in the OR, baby Jitta's surgery was complete. She went to the recovery room with bandages all over her head and our prayers surrounding her. To our surprise, Jitta was wide awake in recovery! Her eyes should have been swollen shut, but no swelling appeared; just slight bruising. Jitta is a miracle baby. She has had some rough days, with vomiting, bloody tears, and leaking cerebral spinal fluid. She is getting antibiotics around-the-clock. Yet, she is happy and appears to be without pain. She is getting better every single day, but it is possible that she is still leaking cerebral spinal fluid. If the fluid that surrounds the brain is leaking out; infection could also find its way in. We are limiting the number of people who hold Jitta to decrease risk of infection and antibiotics continue. I am blessed to be Jitta's nurse because I don't think I could resist holding her. She looks so precious and like a little bug with her bandage wrapped around her head and steri strips around and between her eyes. She is my little masked Zorro! So, every chance I get, I hold this tiny baby. Wrapped tight in her blanket cocoon, our little Jitta Bug, thanks to God and Mercy Ships, is turning into a beautiful butterfly.

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today I was in a hospital room. "Big deal, right?" I work in the hosptial. But, a year ago today, I was the patient. I was recovering from brain surgery. I was groggy and in pain. I was not able to get to a computer to write about my daily events, but writing runs in my family and my precious mom wrote: I have just come from Post Anesthesia Care Unit, where Laura is recovering and waiting to be moved to her room in the Neuro Special Care Unit. We visited with the neurosurgeon about an hour ago as he completed his part of her surgery. He was delighted to report that the surgery went very well, that the tumor was picture perfect and very defined, and that he was able to remove it all - allowing that because of its location and the proximity of the brain, the carotid arteries, and the pituitary itself, they do not go for margins in these cases, as there is just not enough wiggle room, so a minuscule possibility exists that it could come back, but that is not highly probable. He said that this will be a case he uses for years ahead in his teaching role to other neurosurgeons. Laura will receive pictures of her own (she will like that - is fascinated by all things pathophysiological) Laura has HUGE headache. She has had all the medication she can be given, and ice packs surrounding her nose, face, and head, and had me rubbing her temporal regions with all the pressure I could possibly apply for the last twenty minutes before they asked us to leave the PACU to prepare her for transfer to the NSCU. She is, of course, still groggy from the anesthesia, but kept repeating over and over, "headache, big headache, keep pressing mom." We spoke with the ENT physician prior to the surgery, but haven't talked with him post-operatively, but expect he will have a good report as well. Linda Z I am forever in awe of God's amazing grace and perfect plan. God healed me. He is in the business of healing. Healing minds, bodies, relationships, countries, and souls. Whether it be in Africa or America, God still performs miracles: I am one of them.

Lights-Camera-Action

Many of you may know I love acting and have a flair for drama. It has been a long time since I played Mrs. Peterson in Bye-Bye-Birdie and Coco Banana at WLBC, but nonetheless, I still love being on stage and in front of people. This past week, my drama skills were once again in action. Occasionally, Mercy Ships takes video footage and pictures on the nursing wards to use for PR and to educate the public about the mission of Mercy Ships. This past week a man name Jon Gauger from Moody Broadcasting Company of Chicago visited the ship with the purpose of following and documenting the stories of some Mercy Ships patients. He wanted live video clips and audio clips of several patients. Jon called the ward one afternoon this past week and said he would be down in 5 minutes to film. The charge nurse turned to me and said, "will you do it?" I would like to say that I was personally selected to be on film because of my good looks and stellar acting skills, but in actuality she did not want to do it and there were no other nurses on the ward at that time. I quickly reviewed my patient's chart because I had just met him and then lights, camera, action! It was very intimidating to be filmed. I have no problem acting and pretending to be another person/character, but this time I was supposed to be myself, a Mercy Ships nurse. That was weird! Yikes! I felt sort of awkward too because the patients we were filming are real and recovering from major surgery. During the week we filmed short clips each day discussing the patient's progress. Jon also captured live audio clips of me speaking about my patients. Jon is returning to Chicago this week and he will begin the editing process. Maybe in the future I will be in a Mercy Ships video! The audio clips will be on the radio throughout the next few months. You can check out the Moody Broadcasting Network website at www.mbn.org and listen online or find stations in your area where the programs will broadcast. Tonight, Jon did a live interview from the ship that you should be able to track down and hear. I am honored that I had the privilege to work with Jon on these projects to help spread the word about Mercy Ships and its awesome mission. Have fun listening! Let me know if you actually hear me!

12 Hour Shifts

My nursing schedule here is just as crazy as my schedule at home. No real constancy from week to week. On the ship, the ward nurses work eight hour day or evening shifts during the week. Ten hour night shifts during the week and 12 hour day shifts and night shifts during the weekend. The management team designed the schedule in this manner hoping to give all ward nurses every other weekend off. I like the schedule, but I could use specific prayer for my 12 hour shifts. I am used to working 12 hour shifts in America, so that is not the problem. The problem is the difference in 12 hour shifts here. Time seems to stand still during my 12 hour shifts. I feel like I am on the ward forever and the odd thing is I get more breaks here than at home, which makes me even more mad at myself for struggling with these shifts. At home I get a 15 minute coffee break, if I am lucky, and a 30 minute lunch on a 7am-7pm 12 hour shift. But time goes really quickly! Here we get to 30 minutes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which is really nice so I cannot complain about that. Yet, the shifts still wear me out. I already told you nursing is SO different here, but in case you don't understand how different, just believe me, it is REALLY different. There is almost nothing to do during the 12 hours and the small ward seems to close in and get even smaller. I cannot imagine how the patients feel because they are here sometimes months at a time. We try to entertain them and break the day up, but still there is a lot of down time. Each day the patients watch two movies. The morning movie is a fun, secular film such as Madagascar or the Black Stallion. In the evening we show a film based on the Bible. The Biblical videos are excellent. The patients love them. If our patients are here for three weeks they will watch either the entire New Testament or Old Testament. In the film Jeremiah, Jeremiah is actually played by the actor who plays McDreamy from Grey's Anatomy. The movies are quality! We also take our patients outside to the dock or upper deck for some fresh, not so fresh, Liberian air. Occasionally we have craft time as well. All these activities are excellent, but they only consume a few hours of each shift. We could have constant activity and entertainment opportunities on the ward, but we do not want to create an environment so vastly different from where our patients live. Our patients are already in shock from being around so many white people, on a ship, with air conditioner, and being served 3 meals a day. It would actually do more harm for them emotionally and mentally if we provided such an incredible place for them that they did not want to leave and they actually suffered from depression upon returning home. There has to be a fine line in the care we provide. All that to say, I find myself getting really tired during my shifts from purely having nothing to do. On to the next item of business. I really need you to pray for me because we are losing 13 nurses this month and only three are coming. We are down 16 nurses starting the beginning of July. We are currently low on staff and have only three of our four wards open. In two weeks, we will be closing another ward and moving to all 12 hour shifts. We are so short on nurses it is necessary to make this change. I will be working either three or four 12 hour shifts each week. YIKES! Please pray for my strength and health. God is awesome and he has carried me through my night shifts, so I know I can do this through him, but HOLY COW! Pray for more nurses, my strength, and my sanity. Management says we are going to trial this schedule for a month then go from there. So, if you are a nurse, start applying now! I love all of you so much. Take care!

Hope & Healing

She stands a mere 3 feet tall, one would have to crouch to see her chocolate brown eyes. She waits in line holding her mother' s hand. She looks toward the ground with empty eyes, rejection is far too common; hope a forgotten option. I see her enter the screening tent on the dock. Her world is about to change. The two exit the screening tent and the little girl waddles back and forth behind her mama, whose step is a thousand pounds lighter already. The two walk the gangway entering a world where hope is tangible and healing abundant. She swaggers onto the ward, pigeon toed, with her legs so rotated her knee caps are almost chaffing one another. For this nine year old, running, jumping, skipping, and swimming are not an option. Her movement is almost monkey like because her arms have grown normally and they are close to dragging on the ground. She is young, but not naive, knowing the cruelness of the world and a what it is like to live a life of ridicule, as one "forgotten." Two days have passed and this little one sits in bed with bright red and blue casts covering her thighs, knees, and toes. Her feet are propped up on pillows and the nurses run about bringing her ice and pain medicine. She stares at her legs not knowing what exactly has happened. Happiness and hope have been suppressed for so long, it is like digging a well to get her to smile. I wave at her from across the room and acquire her attention. She stares at me. I smile and come closer. She stares at her feet. I sit next to her and smile. Nothing.... I ask how she is. Nothing.... I find a container of Play-Dough and start squishing the green dough in my hands. I mold a small little girl with two casts, feet on pillows, and sitting in bed. I put the little figure next to my friend. She stares at it and stares at me. Nothing... I add small ice packs (Play-Dough circles) to put on top of the little legs. Nothing... I put little squiggles (braids) of dough on top of the miniature girl's head. My friend then looks at me and a smile creeps across her lips. The girl's mama starts laughing and smiling. I cannot help but smile as I keep adding accessories to my Play-Dough creation. The IV tubing and hospital gown add the perfect touch. My new friend looks at me with a grin spanning ear to ear. I reach for her hand, but tickle her instead. Laughter erupts from her lips. She giggles and giggles as she sits side by side with her smaller Play-Dough clone. In a few days she will learn to walk with crutches, then on her own. Soon she will be running, jumping, and skipping. She will be taller, able to grow, and happier. All because she entered a world where Christ's hope is tangible and His healing is abundant.

My posting went weird. Make sure to scroll down and read about my train ride through the bush. Also, I have been adding pictures to the bottom of my page, so don't miss them. Thanks!

Changes

Hello friends and family! Last time I wrote you, I was busy working and sleeping. Now, I am busy sleeping to recover from working. This last stretch of shifts and night shifts has really pulled a number on me. I am having a hard time adjusting to a proper schedule again. I will have to get over that really soon because I start day shifts again tomorrow. I did have the past four days off, but really I feel like I slept most of them. Please pray for me to have continued strength and energy. On Friday, my roommate, Therese, from Norway went home. I was so sad to see her go. She was so much fun and a great friend and encouragement, our cabin is not the same without her. I do get to move into her bunk, which is slightly bigger than mine and will allow me to have a steady bunk mate until September, but I am not moving into Therese's space until the sheets are at least cold! My current roommate, Kristina, from Sweden, is an absolute joy and great friend, but she too is leaving in a few weeks and to confirm I will live with someone I get along with, I will lug my clothing and items about 2 yards out my curtain, and land in my new home. My new bunk mate will be Grace, from England. We have such a great cabin but it is hard to have it torn apart. I sit here often and pinch myself trying to remember I am in Africa. It is so amazing and hard to grasp the fact that God allowed me to come and live out my childhood dream. So weird that I can write too all of you too, from so far away! Wow! Thanks for all your prayers and support.