As my
translator was reporting to me that he had just finished calling the list of
patients I had asked him to call, our conversation was interrupted by the sound
of the intercom overhead. I held my
breath- knowing that among the few reasons the ship’s intercom system is used-
is for emergency medical team calls. And
even though I have lived in the ship’s environment for over four years now
& we have miraculously few emergencies in our hospital- I still hold my
breath and instinctively start praying as soon as I hear the intercom’s static
erupt through the routine of my daily life aboard the ship.
I
breathed a sigh of relief as I heard “Attention crew- attention crew- this is
the captain speaking.” Thankful there wasn’t a medical emergency in our midst,
my heart calmed and I listened to the captain.
The captain announced that once again because of the growing political
unrest and tension here in Guinea- that he had received word that within the
next day or two there were threats of protests and riots in town. Therefore, there would be “restricted shore
leave, no coming or going, and only mission critical travel-
as approved by the captain alone.” The captain reported he would keep us aware
of changes in the situation and that crew should frequently check The Captain’s
Notice Board- where critical information is communicated.
After
an announcement of that type- some would expect me to feel fear or frustration
over the danger just around the corner or cancellation of planned adventures-
but neither fear or sadness over cancelled adventures to the market or beach
were on my radar- instead- I found myself angry & with a bunch of repeat
phone calls to make….
I
was angry as I reflected on the fact that it does no good to have Mercy Ships in
country- or to be one of the blessed patients that makes it onto our surgery
schedule before it fills up, if patients cannot get to us. My patients don’t need any more resistance in
their fight to get to us…the patients here battle fears we wouldn’t even think
of-they have been told stories of what will happen to them if they go to the
ship- their elders & chiefs remind them of folks the same skin color as me
who not long ago- sailed away with their loved ones on ships- chaining and imprisoning
them, religious fears, threats of being disowned if they come to us, unimaginably
difficult roads to traverse, fear of water, walking for miles and miles,
selling everything one has to get here, these people do not need more challenge
in their lives….now riots, protests, taxi strikes…When is enough…enough???
Battling
my frustration at injustice & the enemy (because I truly believe many of
the struggles we face in this life are not against flesh & blood- Ephesians
6- & the enemy is the one trying to steal, destroy, and disappoint the
people of Guinea) I took a deep breath and looked at my translator and told him
all the patients we had just called to come into the ship had to be called once
again because I wasn’t going to be able to drive with them to the local hospital
(related to the ships’ lockdown) to obtain the CT Scans they have been so
patiently waiting for while Mercy Ships’ CT Scanner has been on the fritz. Bless my humble patients- some of them had
been waiting for more than 4 months for their CT Scans, since Mercy Ship’s CT
Scanner first started having trouble months ago. Some of these precious patients had already
had their appointments for CT Scans with me changed more than 4 times back in
the fall, when we thought our CT Scanner was on the mend. I would schedule
their appointment after receiving the shipment of a few vital bio-medical
components from the USA& Europe only to find we needed more parts and had
to cancel their appointments. Then we would receive more parts for the scanner
and I would call my patients to come in again-trying to give them travel time
considering some of them have to travel more than 2 days to reach me, just to
find out we needed more parts for the machine to be fixed. I asked my translator to call each of the
patients again and to explain that each of them is very important to me and to
Mercy Ships, that we were so sorry for the inconvenience and would call them
again soon to reschedule their appointment and that I would not forget them.
I listened
as my translator spoke to one of my patients on the phone. I interrupted him
and gently asked him to please say exactly what I had asked (my French is
improving rapidly). Although translating
exactly what I say- should be a given in translation, it isn’t…and sometimes
that is good as I have learned that culturally things need to be said
differently- and I have asked my translator to tell me that- not just change
what I say- but other times- what I am asking to be said is just so foreign- my
translator has deemed it not necessary to translate. More frustration mounts in my heart- I truly want
to communicate to my patients how important they are to me- that I am not like
others who have promised them something and never give it, but this is hard to
express when I cannot communicate directly with my patients & up until now-
I haven’t been able to provide tangible evidence that I do care for them and
their needs.
I
pray that somehow my patients will understand they are cared for and loved by
me, Mercy Ships, and far more important than either my love or Mercy Ships’
love, they are loved by God! I ask again
that my translator verbally acknowledges and tells my patients that they are
important to me and I value them. My translator
looks at me with a blank face…At first I feel myself becoming more frustrated,
but then it hits me that maybe my translator has never been told that he is
important or valued…Sobering thought…There are many in this world that have
never been told they are important or valued… if you fall into that category; let
me be the first to tell you…YOU ARE IMPORTANT & VALUED… I try to explain to
my translator the value in being told that you are important and that not only
the physical needs of my patients are important to me- their emotional and
mental frustration mounting with the waves of hope and despair they have felt
over the past few months- waiting for their call to come to the ship, then
being told not to come…matters to me..I know they are seeing the days and
months tick by- with no tangible hope yet received, their tumors are growing
bigger, their pain is increasing, their rejection mounts….I hurt for them and sincerely
want to communicate that I care…Oh- the adventure & challenge to
communicate with language & cultural barriers. To grow up in a world where
you don’t have the basics in life… love, shelter, clothing, clean water, where
no one cares if you are dying, or bleeding to death, of course emotional and
mental health are low on the radar…all learning and teaching moments…
With
the CT Scan patients called- and a whispered prayed for peace in this country-I
set to my next task…With creativity I can hopefully help prevent losing
operating room time- I will not allow the enemy to steal one more bit of hope
from another patient in this country- if I can help it…I pull up the OR
schedule for the next few days and after approving with the ward supervisor
that there were enough bed spaces on the ward
with boarding pre-op patients under the beds if necessary, my translator
and I set to calling in the patients for surgery for the next few days to come
in early to stay on the ward- so that they wouldn’t be prevented from traveling
to the ship if they were caught in riots or protests. A few riots or threats from the enemy won’t
scare me- I am on a mission here- to know, be, & bring the Peace- (brilliant
sermon series by Pastor Warren R) - with all I am; in His strength- I wage
Peace…
What
a day….never a boring moment…tired & exhausted… I went to bed- but not
before praying for peace in Guinea…
The next
morning I awoke and glanced at the Captain’s Notice Board and was pleasantly
surprised that my prayers were answered! The riots and protests were cancelled
for that day because the president of FIFA (the governing body for football/soccer
for the World Cup) decided to visit Guinea that day! And since he was in town,
Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the FIFA president, decided to stop over for a surprise
visit to my home here. No big deal- and in case it interests you the other day the
ambassador from Saudi Arabia popped in for a visit. And I probably failed to mention it, but in
my time while living on the ship, Princess Anne from England, a few other
African presidents, Miss Belgium, an Australia television crew, a Norwegian
television crew, some German actresses, Nick Vujicic (an evangelist &
motivational speaker who was born without all four limbs), and 60 minutes correspondents,
among many other dignitaries, have just popped in for a visit to my home here
and there-sometimes announced and sometimes un-announced!
After
a mere day, the excitement of the FIFA president’s visit to Guinea disappeared
into the past and the riots & protests were scheduled once again. More changes in patient appointments and
plans... This place I live is ever amazing and never boring. Who would have
thought a nurse must work so hard to just get her patients to the hospital so
she can care for them… After another long day…tired & exhausted… I went to
bed- but not before praying for peace in Guinea… Prayers for peace in Guinea
appreciated!
.JPG)
.jpg)
