We have established D ward Roolz and Droolz, but let me tell you about B ward. It could stand for Be still my heart. Or if it could stand for Beautiful Babies. It’s probably most accurate to say it stands for both. B ward is the ward for pediatric surgical specialties. I never know exactly what I will see when I open the door to B ward, but it is always a Blessing. Over the past few weeks my smiles have been Bountiful every time I step into B ward. A few weeks ago, I was trying to sneak in just before my 7am shift started so as not to disturb those that may still be sleeping after recovering from surgery. Much to my surprise, I opened the door to beds full of Bright eyed little Beauties! I couldn’t contain myself, I saw two little doctors, wearing matching plastic blue glasses that looked like Where’s Waldo glasses. The pair sat on little metal stools next to their moms and hospital beds. They were wearing tiny hospital gowns and examining one another’s ears and applying plastic bandages from the ward’s dress up doctor’s kit.
Another little kiddo who had already had surgery and was anticipating going home was wearing red pants that looked like Peter Pan dress up pants and a long sleeved button up black shirt with green, yellow, and red tropical flowers. He approached me with his plastic stethoscope that was green and yellow and coordinated perfectly with his tropical shirt. He ran up to me and motioned that he needed to listen to my heart and lungs. I leaned over for him to listen to my lungs. He listened to my heart, lungs, and belly about 5 times. I could not stop smiling. This place makes me come alive! He had no idea he was listening to what my heart beats for.
We have been rotating pediatric surgical specialties in B Ward over the last few weeks as different surgeons come and go. We did a few weeks of pediatric eye surgeries a few weeks back. Those kids are no longer Blind! Did you ever think that when God said, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:5) that you could have a front row seat to witness this? It’s not miracles of the past that just took place during Bible times, it’s happening here and now and I am so honored to be a part of it. It’s Breathtaking! Those children wore Bandages around their eyes that made them look like children Blindfolded playing pin the tail on the donkey. I took handover from the day shift nurse and she noted the patients in bed 3 and 4 were already Best friends. She said they were both in the Bathroom together and giggling nonstop. It would have been fun to be a Bug on the wall seeing what they were laughing about. I imagine it had something to do with the ship’s plumbing. I get scared and jump when the toilet flushes. It sounds like you will get sucked into it as it is a vacuum system. Imagine never having running water before, let alone a toilet to sit on, then being unable to see and hearing the sound similar to an airplane toilet flushing-a garbage disposal- and whirling wind all at the same time. It’s Boisterous!
B-Ward has most recently been the home to pediatric general surgeries. Lipomas are soft “slow-growing, benign (non-cancerous) tumors made of fatty tissue that typically form just under the skin. These harmless lumps are often soft, rubbery, and movable, and are commonly found on the neck, shoulders, back, arms, and thighs. While lipomas are generally painless, they are sometimes removed if they are uncomfortable or bothersome” (Google definition). Imagine how you were made fun of for the smallest thing when you were younger. These kiddos are now free of the lumps and weird Bumps.
We have also been doing hernia repairs. I had the sweetest little 7 year old girl as part of my patient assignment the other day. The OR team called and gave us the 30 minute call until start time. This was our signal to give her the ordered premedication to slightly sedate her so she would not be afraid. I started to scrub her umbilical hernia with chlorhexidine to prevent surgical site infection. The little root beer colored Beauty grimaced as I put the cleansing sponge to her umbilical hernia. I paused and asked the interpreter to help me talk with her. I told her I had the same surgery she was going to have many years ago. I lifted my scrub top and showed her my scar below my Belly Button. Her Big Brown eyes widened with disbelief. I repeated myself and said, “I was a Mercy Ship patient and she’s a Mercy Ship patient. In 2013, when I was living long term on the ship as a nurse I needed a repair where I herniated out of my previous appendectomy scar. Now I am a Mercy Ship nurse and maybe one day you’ll be a Mercy Ship nurse.” She asked me if it hurt. I told her it used to feel like it was a fire Burning in my belly before the surgery. I asked if her belly felt the same way. She nodded her head. I told her it would hurt some when she woke up, but each day she’d feel Better and stronger. The sedative medicine started to take effect and she started to fall asleep. I finished cleaning her belly area and her mom, seated at her bedside with her shayla, long, rectangular Islamic headscarf wrapped around her head and neck, smiled at me.
The day after her surgery, I arrived on the ward and she lit up when I came onto the ward. She lifted her gown and said “monkey” she had a monkey drawn on her white bandage. This place is too much fun! Today another little girl, a 3 year old that looks just like Moana, came back from the OR with a giant detailed drawing of Barbie on her umbilical hernia bandage. It was an incredible work of art. The recovery nurse explained the OR team was to receive all the credit. One of the nurses asked what she wanted on her bandage when she woke up and she chose Barbie. Apparently, others had a zebu with a soccer ball and another little girl had Princess Lily on her bandage. These are some seriously Bodacious Bandages!
We have a few little ones needing help with Bowels. We often take our plumbing for granted. We are working with some tiny tots and helping them to be able to actually use their Bums for passing stool after having colostomies (surgical procedures that creates an opening (stoma) in the abdomen to divert stool from the colon (large intestine) to an external bag). Some of these little ones are suffering from conditions called anorectal malformations, big words for a Blocked or missing rectum, preventing the normal passage of stool. Or they have had holes between their private parts and rectum. One of these little peanuts cried and cried after her procedure under sedation to stretch the anal space to allow her to poop properly in the future. She didn’t want anyone touching her and I don’t blame her. But after a cup of yogurt, she was Bouncing down the halls and trying to ride a wooden dog. She thought it would work and I didn’t want to discourage her, so I tied a piece of coban/elastic around the dog’s tail and pulled her up and down the hall for over 30 mins. She was Beaming with happiness and forgot about her bum pain.
Little boys going for hernia surgery get the surgical Bundle option if their parents desire. Circumcision practices vary throughout the world, but apparently it is a big thing in Madagascar. Mercy Ships is happy to perform these surgeries for these families when their children are already receiving anesthesia for another surgery. The poor little Boys sure don’t know what’s happened to them when they wake up and have to pee the first time. They start to Bawl and cry, poor little guys. The parents aren’t fond of putting diapers on the little ones after surgery as they don’t want to cause more pain at the surgical site and I sure look like a Bully of a nurse when I ensure the kiddos are diapered. I learned my lesson last week after a little boy was happily playing with toys and trucks on the floor and the next thing I knew, he was screaming and there was a puddle of piddle on the floor for me to clean up. It happened a few minutes later to another little fellow and we had to have a bed change. So diapers it is now.
A few weeks ago, I was confused when I looked at my assignment sheet and thought the patient in bed B 12 was a little boy and I saw an adorable child in an adorable knee length dress with tropical fish on it sitting in the bed of B 12. The dress was flannel and had a little white colored collar that resembled a pilgrim’s collar. My interpreter went on to explain it was in fact a little boy and he had on a circumcision dress. The parents bring a dress for the children to wear after surgery that shows the world their little one had a circumcision. The dress is far more comfortable and Breezy than wearing pants post-op. They go home and have a big party if they can afford it. I have enjoyed seeing the varying colors and styles of these unique circumcision dresses. I also learned that if the families do not have the surgeries performed on the ship, it is tradition for an older man, uncle, dad, or grandfather to use a Blade at home, without numbing medicine, and they perform the procedures themselves. They also informed me of what one may call a Bizarre tradition in which the honored man in the family then eats the foreskin after removing it. They sometimes fry it. I heard this from two different interpreters in the community. That may take me some time to wrap my brain around. I have had 25 years to comprehend the practice of eating placentas or turning them into vitamins post birth, since nursing school in Canada when I first learned of this cultural practice, but this is Brain Blowing. I love the uniqueness in the world and learning about different cultures. After that shift, I asked Dustin if he had a circumcision dress when he was little. He looked at me like I was Blasphemous. I Belted out a laugh and shared with him the unique practice in this culture. I then went on to share my other cultural lesson for the day. I didn’t get five thoughts from Dustin for that day, rather, 4 emotions: Bewildered, Bemused, Baffled, and Befuddled. D ward Droolz and Roolz, but B ward is Beyond this world and never a Bore!
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