Week #1

Well, I've arrived on the Africa Mercy one week ago today. I feel like it has flown by so fast and yet I feel as though I've been here for awhile already - hope that makes sense;)

I start my first shift on my own this evening! And then I work the weekend. The nursing here is so different than at home. First thing, we have about 10 patients in a ward (just an open room). Liberians are friendly and so many times you'll find your patients sitting on each other's beds socializing. Also documentation is at a minimal (no long POC's, hurray!) so that frees up a lot of our time. We can sit on a patient's bed and play UNO with them. I love to play games, how lucky am I? We also get to take them outside for a bit in the afternoon to let them get some fresh air. So last Tuesday I brought some bubbles out with us and the younger ones had fun blowing and popping them. Another difference is the equipment and limited resources. It allows you to be creative and to work on being as resourceful as you can.

I’ve only had two shifts but hope to in the near future to get to know the patients well enough to have them share their story with me. Although, the primary language is English somehow it seems to be a different language to us. I’m not sure how to explain it but it often presents a bearer in communication so we use the service of the wonderful translators on the wards.
I have a feeling my patients were poking fun at me and laughing - I wasn't sure what they were saying so I just smiled and laughed along with them. One visiting patient when introduced to me said right off "You look strange." And that was all, away he left! Not sure what he meant by that...
Anyway, they're very fun and personable! I'm glad to have this chance to help them during this time in their lives.
I get to go to an orphanage tomorrow morning! That's always fun! So I hope to get more pictures for you soon.
Until then,
Jodi