In the last week, we've screened over a thousand patients, hosted the president of Liberia on the ship and I talked with five new palliative care patients. Plus President Bush was in Monrovia for a few hours.
Screening
Screening day was last Monday at the soccer stadium. We left the ship at 6 am and by the time we got there, there were already hundreds of people lined up. I left the stadium around 9 pm when the last patients were seen. I was in the prayer room where people came for prayer if we weren't able to help them medically. We also had a few people who came for prayers of praise and thankfulness when they did get a surgery date. I'll post some photos when our communication team has released them.
My roommate Megan described the whole day in her blog so I'm just linking to hers instead of repeating everything she said! http://megisinafrica.blogspot.com/2008/02/screenig-day.html
Presidents
On Tuesday, Madame President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf came to the ship. She's an amazing lady and I have great respect for her and the job she has to do here in Liberia. She gave a brief speech in our large meeting room which I got to hear. Some of our leaders also gave presentations about what our plans are this outreach in Liberia.
On Thursday, President Bush visited Monrovia. Monrovia has three main streets (for a city of 1.5 million) and they closed one of them for most of the day. I had to cancel all of my visits because traffic would have been gridlocked on the other two roads plus I couldn't get to the patients who live off the closed road.
My new patients
I received four new patients from screening and one additional one later in the week. Each one of them has cancer for which there is no treatment. Each one received the news from the doctor and then from June and me that they were going to die from it. Two of them probably don't have much time left here on earth.
There's 75 year old Sarah with a large tumor on the right side of her face. We visited her in her home on Friday and she is the cutest lady. She's pleasantly confused and because of her confusion, she doesn't know the whole prognosis.
We were supposed to visit on Thursday but couldn't come because the roads were closed. She doesn't have a phone so we couldn't call her to tell her we would come on Friday. So when we showed up, she just kept saying, 'Oh my people, my people have come!' It was so cute. She said she waited the whole day by the road on Thursday telling everyone that 'her people' were coming to visit. I don't know if she really did that or she was confused but she was so excited when we showed up on Friday.
Next is 70 year Nemle Wallace (or Old Man Wallace as he told us to call him:) He's a smiley guy who just took his diagnosis in stride - he never stopped smiling. When we visited him on Friday near his home, he was just so happy to see us. We only got to talk for a few minutes because it took us an hour to find him (they don't have street addresses like we do back home). He told us what junction to go to and then told us to just start asking people where Old Man Wallace lives. Well, we did that but no one knew Old Man Wallace! Mainly because we were about a half mile farther than where we were supposed to be.
Next we saw 22 year old Michael. He came to screening because of a tumor growing on the side of his neck. Unfortunately, it's Hodgkins lymphoma. Back home, this is generally an easily treatable and curable cancer. Here in Liberia, it's a death sentence for a 22 year old young man. He goes to school and runs a small business. He's good-looking, strong and healthy. I had no idea how to tell someone that age that he is going to die from this cancer.
He stayed on my heart as well as on the heart of Dr. Shrime who examined him and gave him the diagnosis. So Dr. Shrime, his wife (another Dr. Shrime), June and I are working to find treatment for Michael outside of Liberia. There is treatment in Ghana and Ethiopia but there are many obstacles to overcome for him to go.
When we visited Michael and his family (he's the oldest of 9 kids) on Friday, they were pretty devastated and worried about his diagnosis. We told them we were working to find Michael treatment. Please pray that God will make a way for all of this to happen.
Next there is Deddeh, a 26 year old with advanced cancer. She has a very large tumor protruding from her face and she is skin and bones. She doesn't have much longer to live. She has two small children. When we went to visit on Friday, we found out her family had sent her upcountry to an herbalist (a medicine man) for treatment. We had already told them there was no medicine for her sickness but they said if they didn't send her, the village would think they didn't love her. It's sad because it will cost them a lot of money they don't have but I understand - I'm sure I would do the same if I lived here and believed as they do. So we won't be able to visit her since she'll stay upcountry.
Finally, our last patient Sandi was received on Thursday. He was at screening for some large tumors on his left forearm. We knew it was cancer then but brought him to the ship on Thursday for an x-ray. If the cancer had not metastasized (spread), then we could amputate his arm to stop the spread of the cancer. Unfortunately, it has already spread to his lungs.
It was a sad visit. He's 37 and has 8 children ages 1 - 15. He lives an hour and a half from Monrovia so I won't be able to visit him. I sent him home with 3 months of pain medication and told him to come back after 3 months if he needed more. I don't expect him to live that long.
The hospital
We started surgeries on Thursday and so the hospital is starting to get busy. We currently only have one of four wards open but that will change over the next few weeks as we get more surgeons, more OR nurses and more patients. The dental clinic and eye clinic both open tomorrow (Monday). Those clinics are actually not on the ship - the dental clinic is at a local hospital and the eye clinics are at various locations throughout the city.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Restarting Palliative Care visits
I've enjoyed all the comments and emails I've received about my poll. Currently it looks like I could be adopting a Liberian child and moving to Alaska! Now that would be a culture shock for the child since Liberia is near the equator and it is hot, hot, hot 12 months a year! I still have to see how God weighs in on all these ideas. If anyone hears from Him about this, let me know:)
Last Wednesday, my partner, June, and I restarted our palliative care visits. It was great to be out in Monrovia again despite the terrible heat. Even though it has only been two and one half months since we were here, I am feeling a little more hopeful about Liberia and it's future. Last outreach, especially towards the end, I was really feeling disheartened - that the problems here were just too big to overcome. It seemed like most of the Liberians I came into contact with were downhearted. Maybe it was just my attitude. Maybe it was just because I was surrounded by death all the time and that I needed a break. Or maybe it was true. I'm not sure but I feel like there has been a change here.
The government has been working on the roads and there is quite an improvement in some areas - Jamaica Road, Somalia Drive and Tubman Blvd. There are still plenty of potholes but at least there is hope that maybe some day there will be decent roads. And there are now city buses! I'm told they are cheaper than taking a taxi and they have provided additional jobs (including the wife of my translator).
There are people (mostly women it seems) cleaning up the streets that are littered with trash. There are hundreds of women out and about with brooms sweeping the streets. I'm told they are being paid and I hope they are earning a living wage - I'll have to ask. New houses are being built at least in the couple of neighborhoods I visited. The stick frames are going up and there were lots of clay bricks to be seen which are used for walls.
On the other hand, crime has slowly been increasing month by month and the UN is decreasing troop size. It continues to feel like there is an uneasy peace. I believe there is still a lot of corruption although I haven't experienced it first hand as some on the ship have.
We had five patients remaining from the last outreach and we decided to visit them before we started getting new patients next week. First we started with Sah, the 54 year old man with throat cancer. He had a tracheotomy and was unable to speak but I loved our visits with him. When we arrived, Sah's brother in law, Joseph was there. When I asked about Sah, he said 'please come sit here.' He went into the house and brought out Kumba, Sah's wife and then told us that Sah had passed away on Feb. 3, the day before we returned to Liberia.
Kumba told us that Sah's last three weeks were not good - he was unable to eat or drink and was in pain since he was no longer able to take the pain medication we had provided. I'm thankful his suffering is over and that his wife was able to care for him in his last days. We looked at photos and reminisced about our visits. He leaves behind 3 little girls (ages 13, 6 and 4) plus several older children.
We also went to visit Martha. She was a 50ish women with some type of cancer that was eating away her face. When we arrived, we were told by her brother in law Prince that she had passed away on Jan. 9. She had gone upcountry to her parents village to seek treatment from a medicine man but she died while there. As we sat inside the house talking to Prince, I could still smell her sickness - it's like it had permeated the walls of the house. It's not a smell I will soon forget.
We also visited Levi, Survivor and Mark, all of whom are still surviving. Each has a story that will take some time to tell so I will leave that for my next blog.
We have our big medical screening on Monday at the large football (soccer) stadium. We have advertised throughout the country and hope that only the people with the type of sicknesses we can treat will come. We don't know what to expect, possibly between 1000-2000 people but that is really a guess. I will be working at the prayer station - this is where people come after they are told that we cannot help them. And out of these people, I expect some will have terminal illnesses which is where I will get my palliative care patients. So I'm praying for none but will probably get a few.
Tomorrow I'll talk more about how screening will go. We have been warned that we will possibly see thousands of people lined up, all of whom have a great need and we could potentially be turning away a lot of those. When we advertised, we indicated the types of sickness we could help with but people with other types of sicknesses will come just to see if we can help. While we will be saying yes to many, many people, we will be saying no to a lot as well. It will be an emotionally draining day - one I am looking forward to because of the number of people I will get to pray for and tell of God's love for them and one I wish I never had to experience in my life. How can my heart not be forever broken by the magnitude of the suffering I am going to see all in one place?
Today, I believe that God's grace is sufficient. I'm not sure if I will believe the same thing after Monday.
Peace,
Michele
Last Wednesday, my partner, June, and I restarted our palliative care visits. It was great to be out in Monrovia again despite the terrible heat. Even though it has only been two and one half months since we were here, I am feeling a little more hopeful about Liberia and it's future. Last outreach, especially towards the end, I was really feeling disheartened - that the problems here were just too big to overcome. It seemed like most of the Liberians I came into contact with were downhearted. Maybe it was just my attitude. Maybe it was just because I was surrounded by death all the time and that I needed a break. Or maybe it was true. I'm not sure but I feel like there has been a change here.
The government has been working on the roads and there is quite an improvement in some areas - Jamaica Road, Somalia Drive and Tubman Blvd. There are still plenty of potholes but at least there is hope that maybe some day there will be decent roads. And there are now city buses! I'm told they are cheaper than taking a taxi and they have provided additional jobs (including the wife of my translator).
There are people (mostly women it seems) cleaning up the streets that are littered with trash. There are hundreds of women out and about with brooms sweeping the streets. I'm told they are being paid and I hope they are earning a living wage - I'll have to ask. New houses are being built at least in the couple of neighborhoods I visited. The stick frames are going up and there were lots of clay bricks to be seen which are used for walls.
On the other hand, crime has slowly been increasing month by month and the UN is decreasing troop size. It continues to feel like there is an uneasy peace. I believe there is still a lot of corruption although I haven't experienced it first hand as some on the ship have.
We had five patients remaining from the last outreach and we decided to visit them before we started getting new patients next week. First we started with Sah, the 54 year old man with throat cancer. He had a tracheotomy and was unable to speak but I loved our visits with him. When we arrived, Sah's brother in law, Joseph was there. When I asked about Sah, he said 'please come sit here.' He went into the house and brought out Kumba, Sah's wife and then told us that Sah had passed away on Feb. 3, the day before we returned to Liberia.
Kumba told us that Sah's last three weeks were not good - he was unable to eat or drink and was in pain since he was no longer able to take the pain medication we had provided. I'm thankful his suffering is over and that his wife was able to care for him in his last days. We looked at photos and reminisced about our visits. He leaves behind 3 little girls (ages 13, 6 and 4) plus several older children.
We also went to visit Martha. She was a 50ish women with some type of cancer that was eating away her face. When we arrived, we were told by her brother in law Prince that she had passed away on Jan. 9. She had gone upcountry to her parents village to seek treatment from a medicine man but she died while there. As we sat inside the house talking to Prince, I could still smell her sickness - it's like it had permeated the walls of the house. It's not a smell I will soon forget.
We also visited Levi, Survivor and Mark, all of whom are still surviving. Each has a story that will take some time to tell so I will leave that for my next blog.
We have our big medical screening on Monday at the large football (soccer) stadium. We have advertised throughout the country and hope that only the people with the type of sicknesses we can treat will come. We don't know what to expect, possibly between 1000-2000 people but that is really a guess. I will be working at the prayer station - this is where people come after they are told that we cannot help them. And out of these people, I expect some will have terminal illnesses which is where I will get my palliative care patients. So I'm praying for none but will probably get a few.
Tomorrow I'll talk more about how screening will go. We have been warned that we will possibly see thousands of people lined up, all of whom have a great need and we could potentially be turning away a lot of those. When we advertised, we indicated the types of sickness we could help with but people with other types of sicknesses will come just to see if we can help. While we will be saying yes to many, many people, we will be saying no to a lot as well. It will be an emotionally draining day - one I am looking forward to because of the number of people I will get to pray for and tell of God's love for them and one I wish I never had to experience in my life. How can my heart not be forever broken by the magnitude of the suffering I am going to see all in one place?
Today, I believe that God's grace is sufficient. I'm not sure if I will believe the same thing after Monday.
Peace,
Michele
Saturday, February 9, 2008
My journey
I have only 4 1/2 months left here with Mercy Ships and have reached a time where I need to start thinking about my next steps. I had purposely not thought about what I would do after Mercy Ships because I wanted to enjoy where I am without thinking about the future. But now, it's time to start some planning.
As a single person with few things to constrain me I have thousands of choices available to me about what I want to do with my life after Mercy Ships. It would be easier if I could get it down to two choices but when I have a thousand choices, I'm afraid I won't be able to decide.
So for fun, I set up this little quiz to get your input on the next journey of my life. I've listed some of the things I've thought about that are interesting to me and I would possibly like to do. So now you can vote on what you would like me to do. Just a disclaimer, this is just for fun and I'm not necessarily going to do what random strangers vote for - we'll see how it goes. Of if you have other ideas I haven't listed, you can post them in the comments.
The quiz is on the right hand side. Good luck, my entire future balances on the outcome of this! (not:)
As a single person with few things to constrain me I have thousands of choices available to me about what I want to do with my life after Mercy Ships. It would be easier if I could get it down to two choices but when I have a thousand choices, I'm afraid I won't be able to decide.
So for fun, I set up this little quiz to get your input on the next journey of my life. I've listed some of the things I've thought about that are interesting to me and I would possibly like to do. So now you can vote on what you would like me to do. Just a disclaimer, this is just for fun and I'm not necessarily going to do what random strangers vote for - we'll see how it goes. Of if you have other ideas I haven't listed, you can post them in the comments.
The quiz is on the right hand side. Good luck, my entire future balances on the outcome of this! (not:)
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Back to Liberia
We made it safely back to Liberia after a six day smooth sail. There was an hour and a half ceremony on the dock welcoming us back. We had to stay on the ship to watch since we weren't cleared by immigration yet but our two Executive Directors plus our media team particated dockside.
Not much has changed. It's very hot and humid, just like when we left. It's also been pretty hazy as you can tell from the pictures.
Here are a couple of photos from our arrival:
People awaiting our arrival
One of the two singing groups that performed for us.
This ship will be our neighbor for awhile. Notice all the UN soldiers aboard. It was seized by the government because of the large amount of cocaine found on board.
Not much has changed. It's very hot and humid, just like when we left. It's also been pretty hazy as you can tell from the pictures.
Here are a couple of photos from our arrival:
People awaiting our arrival
One of the two singing groups that performed for us.
This ship will be our neighbor for awhile. Notice all the UN soldiers aboard. It was seized by the government because of the large amount of cocaine found on board.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Sailing
We left Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Wednesday and are now heading to Liberia. We are three days into a six day sail and I'm not sure where we are other than off the coast of West Africa somewhere. The sail seems to be much smoother than the last and I have only been sick off and on. Last sail I spent almost the entire time in bed.
The pace on a sail is much slower than usual (except for those who are actually making the ship sail - officers, engineers, etc.). We've had some briefings on Liberia (not much has changed since we left but crime continues to increase), watched a few movies, eaten some great food thanks to our new chef Tyrone and his kitchen crew, and we've had fire/piracy drills.
Here are some miscellaneous photos of Tenerife and of us leaving.
The pace on a sail is much slower than usual (except for those who are actually making the ship sail - officers, engineers, etc.). We've had some briefings on Liberia (not much has changed since we left but crime continues to increase), watched a few movies, eaten some great food thanks to our new chef Tyrone and his kitchen crew, and we've had fire/piracy drills.
Here are some miscellaneous photos of Tenerife and of us leaving.
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