Trip home...

Good news- tonight I am going to the heliport to pick up doctor Jenny Vardy, who attended the tropical medicine course with me in Liverpool last year. She'll be working with me in the clinic for the next month and then she will cover for me while I am away.

So the greatest good news is that I have purchases my tickets! I will be in Holland from November 26th - December 19th. I'm really looking forward to the break and especially to the time I will be able to spend with family and friends. I will be home for my sister's 30th birthday and my niece's 1st birthday. Lots to look forward to.

Hope to catch up with some of you while in Holland!

M/V Anastasis...my home for many years...

Today the Anastasis arrived in Liberia, for what could be her last outreach. I am not sure how many of you have heard the news- but the plan right now is that after this next outreach the Anastasis will be put 'out of service'. You can probably imagine that I was quite surprised by the news and that I have mixed feelings- I grew up on the ship and it is a strange thought that her mission could be over. However, I know that God knows best, and His ways are not always my ways. Here is the official report. If things change- I'll let you know!

MERCY SHIPS FOUNDER UNVEILS CONCENTRATED FOCUS ON AFRICA

GARDEN VALLEY, TEXAS, SEPTEMBER 1, 2005: Following the completion of a recent executive committee meeting, Mercy Ships Founder/President Don Stephens announced a new strategy for Mercy Ships in serving the poorest of the poor, with a renewed focus on the continent of Africa.

Stephens began by affirming the Anastasis is poised to commence field service to the nation of Liberia beginning 28 October. He continued, “We are looking forward to bringing hope and healing to this war ravaged nation with a hospital ship which concentrates on transformational development for individuals and communities in desperate need. Mercy Ships volunteers and crew have now been in active service for almost a quarter of a century, most of it to people of Africa living in extreme poverty.” Stephens continued by announcing in coordination with the launching of the Africa Mercy, the Anastasis will be taken out of service in mid-2006 to facilitate a concentrated focus of efforts and resources on the Africa Mercy, the newest generation of Mercy Ship.

“This new ship will have approximately twice the capacity of all our prior field assets combined. She will serve as the model going forward for the next generation of Mercy Ships”. He noted a study will be conducted on the future of the Anastasis, with an emphasis on the implications of new international technical standards taking effect in 2010. The two ships will join together in Ghana in May at which time crew and equipment will be added to the Africa Mercy as she begins her first season of service.

Mercy Ships is the leader in using hospital ships to deliver free world class health care services to the poor. Since 1978, Mercy Ships has performed more than 2 million services, with a value of $250 million. Each year more than 1,600 short-term volunteers serve with Mercy Ships.

For further information, contact:
MERCY SHIPS
Glenn Price
VP, Communications
Phone: (903) 939-7000
E-mail: priceg@mercyships.org

good and bad...

I am doing well- very busy - saw 44 patients today. The last few weeks have been crazy with some very sick patients. Unfortunately a few of them have not made it and died at the referral center- mainly due to malaria and anemia! Also a few malnutrition cases - a 1 1/2 year old girl, weighing 5 kg and severely dehydrated didn't make it after 4 days of hospitilization. Again, many of these conditions can be treated if the child reaches a health center sooner.

For some reason in the past week I have also seen more children with deformities (large tumors on their faces, scalp, cleft lips etc). People still seem to think that we can do everything that the ship could do. Well, I have to tell them that we can't. However, with the ship going to Liberia we have been able to schedule a few cases. One mom came with a 5 month old baby- born with no right eye and a cleft lip. She said her family thinks the child is bewitched and she is too ashamed to take him home. She almost begged me to write a note saying I was going to try to find help for the child. I look forward to meeting her again on Wednesday- so that I can tell her we have scheduled her child for surgery on the Anastasis mid November!

Another positive note- I diagnosed my first appendicitis here; a 5 year old boy with abdominal pain. The physical exam and lab work sure made me highly suspicious, so I referred to Emergency Center. A few days later the mom and child came back to the clinic. They said the ride out to emergency was pretty bad because the potholes sure made the boys belly hurt, however, they were seen right away at Emergency and the surgery was done within hours. A few days after that the surgeon confirmed that yes it was appendicitis.

As you can see there are good outcomes and bad outcomes. Plenty of things to deal with, be sad about and ponder upon, but also plenty of things to be thankful for!

Video clip...

I am sure many of you are curious as to what exactly I’m doing here.
Well, if you click on the following link, you might be able to get some footage on the clinic.
It might take some time, so have patience :)

http://www.lakomission.org/cms_exodus/images/stories/video/opc_aug_2005.wmv

Celebration time...

Today we registered the 1000th patient in the out patient clinic! Actually, we registered up until 1005 today, but the 1000th patient is definitely a milestone. It’s unbelievable that 4 months after the clinic’s opening we have seen so many children come to the clinic. And some have come back multiple times. Many children come from the Aberdeen area, but some come from as far as Kissy and Waterloo- quite a drive in the taxi (1 hour). It is a priviledge to be able to work in the clinic and help the children here in the Freetown area. As challenging as it can be at times, it is definitely rewarding as well.

Patient 999 was one of our ward patient’s daughter- who I diagnosed with malaria today. Patient 1001 was a boy from Freetown who I also diagnosed with malaria. (We had a lot of positive malaria tests today!) And patient 1000 was a boy from Lumley (near Aberdeen) who came with an ear infection. He is a Sierra Leonean boy but his family has been missionaries in the Gambia and moved back to Sierra Leone only two days ago.

One last reason to celebrate is that last Wednesday marked my 6 months of living in Sierra Leone! I can’t believe I have been here for 6 months already!

taken on our compound...

Latest update...

Many of you may wonder what life is like here. Is it different? Having been here for 5 months, some things do start to seem normal, however, life here is probably anything but ‘normal’, at least compared to life as most of us know it. Can you identify with the following daily happenings???

“Women washing their clothes by hand in front of their homes. Naked kids playing on the streets. Stand pipes along the road for people to collect water. Rusty broken down vehicles on the side of the street or turned over in ditches. A wall surrounding the compound. Street vendors everywhere. A child walking with a bucket of water on her head. Dogs barking throughout the night. Children bathing on the side of the road. Razor wire along the top of the wall. Huge piles of trash on the side of the road. Water filters in the kitchen. A gate with the following painted on it - ‘entrance, do not urinate here’. People digging through dumpsters to find items to sell or re-use. Laundry drying on the ground. Coming home to hear we need to conserve water as the tanks are almost empty. 20+ people trying to cram into a minivan. Guards patrolling the property. People walking around with live chickens in their hands. Enormous potholes on the red dirt roads. A panic button on my night stand so I can trigger the alarm system if necessary. The constant sound of the generator at night.”

If you want to read more about my life here in SL click on the following link for my latest newsletter…
http://lakomission.org/cms_exodus/images/stories/sandra/sandraaug2005.doc

To sleep or not to sleep...

I love sleeping, so I would choose ‘to sleep’ any day. However, circumstances here in Freetown often seem to opt for the option ‘not to sleep’; I either can’t get to sleep, or wake up multiple times throughout the night or wake up way too early. Noise pretty much is the cause of this, although the Lariam pills might help a hand! Let me explain in more detail where this noise comes from...

Our neighborhood is pretty lively with frequent soccer matches that take place on the soccer field, right next to our compound. I’m convinced that the whole neighborhood shows up for the game; it certainly sounds like everyone is out there with all of the music and cheering I hear. If there’s not a soccer match then there’s often a party - again with loud music, people talking through megaphones etc. This can last up until 3am! And if it’s not for the party, the dogs do their best to keep me awake- not only do they lie/sleep in the middle of the street while we are trying to drive up or down it during the day, but they manage to stay awake and bark throughout the night.

Then there’s noise that’s closer to home, right next door to me - my flat mate closing our very loud steel door as she goes to the kitchen (sometimes at 5am – mind you she does try to keep it quiet) or my parents doorbell announcing the arrival of the bread man or the guards who need more diesel for the generator. Speaking of the generator- that is another source of noise on our compound, but fortunately it’s not so close to my room. I do live close to the Hunter’s room however- and they happen to have a very noisy AC unit- so I hear the constant humming of their unit throughout the night. Then there are the guards that patrol the compound, with their walkie talkies on of course (volume on high)! Actually I wish at times that I would hear more from them- then at least I know they are awake.

And last but not least…the rain. Especially now that the rainy season is here the rain can get quite loud! And actually, if it’s the rain that wakes me up, I usually peek out of my window and am amazed at the amount of water that falls to the ground!