Serving With Mercy Ships In...definitely?

I started this post before the Covidsanity began - with the intention of making an announcement.

Fearless TL Brittany with Babacar - one of our favourite patients from this year! 

My amazing supervisor, who has been expertly leading the general ward nurse team for the last 3 years now, is taking a break from her service here. A gap opened up, and, somehow - after a lot of prayer & a fair bit of uncertainty - I got poked/prodded/coaxed into applying for it. Coaxing & prodding seemed to be coming from a few sources, but there were a number of coincidences (which I really don't think were coincidences) that gave me such a strong sense of direction in this matter - I couldn't ignore them.

As a result, I can finally announce that I'm going to be returning to work with Mercy Ships for their next field service as the Ward Nurse General Surgery Team Leader! Although she is (slightly) shorter than me, Brittany leaves VERY big shoes to fill, and I'm exited yet nervous yet eagerly anticipating joining the phenomenal ladies that make the hospital wards run.

Now, you probably have questions:
Q: Whaddaya mean 'returning'...aren't you already there?

A: Yes, yes I am. On the ship, that is. In Spain. Docked at a jetty. That I can only set foot on to throw out my trash. As our field service ended early, I'm working on plans to return home sometime around the end of May or beginning of June. I was supposed to be heading to Texas for some training before returning to the ship in August. Thanks to the current state of the world, exact time frames are a bit...vague...at the moment but as soon as it's possible to start serving the people of Africa again, that's where I'll be. In the interim, I'll be looking for temporary work in Canada.

Q: Returning...where?

A: Our hope is to return to Senegal to complete our planned surgeries. We left on very good terms and have a strong relationship with both the Ministry of Health and the president, and will do everything we can to fulfill our commitment to them, once it is safe to do so. After that, the next field service is planned for Liberia - a country I'm really looking forward to serving and learning more about. Bonus: English is their official language!

Q: What exactly will your role be?

A: Each surgical specialty we do on board has an OR Nurse Team Lead, and a Ward Nurse Team Lead. They work together to coordinate patient care on both sides of surgery. Most of our surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists come and go throughout the year, staying only for a couple months or even weeks. Team leads help maintain consistency through all that changeover, supporting the nurses & surgeons as they jump in for their time on board. They act as a line of communication between the ward nurses, OR nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, chaplaincy, and the hospital leadership. They also can see more of the big picture of each patient's journey, anticipating their needs and planning accordingly. It also means I get

Q: 'General' Team Leader - does this mean you outrank the Captain? 

A: The Master (Captain) of a ship always outranks everyone. ;) The General Surgery* ward, though, has been my home for this past 8 months, and is a good place to get a little bit of everything. General Surgery (in this context) = hernias, lipomas (soft tissue tumors), thyroids/goiters, and the occasional mastectomy. As most of those are quick turnovers, we also get overflow from nearly every other specialty. Oh yeah...and we get those adorable pediatric cataract patients, too.

*One of my old roommates got me into the habit of saluting whenever a military rank casually drops into conversation, just 'cause. Like if you found a popcorn kernel. Or had a private conversation. Or you were having major difficulties with keeping your blog post on topic. This is a trend I fully intend to indoctrinate all my nurses into - whenever General Surgery is mentioned. I hope they don't all hate me.
Q: How long?

A: This is a very hard question to answer in the midst of these uncertain times, but I plan for another year at the least, two if possible. It's hard to know what will come that far down the pipeline, and somewhere in that time frame there's going to be a changeover to a new ship which might shorten or extend my plans. For now I'm just going to trust that at the right time the right path will be made clear.

Clear as mud? That's about how I'm feeling too. Probably how the whole world is feeling right now.

I'm so grateful for all of you who take the time to read this and check in with me, and keep running alongside with me as I make rather unconventional life choices. Y'all (oh dear, the American crew are rubbing off on me) have got my back, and I can feel you there, propping me up when I falter, on a daily basis.

Thanks for being there. Thanks for reading this. Stay safe out there.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

-D