La Pasión que Arde en mi Corazón

Amo la Navidad, la oportunidad de celebrar el regalo más grande en la historia de la humanidad, el regalo del amor que viene a la la tierra a salvarnos, trayendo esperanza y alegría a nuestras vidas.  También me encanta la Navidad porque a lo largo de mi vida, siempre ha sido una temporada muy especial con mi familia. Crecí  en una familia amorosa y muy unida (las lágrimas quieren volver, pero las voy a controlar), donde los regalos nunca fueron costosos, pero sí divertidos y útiles (gracias tía Emma por todas las medias, toallas y juego de sábanas), comida hecha en casa y siempre deliciosa, y villancicos e himnos cristianos fueron siempre formaron parte de nuestra  Navidad.  Incluso cuando comencé a trabajar en el hospital, siempre pude descansar en Navidad y trabajar la víspera de Año Nuevo, durante 6 años seguidos. Así que el año pasado (como pueden encontrar en mi blog) fue mi primera Navidad lejos de mi familia, ¡y la segunda parecía que iba a se...

I love Christmas, the chance for celebrating the greatest gift in human history, the gift of love coming to us to meet us on earth and saving us, bringing hope and joy to our lives.  I also love Christmas because through all my life, it has been a precious season with my family. I grew up (tears want to come back but I won't let them) in a loving and faithful family, where gifts were never expensive but fun and always useful (thanks aunt Emma for all the socks, towels and linens!), food was home made and so good, and christian carols and hymns were always part of our Christmas night. Even when I started working at the hospital, I was always able to be off on Christmas and work New Year's Eve, for 6 years in a row. So last year (as you can find in my blog) was my first Christmas away from home, and the second one didn't seem to be easier at all!! It hurts not to be there to buy Christmas presents for my nephews. It hurts not to be there to hug my grandma and my a...

I saw some of them walking on the dock while they were waiting to be seen by the screening team. I saw two of them walking by my ward heading towards their ward the day before their surgery, their heads would barely touch my elbow, their legs are bent and they walk slowly but still smile and look straight into my eyes. One of them came to walk with my patients while we were singing and dancing on the hallway, he walks faster and claps with a perfect rhythm, and sings loud and clear. I walked by their ward and saw maybe 8 pairs of little green casts on their beds, but I felt shy and didn't have the courage to go and meet them. They've already been through surgery, their bones were broken to be fixed, their legs were bent and now are straight, they could stand straight now, but they're not ready, bones need to heal to put weight on them, muscles need to rest to stretch them again. And today, as I walk by the wards on my day off, I meet her. She is maybe 5 years old, her le...

Vi a algunos de ellos caminando en el muelle mientras esperaban ser evaluados antes de su cirugía.  Vi a dos de ellos caminando por el pasillo dirigiéndose hacia su unidad el día antes de su cirugía, sus cabezas apenas tocaban mi codo, sus piernas estaban dobladas y caminaban lentamente pero aún sonreían y me miraban directamente a los ojos.  Uno de ellos vino a caminar con mis pacientes mientras cantábamos y bailábamos en el pasillo, él caminaba más rápido y aplaudía con un ritmo perfecto, y cantaba fuerte y claro. Pasé por su unidad y vi tal vez 8 pares de pequeños yesos verdes en sus camas, pero me dio pena y no tuve el coraje de ir a reunirme con ellos. Ya han pasado por la cirugía, sus huesos fueron rotos para poder arreglarlos, sus piernas estaban dobladas y ahora están rectas, ahora van a poder mantenerse erguidos, pero no están listos, los huesos necesitan curarse para soportar su peso, los músculos necesitan descansar para poder estirarlos de nuevo. Y ...

Nurses, Dietitians, Physical Therapists and Screening Nurses It´s been 4 weeks since we arrived to Conakry. Four weeks that seem so much more time!! The first two weeks here, were the last weeks of preparations to welcome and train 36 new nurses and 54 hospital day crew (local translators), meet and encourage 14 charge nurses (alumni nurses that oversee and lead every shift), train 5 of them for the first time; and also opening the hospital to the crew so they could learn and enjoy all the fun things we do there. Then the big week started, the New Nurses Orientation Week. 36 new smiles and hearts full of excitement for becoming "mercy shippers" were finally meeting the names that we knew and prayed for. My own doubts and fears about leading this event faded away by God's voice telling me: "Push it forward, you can do this", my friend and partner in crime brought peace and amazing ideas every time we needed to "improvise, adapt, overcome"...

Enfermeras, Nutritionistas, Fisioterapeutas, Enfermeras del Equipo de Evaluación Han pasado 4 semanas desde que llegamos a Conakry. ¡Cuatro semanas que parecen mucho más tiempo!  Las primeras dos semanas aquí fueron las últimas semanas de preparativos para dar la bienvenida y entrenar a 36 nuevas enfermeras y 54 traductores locales, conocer y animar a 14 enfermeras líderes (enfermeras que supervisan y dirigen cada turno), entrenar a 5 de ellas por primera vez; y también abrimos el hospital para que todos los tripulantes del barco pudieran aprender y disfrutar de todas las cosas divertidas que hacemos allí.  Luego comenzó la gran semana, la Semana de Orientación para Nuevas Enfermeras. 36 nuevas sonrisas y corazones llenos de emoción por convertirse en "mensajeros de misericordia" ("mercy shippers" en inglés), finalmente conocimos en persona aquellos nombres por los cuales habíamos orado. Mis propias dudas y temores acerca de dirigir este evento se de...

Semana 1 y 2: Vacaciones, familia y amigos  Después de 6 meses viviendo y trabajando en el barco en Camerún, no volví a casa. En cambio, volé a Sanford,  Florida (EE. UU.). Ahí pasé 10 días con mi familia, los amé aún más que antes, pero con una profunda tristeza, como una nube a mi alrededor, despertando y contando los días que aún me quedaban y anticipando la horrible sensación de decir adiós, otra vez. Entonces, triste pero pero sin dudas al respecto, me levanté a las 4:30 am para ir al aeropuerto y continuar el camino que ya estaba planeado para mí. En mi corazón pude devolver a cada miembro de mi familia a Dios, sabiendo y creyendo con todas mis fuerzas que Él los ama más que yo, y que pase lo que pase, Él siempre estará con ellos. El dolor y las lágrimas son inevitables, pero la voz de Dios es más fuerte y elegí tomar su mano nuevamente y caminar con él. Incluso a través de mis lágrimas, puedo dar gracias por cada día, cada minuto que pasamos juntos, cada sonris...

Week 1 and 2: Holidays, Family and Friends After 6 months living and working on the ship in Cameroon, I didn't go back home. Instead, I flew to Sanford, Florida (USA). There I had 10 days with my family, loved them even more than before,  but a deep sadness would be like a cloud around me, waking up and counting the days I still had left with them and anticipating the horrible feeling of saying goodbye, again.  S o, unhappy but certain about it, I woke up at 4:30am to go to the airport and continue the path that was already planned for me. In my heart I could give each member of my family back to God, knowing and believing with all my strength that He loves them more than me, and that no matter what happens, He will always be with them. Pain and tears are inevitable, but God's voice is stronger and I chose to take His hand again, and walk with Him . Even through my tears I can give thanks for every day, every minute we spent together, each smile,...

It was very exciting for me to see Fadimatou and her baby ready to leave the ship and go home, after having spent many months here and finally seeing the full miracle, now Mass-Odatou has a normal nose and mouth.  Like her, 2508 patients received free surgeries through Mercy Ships here in Cameroon, 1000 were admitted to the Africa Mercy (the ship;), and 334  of these surgeries  were maxillofacial surgeries (the patients that I could meet and take care of more closely).  2142 adults and 366 children received a miracle that seemed impossible to achieve. God gave them the opportunity to change their sadness for joy, their shame for courage, their defeat for victory, and their weakness for strength. As I wrote on my last post, the process for our patients to receive the miracle was not easy, there was pain, tiredness, fear and a lot of patience. Anyone who has been hospitalized and has been through surgery knows that it is not easy, but it is worth it when ...