La Pasión que Arde en mi Corazón

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 ...

Fue muy emocionante para mí ver a Fadimatou y su bebé listas para regresar a casa, después de haber pasado por muchos meses de esfuerzos y por fin ver el milagro completo, ahora Mass-Odatou tiene una nariz y una boca normales.  Así como ella, en total 2508 pacientes recibieron cirugías gratis a través de Mercy Ships, 1000 fueron hospitalizados en el Africa Mercy (el barco ;), y de estas cirugías 334 fueron cirugías maxilofaciales (los pacientes que yo pude conocer y cuidar más de cerca).  2142 adultos y 366 niños recibieron un milagro que parecía imposible de lograr. Dios les dio la oportunidad de cambiar su tristeza por gozo, su vergüenza por valentía, su derrota por victoria, y su debilidad por fuerza. Como les conté en la entrada anterior, el proceso de nuestros pacientes para recibir el milagro no fue fácil, hubo dolor, cansancio, miedo y mucha paciencia. Todos los que han estado hospitalizados y han pasado por una cirugía saben que no es fácil, pero vale la pe...

During my time here, most of our maxillofacial patients come the day before of their surgery, go to surgery, and after a couple of days or maybe a week they are ready to go to the Hope Center and come to the ship for their follow-up appointments. A few of them may have complications after their surgery, maybe a wound that won't heal properly, maybe an infection, but thankfully those are a few exceptions to the majority. These are the stories we like to witness and also the way we want things to happen in our own lives. We like things to happen as they "should", in the right time and in the right way. I, personally, am not a patient person. As an ICU nurse I always want to find a way to solve problems, and keeping things under control, planned and successful is my way of thinking of a good day.   But today I want to share about two families that have taught me what patience and endurance are. The moms share the same name, both are muslim, and speak the sa...