Mary

Mercy Ship Team (photo taken 12/12/06)

Here is a picture of the whole Mercy Ship Crew. It's hard to see, but I'm tucked in the bottom left hand of the gangway. :)

Today a group of us visited the Sisters of Charity Orphanage in Accra. It's one of Mother Theresa's orphanages, and mainly focuses on HIV pts and young children/babies. We went armed with Christmas crafts, balloons and hugs. For these individuals, something so small as getting to make a Christmas ornament out of foam shapes is a huge deal.

A little girl in a cute plaid dress was assisted to where we were by one of the Mercy Ships volunteers. It was easy to see that the little girl's eyes were severely damaged. Lois introduced the little girl to me as Mary. Mary is deaf and blind after an abusive history with her family. She was later poisoned after being taken to a witch doctor- but survived. This beautiful little girl loved playing with the blocks, dolls and balloons. It was amazing to watch Lois interact with her and to see Mary's determination. Mary learned to recognize who I was by touching the stretchy hairband I usually wear around my wrist. (amazing that it could be something that simple). This little one stole my heart away today-

The 'sisters' have their hands full at this orphanage. There are at least 25 babies under 1 year of age. Some are twins. They live with the children and provide full care with the assistance of some local workers. Their dedication to a life of service is pretty incredible. They were from all over the world and each serves for 10 years before getting to go home to see their family for only 4 weeks.

Here on the ship, over the past couple weeks, we have seen many thyroidectomy patients in the ward, and thankfully they have all done very well. The next couple weeks will be facial-max patients and screenings will begin for our VVF patients. It's like a little community here on the ward. Patients are here for so long that it grows into a very family-like environment. The risk of infection is very high if patients are discharged too soon, and often times, they live too far from a physician for followup, so they rehab here on the ship. Older parents pray and look after the younger children that don't have family. And the sweetest thing the other day was when one of my patients was helping another with his NG feed. -I am often in awe of the humility and love that is shown among them.