Follow along with me as I travel to Sierra Leone to work onboard the Global Mercy Ship as a ward nurse.
*Disclaimer*
All posts below are personal thoughts and experiences regarding my time with Mercy Ships and does not represent the company itself.
Ruth
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This is about a patient girl named Ruth.
This strong, sassy teenage girl who stole all our hearts. She was one of the first patients I took care of during this field service and poor girl has been put through the ringer. For all her time on the ward, she has always been strong willed and loving towards the nurses. She's still is a teenage girl mind you. Sometimes I'd come on shift, and she'd be "mad" at me, or giving me side-eye. Then write me notes or songs, and want to hug and hold hands. She'd get jealous of spending time or playing games with other patients. My goodness! The exhausting emotions to be a labile teenage girl again!
Ruth and her mom prior to admission
Ruth's legs getting wrapped by Rehab
But in the end, she had a little sign by her bed where she wrote the names of her 3 nurse BFF's. And I was one of them! AH! How cool am I?! hahahah I now maybe understand a small part of when parents are finally cool to their kids. Why I care that I'm cool to Ruth is beyond me. But it was a sweet kind gesture and made me feel like I'm actually connecting to these kids, and maybe making a difference in their hardships here.
Ruth and girl gang!
She wrote me a valentine on Valentines day, gave me a sorry note one day when she was mad, wrote me a goodbye note when I left, and has a million silly filter photos on her phone she took of us during my time. I'm sad I won't be able to see her full course of treatment, or be there for her when she walks or discharges, but I'm happy to know she's in good hands with my fellow crew mates who love her as much as I do.
Ruth laughing at our dancing during Veranda time
The salone song Ruth assigned to me and we'd dance to!
Panic settled in. Bed bugs are an ER nurse's worst nightmare . I will take C-Diff, COVID, Flu, diarrhea, TB, anything! But bed bugs?!?! And now I was so nervous I had them too hahahah Trying not to panic, I decided to go onboard to crew clinic and ask them. I woke with some bites on one arm after being back on the ship, and thought, "maybe they'll give me some trash bags and new sheets and just tell me to wash my clothes or something". But unfortunately I started a cycle talking to them that I could not jump out of after! They looked at my arm, and thought I could potentially have bed bugs, and then said they were going to move me and my new roommate (god bless her-brand new to the boat, and was concerned about getting off and into town as she is newer to traveling and is in Africa by herself, and didn't go to Banana Island) to an isolation room for a day, and have to fumigate our room, etc. And they wanted to know who I was with on Banana Island. Ugh. I should...
I am so ready to start heading home. As the end is in sight, and I’m missing Garet, it’s so easy for me to want to go home and be comfortable. And then there’s times like today. Where I walk down to the ward (on my day off mind you!) and the kids yelling “JENNA!!” when they see me walk in. And the parents speaking Mende to me and calling me Aminata, their nickname they’ve given for me. And asking for “snaps” or photos with their kids. And kids placing stickers on my forehead they’ve collected and writing notes. Feels wonderful to be welcomed and loved, you don’t get that often in the ER 😂 I came down to join in the celebration “waka” (walk) off the ship for our discharged kids. And there’s music, and all the families from the wards and chaplaincy, and nurses cheering and dancing and singing in joy for our kids who have healed well enough to continue home. And I’m brought to tears. I’m currently weeping in silence writing this. This cold ER nurse, with little want for connection, ...
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