We're getting the ward ready!! There is a 40 bed ward (and 2 ICU beds) on the ship that we use to help recover our Liberian patients after they have had their surgery. It measures about 1000 square feet from end- to- end, and I assure you there is NO wasted space! We also have 4 operating theaters (rooms), an ancient CT scanner (takes 45 minutes to scan a head) and x-ray machine, a 1 room lab, and a small pharmacy. We are in port now, but when the ship is sailing, the ward is all packed up (including the beds) in hold#2 (a giant warehouse type place in the bowels of this massive ship!). The past few days have been spent setting up the ward and preparing for our patients. This saturday, we will conduct a final screening to determine all of our surgical candidates. We will be out in Monrovia at the John F. Kennedy hospital. I'm scheduled to be in the lab station performing my favorite task of phlebotomy---just like the old plasma center I'm sure!
We're also getting more medical staff today. I believe 10-15 doctors and nurses are flying in tonight to swell the crew. What will happen when all of our African patients/families arrive?? This experience is certainly altering my perception of "personal space." Although ship life is such a blessing. The people-- they're amazing. A multicultural crew from more than 30 different nations (good thing English fluency is mandatory onboard...or is it?) , these people know God. They love God. They worship God on a boat in Liberia. They work endlessly and joyfully to show others this. I'm excited!!