So the other night at work it was a bit slow and a few of the doctors were hanging out at our desk and the subject of, how shall I say it, the "interpersonal relations" on board the ship came up. Now I may have been a bit naive about the relations going on board the ship in that I knew they were going on but I had no idea to what extent. I was a bit surprised by what I had to learn.
So here's my Anne Landers style advice for anyone coming on board the ship
1- it's a small ship be aware that EVERYONE knows your business and nothing is private even when you think it is
2- please don't be the person that gets a reputation
3-PLEASE don't be the person who gets a nickname
4- don't be the cougar who's know for "initiating" the still teen aged crew members from partner nations
5- and please don't be the NGO group who have confused the ship with a frat house
because trust me when I say that once you have gone home you'd rather people talk about what a great nurse/doctor (or whatever) you were and NOT your reputation for "interpersonal relations".
Peace!
Amy J. :)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Indonesia
Wow- long time no blog- I've been busy- and lazy (couldn't be bothered to haul my computer around Darwin). So here's the recap of Indonesia which ended up being our longest mission site (technically it was 3 sites we were in Tobelo, Ternate and Ambon). I have a couple of stories from our time spent there that I'd like to share...
First of is the story of my friend Santi (she turned into everyones friend). Santi came on board in Jakarta with her aunt and was here to see if we would be able to operate on her congenital cataracts that had made her blind and stopped her from being able to read and write (she previously could before they got bad) and also stopped her from just being a normal kid. She got to hang out with us from Jakarta to our first mission port of Tobelo (about a week) where we were finally able to operate on her left eye. During our time with Santi we learned a lot about her, she's a HUGE Shakera (spelling?) fan and has the "Latina" style of dancing down to a tee- she even taught us some moves. Santi was also one of the most patient and thankful kids too- I mean how many 7 year olds when faced with eye drops that sting- a lot, jump into position on their bed, hold their eyes open, don't freak out when the drops go in and after you're done say "Thank- you" in a foreign language and then run off to play?! Speaking of the foreign language she practically had English learned by the time she went home. Fortunately for Santi her first surgery went so well that the doctor's decided it was safe to proceed with her second eye and only hours after having surgery she was up and about- dancing for the other patients who had had surgery as well trying to make them laugh or smile and feel better. I think this kid has a future in medicine or maybe show-biz who knows but whatever she does she'll be able to see her family, read, write and get an education and I'm thrilled for her.
My other story is about another girl who is not as lucky as Santi. She also came on board for cataract surgery but once here we knew that surgery wasn't going to be an option. She was 15 years old but looked a bit like a 90 year old woman. She weighed just over 50 pounds and in doing a history with her family we learned that she was diabetic but they had very limited access to insulin and even when they did have insulin they had no way of testing her blood sugar so no idea of how much to administer. When she arrived her blood sugar was over 3x the normal limit, I spent one very long night shift working with our pediatricians to try and safely get her level to something closer to normal. This was another time when I had to think to myself- "If she lived in North America, she'd be a healthy teen with a relatively normal life". Diabetes isn't like a cleft lip where we can come and in one day change the course of a kids life. Diabetes is every day, day in and day out and it's expensive- there aren't many organizations out there that I know of that have figured out how to combat this disease in the third world. We managed to get her levels down and were able to get a 3 month supply of testing strips and insulin. So we put a band aid on a problem for 3 months- then what? She was so far gone that I don't know how she'll end up doing- even if someone miraculously were to send her to America and give her state of the art care I don't think she'd come back from 15 years of no treatment. At the end of the day her family was so grateful that we'd tried, that we'd given them something- a small amount of hope for the next few months and after that I guess it's in someone elses hands who knows better then me.
Indonesia was a beautiful country with some really beautiful people. The part of Indonesia that we ported at is more remote but more beautiful and unspoiled because of it. Of all the places that we've been to so far I think that Indonesia and in particular the outer islands would be somewhere that I would come back to. Fortunately for the people here the government is starting to make them a priority. PP2010 was a part of an Indonesian festival called "Sail Banda" that was recognizing the potential of the smaller Indonesian islands in the future and I think that potential is huge. So if you're looking for an amazing place to visit, with gorgeous diving- check out Indonesia. (I'm starting to sound like a vacation add so I'll stop now!)
Cheers!
Amy J:)
First of is the story of my friend Santi (she turned into everyones friend). Santi came on board in Jakarta with her aunt and was here to see if we would be able to operate on her congenital cataracts that had made her blind and stopped her from being able to read and write (she previously could before they got bad) and also stopped her from just being a normal kid. She got to hang out with us from Jakarta to our first mission port of Tobelo (about a week) where we were finally able to operate on her left eye. During our time with Santi we learned a lot about her, she's a HUGE Shakera (spelling?) fan and has the "Latina" style of dancing down to a tee- she even taught us some moves. Santi was also one of the most patient and thankful kids too- I mean how many 7 year olds when faced with eye drops that sting- a lot, jump into position on their bed, hold their eyes open, don't freak out when the drops go in and after you're done say "Thank- you" in a foreign language and then run off to play?! Speaking of the foreign language she practically had English learned by the time she went home. Fortunately for Santi her first surgery went so well that the doctor's decided it was safe to proceed with her second eye and only hours after having surgery she was up and about- dancing for the other patients who had had surgery as well trying to make them laugh or smile and feel better. I think this kid has a future in medicine or maybe show-biz who knows but whatever she does she'll be able to see her family, read, write and get an education and I'm thrilled for her.
My other story is about another girl who is not as lucky as Santi. She also came on board for cataract surgery but once here we knew that surgery wasn't going to be an option. She was 15 years old but looked a bit like a 90 year old woman. She weighed just over 50 pounds and in doing a history with her family we learned that she was diabetic but they had very limited access to insulin and even when they did have insulin they had no way of testing her blood sugar so no idea of how much to administer. When she arrived her blood sugar was over 3x the normal limit, I spent one very long night shift working with our pediatricians to try and safely get her level to something closer to normal. This was another time when I had to think to myself- "If she lived in North America, she'd be a healthy teen with a relatively normal life". Diabetes isn't like a cleft lip where we can come and in one day change the course of a kids life. Diabetes is every day, day in and day out and it's expensive- there aren't many organizations out there that I know of that have figured out how to combat this disease in the third world. We managed to get her levels down and were able to get a 3 month supply of testing strips and insulin. So we put a band aid on a problem for 3 months- then what? She was so far gone that I don't know how she'll end up doing- even if someone miraculously were to send her to America and give her state of the art care I don't think she'd come back from 15 years of no treatment. At the end of the day her family was so grateful that we'd tried, that we'd given them something- a small amount of hope for the next few months and after that I guess it's in someone elses hands who knows better then me.
Indonesia was a beautiful country with some really beautiful people. The part of Indonesia that we ported at is more remote but more beautiful and unspoiled because of it. Of all the places that we've been to so far I think that Indonesia and in particular the outer islands would be somewhere that I would come back to. Fortunately for the people here the government is starting to make them a priority. PP2010 was a part of an Indonesian festival called "Sail Banda" that was recognizing the potential of the smaller Indonesian islands in the future and I think that potential is huge. So if you're looking for an amazing place to visit, with gorgeous diving- check out Indonesia. (I'm starting to sound like a vacation add so I'll stop now!)
Cheers!
Amy J:)
Monday, July 19, 2010
In the Navy...
You sort your trash... (or "rubbish" as our resident Brit calls it)
You get used to...
You never get used to...
- This took some getting used to and it goes something like this: when finished a meal you have to separate out your left over food from the plastic, paper and possibly metal on your plate. You then have to go and dispose of each into the proper receptacle. The paper gets burned, the plastic gets carted around until we're in port and it can be disposed of and the food gets ground up and chucked over board- free food for the fishies. The whole sorting thing is not such a big deal it's just really annoying if you get stuck behind someone new who hasn't figured out that it goes faster if you sort at the table BEFORE you're standing in front of the cans with 50 irritated people behind you.
You get used to...
- Seeing guys wander around your place of work with automatic weapons. Made me stop and do a double take the first time, now it's just a normal thing. At least they don't bring them to the dinner table.
- Always wearing shoes. It's out of the work shoes and into the flip flops that double for shower shoes because in communal living you just don't put your bare feet on the floor (let alone the shower floor)- cannot wait to be bare foot on carpet.
- Showers. There is no such thing as a bath tub here (not even a baby one- we had to McGuyver something out of a toy bucket). One of the first things on my list when I get home- possibly before I unpack, will be to take a long, hot, bath.
- Polite guys. For the first week or so I got a tiny bit weirded out by the constant, door opening, "yes ma'am"ing etc. Then I got so I liked it, I really think that guys back home should have to join then Navy just to relearn some of these things that should be the basics.
- Wearing the same clothes...all the time...every day. The military are in their uniform and I am in mine. It consists of khaki or scrub pants and a blue t-shirt (sometimes a blue polo for variation). At first it was liberating to not have to think about clothes every morning and while that is still true I may never be able to look at this color of blue the same way ever again.
You never get used to...
- The noise. Seriously since getting on board this ship back in May I have not had a single quiet moment. There's always an engine or boiler running, the A/C is on, the ocean is outside, it's raining, the kids are crying, the helicopter is taking off from the roof over the dining hall, there are a thousand other people eating in the same room and to speak to the person across the table one must shout. I work nights and when I'm trying to sleep during the day there are constant overhead announcements of the comings and goings of the higher ups, announcing the start of flight quarters, the end of flight quarters, followed by the ever popular helo refueling announcement. Ooh and did I mention the bell?! Anytime that 2 of the higher ups (I won't mention which ones) come on or off the ship they ring a bell, a very loud and slightly irritating, baby waking bell. It's so annoying that someone actually stole it (no idea who- the perp has yet to be caught and if he/she ever is they're in BIG trouble) and for half a day the bell was blissfully gone, however it turns out they have a spare. Ear plugs don't help- tried that. Anyway all this means is one of the first things I'm going to do when I get home is find somewhere quiet and relish in it! (probably while in the bath)
Navy life ;)
Amy J.
Friday, July 16, 2010
A few of the places I've been to..
Friday, July 9, 2010
At sea, and crossing the line
So long time no write on the blog- I've been busy, and sick. I got a really nasty cold our last day in Cambodia and ever since then have had a lovely hacking cough thanks to my reactive airway. It's been great- my bunk mates are all nurses and analyze every morning if I'm sounding more or less phlegmy. So in the time since we've left Singapore I've been doing a lot of napping and trying to get feeling better.
Last weekend was spent in Singapore which was a lot of fun (accept for the being sick part). It truly is an amazing city and really beautiful. Almost creepy how beautiful- no trash, no garbage, no homeless, perfectly manicured and you could eat off of the floor of the subway- but if you did you'd get fined because eating on the subway isn't allowed. Neither is chewing gum, spitting and more then a few other things. Adds up to a safe and clean city but feels a bit like a theme park after awhile. The food there was amazing as well- there are several different ethnic neighborhoods that all have authentic food and a "food court" with "fast food" is a whole different concept then what you see in North America. I have to say that I like Singapore's fresh made non-greasy version better.
This week has been spent at sea getting to Indonesia. We were in Jakarta for a couple of hours on Tuesday to pick up supplies and more personal and now we are back at sea. It's been weird to be at sea and sailing east- the sun is in the wrong spot every time I go outside. We've been headed west up until now and so to go outside and the sun be in the wrong place is a bit disorienting. I'm also excited to head out at night now that we're in the Southern Hemisphere and see the stars.
This is truly starting to feel like an international project, right now on board we have personnel from the Army, Navy, Air force, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and even Chili. In the past we also had Japanese on board. It's nice have other "non-Americans" to share the experience with.
Now on to crossing the line, I'm really not allowed to say too much about it but suffice to say this "Canuck Wog" has now become a shellback through a process involving lots of jello, sea water, crawling, calisthenics, and I may never think of "row, row, row your boat" the same way again. I'm off to steel beach 2.0 to celebrate and then back to bed. Ciao.
Amy J.
Last weekend was spent in Singapore which was a lot of fun (accept for the being sick part). It truly is an amazing city and really beautiful. Almost creepy how beautiful- no trash, no garbage, no homeless, perfectly manicured and you could eat off of the floor of the subway- but if you did you'd get fined because eating on the subway isn't allowed. Neither is chewing gum, spitting and more then a few other things. Adds up to a safe and clean city but feels a bit like a theme park after awhile. The food there was amazing as well- there are several different ethnic neighborhoods that all have authentic food and a "food court" with "fast food" is a whole different concept then what you see in North America. I have to say that I like Singapore's fresh made non-greasy version better.
This week has been spent at sea getting to Indonesia. We were in Jakarta for a couple of hours on Tuesday to pick up supplies and more personal and now we are back at sea. It's been weird to be at sea and sailing east- the sun is in the wrong spot every time I go outside. We've been headed west up until now and so to go outside and the sun be in the wrong place is a bit disorienting. I'm also excited to head out at night now that we're in the Southern Hemisphere and see the stars.
This is truly starting to feel like an international project, right now on board we have personnel from the Army, Navy, Air force, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and even Chili. In the past we also had Japanese on board. It's nice have other "non-Americans" to share the experience with.
Now on to crossing the line, I'm really not allowed to say too much about it but suffice to say this "Canuck Wog" has now become a shellback through a process involving lots of jello, sea water, crawling, calisthenics, and I may never think of "row, row, row your boat" the same way again. I'm off to steel beach 2.0 to celebrate and then back to bed. Ciao.
Amy J.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Cambodia- the more serious side
The other side of Cambodia is the one that is more serious and why we're really here and that is to help the people. We have been WAY busier here then we were in Vietnam as we don't have the same restrictions that the Vietnamese put on things. Pediatrics has been full just about everyday and we also had Operation Smile on board for about 5 days doing insane numbers of surgeries.
We have been able to make a big difference to some of the people here. One of the doctor's did a cleft lip repair on a gentleman who was in his 30's- that will be life changing for him. We have also been able to repair cataracts on a few children who will now be able to see the world around them and have a much better future.
I had a really great day at my medcap (medical civilian assistance program). I was once again paired up with the pediatricians and also had a nurse from the Cambodian Army to hang out with. We had a really great day and were able to see over 1100 people at the medcap- about 200 of which were kids. On my lunch break myself and another LDSC member taught some of the kids to play "freeze tag". I'm always amazed that kids are kids no matter what language they speak or where they're from. We eventually had to shut down for the day when the people waiting to be seen starting to get aggressive and it was no longer safe for us to be there. It was a shame because we could have seen a few hundred more but sometimes that's life around here.
There have also been the cases that we couldn't help. We had a little 18month old who came on board to have burn scar revision and once she arrived here we found out that she also has a severe heart defect- severe enough that it was unsafe to do her surgery and she had to be sent home. If we had a pediatric anesthesiologist we would have been able to do something but we don't. There is a little guy on board now who is one of a set of twins- his brother had surgery and he was along because Mom was here- and once on board we quickly noticed how small he is. Not even 12kg and he's 5 years old. So he got admitted and has been checked out. Turns out he has a blood disorder that were he in North America would be chronic but treatable and he'd have a fairly normal life. Here he probably won't make it to his 10th birthday. There was also a kid who came on board for abdominal pain that he's had for a year or so- but there was no doctor to see so this was his first chance to be assessed. He has cancer- multiple tumors in multiple sites that isn't treatable at this point- fortunately we were able to get him referred to a hospital in the capital that might be able to do some palliative radiation and at least keep him comfortable.
It's always the cases that we can't help that have stuck with me. We've helped so many kids and made such a difference but it's the one's that we have to send home with nothing that stay in my memory the most.
The chaplains here on board have a favorite story and it's the one about the kid walking down the beach covered in star fish that are drying out in the sun- dieing and the boy is picking them up one at a time and throwing them back into the ocean. A man comes along and says "what are you doing- there are millions of star fish on this beach- you can't save them all" and the kid picks up a star fish- tosses it into the sea and says "made a difference to that one".
We have been able to make a big difference to some of the people here. One of the doctor's did a cleft lip repair on a gentleman who was in his 30's- that will be life changing for him. We have also been able to repair cataracts on a few children who will now be able to see the world around them and have a much better future.
I had a really great day at my medcap (medical civilian assistance program). I was once again paired up with the pediatricians and also had a nurse from the Cambodian Army to hang out with. We had a really great day and were able to see over 1100 people at the medcap- about 200 of which were kids. On my lunch break myself and another LDSC member taught some of the kids to play "freeze tag". I'm always amazed that kids are kids no matter what language they speak or where they're from. We eventually had to shut down for the day when the people waiting to be seen starting to get aggressive and it was no longer safe for us to be there. It was a shame because we could have seen a few hundred more but sometimes that's life around here.
There have also been the cases that we couldn't help. We had a little 18month old who came on board to have burn scar revision and once she arrived here we found out that she also has a severe heart defect- severe enough that it was unsafe to do her surgery and she had to be sent home. If we had a pediatric anesthesiologist we would have been able to do something but we don't. There is a little guy on board now who is one of a set of twins- his brother had surgery and he was along because Mom was here- and once on board we quickly noticed how small he is. Not even 12kg and he's 5 years old. So he got admitted and has been checked out. Turns out he has a blood disorder that were he in North America would be chronic but treatable and he'd have a fairly normal life. Here he probably won't make it to his 10th birthday. There was also a kid who came on board for abdominal pain that he's had for a year or so- but there was no doctor to see so this was his first chance to be assessed. He has cancer- multiple tumors in multiple sites that isn't treatable at this point- fortunately we were able to get him referred to a hospital in the capital that might be able to do some palliative radiation and at least keep him comfortable.
It's always the cases that we can't help that have stuck with me. We've helped so many kids and made such a difference but it's the one's that we have to send home with nothing that stay in my memory the most.
The chaplains here on board have a favorite story and it's the one about the kid walking down the beach covered in star fish that are drying out in the sun- dieing and the boy is picking them up one at a time and throwing them back into the ocean. A man comes along and says "what are you doing- there are millions of star fish on this beach- you can't save them all" and the kid picks up a star fish- tosses it into the sea and says "made a difference to that one".
Cambodia- The fun side
Whew- so it's been awhile since I've posted- the internet has been down- again. We arrived in Cambodia some time last week- I've lost track when and since then it's been one thing after another. I've decided to break up my blog posts into 2 parts rather then try and do it chronologically. So the fun side of Cambodia. First of all just about everyone speaks really good English- I was talking to one of our translators (who is also a nurse) and he shared that he first learned to speak it back in the early 90's for the first election that was held after the genocide. (that was the one and only mention I have heard of the genocide from anyone- a whole generation was killed but they don't dwell on it or feel sorry for themselves over it).
I was able to go on liberty with 3 others- Lizzy (an LDSC member and fellow peds nurse), Anderson (one of our fabulous peds coremen- she has a first name I just don't know it) and Mike (an army guy in the scullery who is LDS). We had such a great day. We found a tuk-tuk driver (motor bike with buggy style seats attached to the back) who spoke good English and we paid him to drive us around for the day. We fed monkeys (the following day someone got bitten by the monkeys and now feeding them is not allowed but we did fine), we visited a local market and found souveneirs, we visited a Buddist temple which was beautiful and also ate some really good food. Turns out that a tuk-tuk is the best way to see a country, it's open to the air, it drives slow enough that you can see things and get pictures, and is just all round good fun- like when it stops working on the way up a hill and Mike has to get out and push. We had a really good day and it was so great to be able to see some of this beautiful country- Mike has decided that someday he wants to live here.
Another amazingly fun opportunity I had was to go on a tour to Angkor Wat- one of the 7 wonders of the world. It was a tour organized by the MWR folks here on board the ship (also known as "the fun boss") and involved getting on a bus just after sunset- riding for 9 hours through the Cambodian country side (road trip anyone?!) and then touring the various temple sites for a few hours and then back to the ship by 0230. The bus ride was long but so worth while, we were also fed really well- I was expecting to have a muffin and juice box thrown at my head on the bus for breakfast but we stopped at a hotel and had a lovely buffet- so worth the money. Once we got there the temples were SO amazing- words really cannot describe- I will try to post photos when the internet is being agreeable or once I'm in Singapore. It was inspiring to see things that are so old and so well built and have so much history and meaning behind them. The people here are so proud of Angkor Wat and their history. Our tour guide was amazing- so knowledgable and well spoken about his religion and history. It was the opportunity of a lifetime and so great to be able to check #437 off of the bucket list.
I was able to go on liberty with 3 others- Lizzy (an LDSC member and fellow peds nurse), Anderson (one of our fabulous peds coremen- she has a first name I just don't know it) and Mike (an army guy in the scullery who is LDS). We had such a great day. We found a tuk-tuk driver (motor bike with buggy style seats attached to the back) who spoke good English and we paid him to drive us around for the day. We fed monkeys (the following day someone got bitten by the monkeys and now feeding them is not allowed but we did fine), we visited a local market and found souveneirs, we visited a Buddist temple which was beautiful and also ate some really good food. Turns out that a tuk-tuk is the best way to see a country, it's open to the air, it drives slow enough that you can see things and get pictures, and is just all round good fun- like when it stops working on the way up a hill and Mike has to get out and push. We had a really good day and it was so great to be able to see some of this beautiful country- Mike has decided that someday he wants to live here.
Another amazingly fun opportunity I had was to go on a tour to Angkor Wat- one of the 7 wonders of the world. It was a tour organized by the MWR folks here on board the ship (also known as "the fun boss") and involved getting on a bus just after sunset- riding for 9 hours through the Cambodian country side (road trip anyone?!) and then touring the various temple sites for a few hours and then back to the ship by 0230. The bus ride was long but so worth while, we were also fed really well- I was expecting to have a muffin and juice box thrown at my head on the bus for breakfast but we stopped at a hotel and had a lovely buffet- so worth the money. Once we got there the temples were SO amazing- words really cannot describe- I will try to post photos when the internet is being agreeable or once I'm in Singapore. It was inspiring to see things that are so old and so well built and have so much history and meaning behind them. The people here are so proud of Angkor Wat and their history. Our tour guide was amazing- so knowledgable and well spoken about his religion and history. It was the opportunity of a lifetime and so great to be able to check #437 off of the bucket list.
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