Night Shift

I have seven patients tonight. Two adults, two babies less than a year, and three less than seven. Tonight I am primarily a pediatric nurse. The only other time I have had kids as patients was in Liberia here on the ship and the many summers I have spent with homesick, puking, bleeding, sliver filled, wonderful kids at summer camp. Although I get a bit nervous when I hear I will be taking care of kids, I do love it. It's just something I am not used to. Something out of my comfort zone. Something else to keep me on my toes. One of the great things about working here is that you are never alone and you will be challenged and pushed beyond your comfort level, in a good way. We are all stretched and asked to do things outside our comfort zone but that's part of the life here. Imagine living on a ship in West Africa with people from over 40 different nations. Even in my room, I am sleeping below someone from the UK, and sharing a room with an Australian and two Germans. We are all different in so many ways, but we have all come here with the same purpose and it all seems to work. Every step is a step of faith, knowing we were all called here for a purpose and no one was called here to stand alone and do it by themselves.

I am taking care of two of the cutest flies tonight! Two of my patients had bilateral cataracts removed today and no, it wasn't my two adult patients. One is 3 years old and the other is 5 months. I call them flies because they are wearing shields over both their eyes so they look like tiny, adorable little flies. Two other patients who are 4 and 6 are having their cataracts removed tomorrow. I am also taking care of Fatou. Fatou is 11 months and had a cleft lip repair done two weeks ago. When he went home he fell off a chair and split his lip open again. He had it sewn back together today. It's been interesting being in this ward tonight. I have spent almost every shift in D ward which is the max-fax ward. It's good to switch things up a bit.

It's now 2am. Time to figure out how to get Fatou to take his pain medications!