Three Hats, One Heart

So up until now, I have only been focusing on my job as the OR Educator.  Mondays I spend most of the day doing orientation with all the new nurses that arrive.  With such a high turnover rate in the OR, it isn’t uncommon to have 4-7 new nurses a week, that can be 1/3 of the staff in the OR!  The rest of the week, I try to focus on the education of our Day Crew- organizing classes, preceptors, & training opportunities.  When I’m not do any of that, I am sitting at a computer doing ordering & other tasks that need to be done.  There just never seems to be enough hours in the day.

Everyone gathers to say Thank You to Dr Itengre before he leaves

But all that has been put on the back burner for the time being as I don another hat.  VVF OR Team Leader.  VVF started 6 weeks ago.  We had a rocky start trying to get our ladies from all over the country to the ship in time for screening & surgery.  But because of that delay, we were able to focus on another overlooked group of women- women who have GYN issues that aren’t fistulas.  These are women with uterine prolapses or cystoceles & rectoceles (where the bladder or rectum prolapses into the vagina).  This is a new adventure in surgery for the ship- we are just starting a Women’s Health program.  It seemed to be a success.

The ladies have fun on Deck 7

As team lead, I work closely with the Ward VVF Team Leader, Steph.  She & I were team leaders last year in Guinea & get a long fabulously, I can’t tell you how awesome it is that I have her as a counterpart in all this.  Together with our surgeons- Dr Itengre Ouedraogo, a surgeon from Burkina Faso living in Niger & Dr Sunday Lengmang, a surgeon from Nigeria, & an awesome team of nurses in the OR & the ward, we work to restore these beautiful women’s dignity & self worth.

Let the party begin!

There have been challenges, non-ideal outcomes, long days, even longer nights, but through it all you just need to step onto the ward & see all the smiling faces & hear the laughter to know that this is where we are supposed to be right now.  Throughout the day & even in the evening, we can hear singing coming from Deck 3 (where the hospital is).  This is our ladies going for a walk up & down the hall, singing & dancing.  It truly is something that needs to be experienced.

The first of many dress ceremonies

As always, we have a dress ceremony for our ladies who are healed, no longer leak urine or feces & are ready to be discharged.  It’s like a graduation ceremony; only instead of a diploma the ladies receive the greater gift of hope.  The colors of their dresses & the jewelry only enhance their natural beauty,  making them stunning to look at.  It is a time of hugs & kisses, dancing & singing, telling their story & tears, all rolled into one short emotional rollercoaster.

A grateful lady thanks Dr Itengre

Beautiful smiles

Blessings