18th July 2009,
Today I had an amazing day in Port0 Novo (the capital city of Benin) with 8 others, a beautiful city that is very different to Cotonou (where the ship is docked) it is much quieter and the French architecture is lovely and unique. It took us an hour to drive there and we looked at a small market first where I bought some cheap traditional African material, lots of bright co
lours that the woman here wear. In one part of the market we came across some fetish items such as dead snakes, rats, monkey heads, and even a hippopotomus head (I was shocked to see it!) used for voodoo and other rituals-it was quite disturbing and eye opening. Life is always an adventure when Karl is in the group (a good Australian friend of mine who does not speak a word of French yet seems to communicate incredibly well with the local people here), after driving around looking for a garden to eat our lunch we found ourselves at the stadium and ended up following a crowd around the back where we arrived to find hundreds of people waiting to catch a glimpse of the President of Benin. We waited patiently with them and it paid off as the president flew down in his helicopter, walked through the cheering crowd and then minutes later flew away; the people were all very excited. Immediately after this we were swept along with the crowd into the stadium and once we found a spot on the grandstand we munched on pineapple (which we purchased off a lady who was carrying it on her head) and watched a football game. It was a fantastic outing and the day ended with Karl building a great bonfire on Obama beach (yes they have erected a billboard of President Obama on the beach also). There were about 40 people there and before we settled around the bonfire for the night to toast marshmallows and songs on the guitar we played soccer, frisbee and volleyball-I am having such a good time here.
*photo: Sarah (Australian), Me and Karl enjoying fresh pineapple :)
lours that the woman here wear. In one part of the market we came across some fetish items such as dead snakes, rats, monkey heads, and even a hippopotomus head (I was shocked to see it!) used for voodoo and other rituals-it was quite disturbing and eye opening. Life is always an adventure when Karl is in the group (a good Australian friend of mine who does not speak a word of French yet seems to communicate incredibly well with the local people here), after driving around looking for a garden to eat our lunch we found ourselves at the stadium and ended up following a crowd around the back where we arrived to find hundreds of people waiting to catch a glimpse of the President of Benin. We waited patiently with them and it paid off as the president flew down in his helicopter, walked through the cheering crowd and then minutes later flew away; the people were all very excited. Immediately after this we were swept along with the crowd into the stadium and once we found a spot on the grandstand we munched on pineapple (which we purchased off a lady who was carrying it on her head) and watched a football game. It was a fantastic outing and the day ended with Karl building a great bonfire on Obama beach (yes they have erected a billboard of President Obama on the beach also). There were about 40 people there and before we settled around the bonfire for the night to toast marshmallows and songs on the guitar we played soccer, frisbee and volleyball-I am having such a good time here.*photo: Sarah (Australian), Me and Karl enjoying fresh pineapple :)
29 July 2009,
Today I had the greatest day in the Maxofacial theatre with Dr Nasser and Dr MacDonald-I scrubbed and assisted for an 8 hour operation on a young man called Emmanuel to remove a massive tumour from his face. The tumour had eaten away at most of the mandible (jaw bone) on the left side and was very hard to remove. Once it was removed we set to work creating a new jaw line for him and moulded a plate to fit and inserted a left condyle and fixated the mandible plate with screws. It was such a fantastic experience, I was so exhausted after the 8 hours however I was
really pleased that I got to be a part of it and Dr Nasser was so encouraging throughout the procedure and kept saying "You know exactly what I need Melanie, I don't even need to ask". I feel like my nursing skills are improving so much, its really exciting. I am sitting here tonight asking myself "How did I get here?" and I know it is through the support and love of those around me. I can feel myself changing and growing, not just in my nursing but in who I am and I know I am becoming a better person through these experiences. I am so blessed.
*Photos: Emmanuel before surgery and after, what a difference!
really pleased that I got to be a part of it and Dr Nasser was so encouraging throughout the procedure and kept saying "You know exactly what I need Melanie, I don't even need to ask". I feel like my nursing skills are improving so much, its really exciting. I am sitting here tonight asking myself "How did I get here?" and I know it is through the support and love of those around me. I can feel myself changing and growing, not just in my nursing but in who I am and I know I am becoming a better person through these experiences. I am so blessed.*Photos: Emmanuel before surgery and after, what a difference!
30th July 2009
Today I went and visited Emmanuel on the ward and sat with him for a while, his english is quite good because he is from Nigeria. He was visiting Contonou a month ago to try and find medical help and was walking through the marketplace when a woman approached him and told him about Mercy Ships and that they may be able to help remove his tumour. He told me this story and that he prayed that we would have space to his surgery. He was amazed that the operation took 8 hours and was very grateful.
01 August 2009
Today I felt like I could not possibly be any happier than I am right now. We traveled an hour to reach Exodus Orphanage and I was struck firstly by the cold concrete floor th
e children had been sleeping on every night. It is hard to imagine the weather being cold in Africa however I can now say I have experienced an African winter and suprisingly I can imagine it must be so cold at night on the concrete. So we set to work measuring and sawing pieces of wood for new beds and to repair the bunk beds that were already existing. When we first arrived the children all gathered around the car shyly however in minutes they were climbing all over us hungry for cuddles, love and piggyback rides. They were intrigued by my camera and all wanted a turn to take a 
photograph of each so I showed them how. After a wonderful day of making new beds and playing with adorable children my heart felt full, we left weary but content knowing they would no longer be sleeping on the dirty concrete floor. I think that is the best way I've ever spent a saturday.
*Photo 1: Carrying the twins who were cuddling me all day.
*Photo 2: The children practising their photography skills.
e children had been sleeping on every night. It is hard to imagine the weather being cold in Africa however I can now say I have experienced an African winter and suprisingly I can imagine it must be so cold at night on the concrete. So we set to work measuring and sawing pieces of wood for new beds and to repair the bunk beds that were already existing. When we first arrived the children all gathered around the car shyly however in minutes they were climbing all over us hungry for cuddles, love and piggyback rides. They were intrigued by my camera and all wanted a turn to take a 
photograph of each so I showed them how. After a wonderful day of making new beds and playing with adorable children my heart felt full, we left weary but content knowing they would no longer be sleeping on the dirty concrete floor. I think that is the best way I've ever spent a saturday.*Photo 1: Carrying the twins who were cuddling me all day.
*Photo 2: The children practising their photography skills.
12 August 2009
My nursing manager is an amazing Lady and has granted me permission to go with the Palliative Care team one day a week if the Operating Rooms are not too busy and we have enough staff. When Mercy Ships screened the patients at the beginning of the year there were many conditions which could not be helped so they got those patient details and a team goes out daily to give pain relief, pray with them and support them. Sadly many of the patients do not have support or family to care for them and can sometimes die alone and in a lot of pain so we do our best to provide any care that may bring them comfort. Today was my first day and we visited a
Lady called Danielle with a dental tumour that is growing. Her house was cramped and dirty however I felt so privileged to be welcome to enter and I really enjoyed spending time with her and discussing with the other nurse other ways we could help make her comfortable and problem solve a few issues she was having. At the end of our visit with her she asked if we could please pray for her children, I could hear the concern in her voice as she expressed how she worried about what would happen to them when her time comes. As we prayed with her I was unable to stop the tears as I began to cry at the injustice of her pain and suffering and her children she will leave.15 August 2009
What an incredible day-I don't feel like I have the words to even begin to describe the sights I witnessed today. Seventeen of us arrived in Togo (the neighbouring country of Benin) yesterday afternoon, sadly I was sick in the night and felt unwell for a part of the day however everyone was great at looking after me and I would not have missed the trek up the mountain for anything. It began as we walked through a quaint little village at the foot of the mountain-the colours struck me straight away-the rich clay colours with the bright fabric material 
hanging on the washing lines lightened up the whole environment, children running up to us giggling as I tickled them. We walked up through the lush vibrant green bush, banana trees surrounding us as well as crops of corn, all kinds of fruit and even cocoa trees. At certain points we had to step to the side of the track as barefooted 80 year old woman and small children passed us carrying massive loads of sticks and fruit on their heads. They are such beautiful, humble people and greeted us so warmly. There were many local people farming on the side of the mountain and as we entered a village partway up 
the mountain I felt as though I was walking across the pages of a National Geographic Magazine-It was unlike anything I have seen before. The entire group of us stood and took it all in, the village around us, the view ahead and the singing flowing out of the church closeby, it was very surreal. An hour later we entered the next village where our guides set up the lunch they had brought along for us, we sat outside a school classroom and enjoyed our lunch as we listened to children yelling out "Yovo, Yovo" from their mud houses nearby. Two little girls came down to investigate us and put on a little show of dancing for us when they realised they had an attentive audience, it was very amusing. One of them climbed onto my back so I carried her through the village. We reached the top to find a fog had rolled in so we did not receive much of a view however we enjoyed it the whole way up so that was good enough for me, it was a long day of walking and we were all exhausted by the end but it was one of those days I'll never forget.
hanging on the washing lines lightened up the whole environment, children running up to us giggling as I tickled them. We walked up through the lush vibrant green bush, banana trees surrounding us as well as crops of corn, all kinds of fruit and even cocoa trees. At certain points we had to step to the side of the track as barefooted 80 year old woman and small children passed us carrying massive loads of sticks and fruit on their heads. They are such beautiful, humble people and greeted us so warmly. There were many local people farming on the side of the mountain and as we entered a village partway up 
the mountain I felt as though I was walking across the pages of a National Geographic Magazine-It was unlike anything I have seen before. The entire group of us stood and took it all in, the village around us, the view ahead and the singing flowing out of the church closeby, it was very surreal. An hour later we entered the next village where our guides set up the lunch they had brought along for us, we sat outside a school classroom and enjoyed our lunch as we listened to children yelling out "Yovo, Yovo" from their mud houses nearby. Two little girls came down to investigate us and put on a little show of dancing for us when they realised they had an attentive audience, it was very amusing. One of them climbed onto my back so I carried her through the village. We reached the top to find a fog had rolled in so we did not receive much of a view however we enjoyed it the whole way up so that was good enough for me, it was a long day of walking and we were all exhausted by the end but it was one of those days I'll never forget.29 August 2009
Recently I have been given to role of 'Theatre Co-ordinator' which involves trying to run the 6 Operating Rooms as efficiently as possible and solving any problems that may arise. With so many new staff arriving all the time (often for 2 weeks) I am often helping nurses and surgeons find equipment they require, organising lunch breaks, changes in the lists and many other challenges. There are moments when you realise that you have run out of a particular item that the surgeon is desperately needing however I am amazed at how often I go hunting and come across just what we require. Today the airconditioning went off and it began to get very warm so as I was ringing the engineer I noticed a leak in the theatre hallway so I had to ring the Plumber; after this I was bombarded by nurses desperately needing a particular type of wound drain. As I was climbing inside containers in the hold of the Ship looking for wound drains amidst the chaos and boxes I somehow managed to find exactly what we needed. These days seem to filled with challenges, triumphs and can be so frustrating but also very rewarding. I have received so much encouragement in this role from my manager, nurses around me and surgeons and I feel as though I have the best of both worlds as some days I am given the Co-ordinating role and other days I assist for incredible operations. There are many days where I stop and I'm amazed at how far my nursing skills and confidence have grown-I feel so blessed to have been supported from the very beginning in NZ, in Australia and now here.
As for next year...well that is yet to be decided...there are many options however I have not made any decisions as of yet...I shall keep you updated.
