You know you have lived in Africa for a few days when……….

You are driving down the road and you hear a random African on the back of a zemidjan yell your name. As you glance in their direction you notice them vigorously waving at you. You take a few seconds to see if you recognize the person who is admiring you and you quickly realize it is your old patient.  This happened to me two different times today.

One would think that living and working in a city equipment with nearly 750 thousand people would make it rather difficult to run into old patients on the street, but it happens more often than not. I guess it could be my Yovo colored skin, or the big Mercy Ships Land Rover that I drive, or maybe even the ceil blue colored scrubs I am constantly wearing that draws the attention , but I like to think that it is my unique personality and dashing good looks that has made it so easy for them to remember me and my name.  

New Dental Equipment.

A few weeks ago we closed down the dental clinic for 3 days in order to install almost all new dental equipment. That which was installed: 4 generators, 2 compressors, 4 sterilizers, 6 dental chairs and units, an ultra sonic cleaner, lights, and a new cavitron. The mentioned equipment was either donated by companies or bought with donations. It is wonderful having almost all new equipment. It makes my job A LOT easier. I no longer have to worry if the generators are going to start in the morning, or if the units are going to work. 

Life is good at Avotrou Dental Clinic. 

Below are a few pictures of the new equipment and a few names and number on who donated what. 

THANK YOU! 

Dental team install donated equipment at the Akpakpa clinic

Top: Installing new dental chairs
Bottom left: Tony Royston (UK) AFM med technician and dayworker Florent install the new air compressor
Bottom right: Jessica Campbell displays the new donated generators

Thanks to our donors: ADEC donated dental equipment and chair units worth $72,000, Tech West Inc. gave us a 53.5% discount of $7444.50 on the air compressors, and Cutters Equipment a 40% discount of $3,777.00 on the Honda generators

Cabin 4343.

Yesterday June 10, 2009 marked my 1-year anniversary with Mercy Ships. What a year it has been. In honor of the day I celebrated by taking care of a medical emergency at the clinic-SCARY, taking care of a patient was about to die from a dental infections, pulling teeth, removing part of a ladies mandible-yes I did that…. I actually pulled out the bone that made up her mandible, and said good bye to my LOVELY roommate Emily- very SAD. 

Last Saturday at 3am the the occupants of cabin 4343 and Richard piled into a Nissan car to make the 20 min truck to the airport to see our lovely roommate Naomi off. In the matter of a minute cabin 4343 went from 4 to 3.

Last night I drove and Carmen accompanied me to the airport to drop Emily off . 

 Now there is 2

And in 2 ½ weeks Carmen will jump on a plane and head back to Texas leaving me all alone….. 

Oh wait I have already been blessed with a new roommate who is moving in tomorrow. 

MEET LIZ- I am sure you will be hearing a lot about her in the future: 

Oh how you must be able to adjust to constant change here. After awhile I must admit change gets old.

 

RIP my original Cabin 4343. What a trip it was.  Welcome newcomers what a wonderful cabin it is. 

Produce Anyone?

Look at all the wonderful FRESH produce we get to eat here. It has been so nice seeing fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucmbers, green peppers, apples, bananas, and papaya on the buffet line daily. What a change from Liberia. In Liberia we received lettuce about once every 3 months and it sure wasn't romaine. The other options were not heard of either. 

The things we take for granted until we no don't have them any longer. 

Oh i forgot one thing.....

So this morning I went to the hospitality center( the huge warehouse about a mile from the ship that we have transformed into a hotel like place for patients to stay before and after surgery so they don't have stay on the ward) to get a dental patient that had been brought to the center over the weekend from up country. 

I went in and told the translator I was here to get the patient and to tell her she will be going home from the dental clinic so she should bring all her belongings with her. The translator disappeared  to retrieve the patient and reappeared a moment later with my patient. 

I said so she has everything and the translator said yes. We started to get ready to load the patient in the car and as we were doing this the patient said oh wait I forgot something. She ran back to get the thing she had forgotten and when she came back to my surprise it was not a thing it was a baby. She was carrying her child. She had FORGOTTEN her baby. 

How does that happen. :) 

UNO CARDS !.!

People have been asking me all week are you glad to be back? I keep saying yes, even though until tonight I have not been all that excited about my return. Tonight I went down to look in my office for my ID card and on my way back to my room I ran into this little boy who was hooping around on his good leg and crutches while he dragged his casted leg behind him.

He was kicking this huge soccer ball down the hallway the same time I was walking down it. I stopped and kicked the ball back and forth with him for a few minutes and thought to myself I must go I don't have a lot of time. Just as I was getting ready to walk away he reached deep into is pocket and pulled out UNO cards. He said in his best broken English.... "Lets play UNO." To myself I was thinking man I was just about to go up to work out, then I have this to do and that to do...... only a few minutes that all I have is a few minutes.

He hopped and I walked over to this platform like hiding place under the stair way where we sat and began to play UNO. About one minute into the game he said to me MERCI MERCI BEAUCOUP and pointed to his casted post surgery leg that was propped up on the over sized soccer ball. It was at that very moment when my attitude of missing home switched over to I am GLAD to be back and nothing else on my things to do list matters at this every moment except playing UNO.

I had never ran into that boy before, and I certainly did not perform the more than likely life changing surgery on his leg. Regardless his heart was so full of gratitude that he was wanting to thank anyone he came in contact with.

We played 5 games he of course won 4 out of the 5. He was so cute when he had a move he would slap the cards down with attitude and confidence. He knew he was good...and I was not playing the awww lets let the hurt little African boy win the game. I tried to beat him but I couldn't.

Isn't it funny how the simplest things can be used for the good. How in a moment your attitude can be turn around. Thank Goodness for that moment.

Son Bon

Today I was walking in the door of our dental clinic as one of our translators was walking out. Just about the time we passed each other I felt someone grab my buttock, and not just your oh I accidently brushed up against your butt kind of feel. It was an on purpose grasp. I did a quick turn over my shoulder to see if it was my translator and realized it was a middle aged female patient who was sitting on the bench waiting to get treated. I looked at her with a confused look on my face I am sure and she said Son Bon oui son bon-- it is good yes it is good. Then the lady sitting next to her took it upon herself to cop a feel and make sure she agreed it was good as well, and she did.  I did not know how to respond so I said Merci beaucoup- Thank you very much.

I was not sure if I should of felt violated or if I should take it as a compliment. I am guessing it was a compliment given the fact that after the lady had her tooth pulled she came and gave me a hug and said Merci. I knew my first day back would not leave me without a story to pass along.