YouTube - screening in Cotonou, benin Click here to see a bit of the screening from a week ago!
On Thursday and Friday of last week I experienced my first Mercy Ships main screening. Thousands, and I mean thousands of people from Benin (and several from neighboring countries) gathered at a sports arena a few miles from where the ship is docked. These hopeful men, women, and children came with various physical deformities -many I've never seen before. They stood in unbelievably long lines in the hot West African sun. Some were turned away at the gate when it was obvious that we couldn't provide services they needed. (If the tumor they tried to hide was malignant and had spread viciously throughout their body, etc.) This was heart-breaking to see people turned away after so much patience in waiting and such hope. A prayer team was standing by for those who wanted prayer... many did. I had to keep reminding myself of those who were there that we could help. There were plenty!
Over 2,000 people made it past the first station and were allowed into the stadium to wait in more lines... history taking, physical exams by the surgeons, blood drawn for tests to see if they were healthy enough to survive surgery, etc. I experienced a surge of joy each time I saw a woman with a huge goiter under her chin holding the bright green ticket securing her spot for surgery.... or the woman with a cleft-lipped baby strapped to her back smiling and holding a similar green ticket... or the dozens of kids running around with legs bent so far it was hard to imagine how they run so swiftly - their mothers nearby waiting to receive their golden ticket.
I was on the serving team... hauling and passing out thousands of cups of water to those waiting in and outside the arena. This gave me the opportunity to see all the different parts of the screening and get a better idea of how the whole thing worked. It was quite organized all in all! I really enjoyed giving out water. I got to practice a little French (thanks Dr. McNeel!) and look into the eyes of some faces I hope to see again in the OR.
It was an emotionally and physically exhausting day. I think I'm still processing the whole experience. From that screening patients were selected for the next 10 months of surgery here on the Africa Mercy.
We made history this Tuesday! All 6 operating rooms were up and running for the first time ever here on the ship. I'll have more to share about the OR's soon. For now, I'll just share that today I made my debut scrubbing in pediatric orthopedic surgeries. Assembling power drills, breaking bones to straighten bowed legs, lengthening the Achilles tendon... I'm learning so much!
Thanks for all the love and support guys! I love the e-mails and the comments here on the blog, too!
TTFN! -Ginger
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