Often I show my true self in the OR by dawning a special green hat before I go to retrieve my patient waiting on the pre-op bench. So one morning, I placed the pink flower on top and called for our next max-fax patient, Basse. I popped my head into the pre-area and I saw this little girl with her eyes right at me and smile already on her face. Dr. Gary was correcting a hole in her pharynx- the back of the throat. With this defect as well as a palate fistula, she is non-verbal, but her eyes told it all on how silly she thought I was with the flower on my head. I talked with her Mama a little and then we prayed for her before going back to the OR. The surgery went well and she recovered here on the ship for about a week before heading to our hospitality center. So as an operating room nurse, I rarely have an opportunity to see a patient again after surgery, but this was truly a blessing when I showed up at the hospitality center and Basse remembered me. Her eyes got so big and she motioned to her Mama while pointing to me. The rest of the day she was by my side, hand and hand- playing games, water balloon toss, or just enjoying the morning with other patients. Basse and her mother traveled hours from North Benin for this surgery that will change her life forever. We were unable to communicate because of the unknown northern dialects, but love is understood without translation. I do pray when Basse comes back to the ship in the fall to complete her mouth defect we will be reunited again, not just for the flower power, but for a restored hope in healing.
Often I show my true self in the OR by dawning a special green hat before I go to retrieve my patient waiting on the pre-op bench. So one morning, I placed the pink flower on top and called for our next max-fax patient, Basse. I popped my head into the pre-area and I saw this little girl with her eyes right at me and smile already on her face. Dr. Gary was correcting a hole in her pharynx- the back of the throat. With this defect as well as a palate fistula, she is non-verbal, but her eyes told it all on how silly she thought I was with the flower on my head. I talked with her Mama a little and then we prayed for her before going back to the OR. The surgery went well and she recovered here on the ship for about a week before heading to our hospitality center. So as an operating room nurse, I rarely have an opportunity to see a patient again after surgery, but this was truly a blessing when I showed up at the hospitality center and Basse remembered me. Her eyes got so big and she motioned to her Mama while pointing to me. The rest of the day she was by my side, hand and hand- playing games, water balloon toss, or just enjoying the morning with other patients. Basse and her mother traveled hours from North Benin for this surgery that will change her life forever. We were unable to communicate because of the unknown northern dialects, but love is understood without translation. I do pray when Basse comes back to the ship in the fall to complete her mouth defect we will be reunited again, not just for the flower power, but for a restored hope in healing.
2 comments:
What an awesome story!
beautiful post, beautifully written! the people here need you, i think you need to extend for another year!!! :)
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