The Bench

If you ever been onboard the Africa Mercy, you know where "the bench" is on deck 3. It may look like an ordinary bench that you find in a park or a train station, but this one is special. At the bottom of the red stairs that lead to the hospital, you will find it strategically placed right in between the wards and the operating room. When we are ready for our patient, we call the ward and have them meet us at the bench. This is where the ward and OR nurses come together to give report. The patient is given into another pair of caring hands to look after them. I believe this is the place where God enters into the picture even more so when we collectively as a team bow our heads with our patient and pray for healing. We acknowledge we can not do this surgery without God leading the surgeon's hands and giving wisdom to the team to take care of the patient. The bench its made out of solid brown oak slats and has a metal plaque on it dedicating it to a beloved crew member we lost last year, Lady Jean. In past outreaches, she used to sit there patiently waiting for cataract patients coming from theatre. As I wait for my patient to arrive from the ward, I take that moment to be still. In the operating room, my mind and body are going a hundred miles per hour as I work, but this is the place to pause and remember why I am here. I am here for Jesus. And second, for my patients.

Sweet Binta recovering after surgery.

At the bench, there are moments with my patients that I will cherish for a lifetime. Just a month ago, I met sweet Binta at the bench. In report that morning, our team learned that Binta's first surgery had to be cut short because she lost several units of blood. Something her body could not handle again despite the abnormal boney tumor taking over her face. As I waited for Binta at the bench, I took a moment to pray silently we could help her more without complication. Binta using her arm crutches walked toward me with a smile overwhelming her face. Since she was holding on to her crutches, she leaned into me for a hug as I wrapped my arms around this precious one. She had no shame nor fear, she had been at this bench before. I completed my nursing duties including the operative checklist and as a team we lifted Binta in prayer. Dr. George was able to do her surgery and remove more of the bone from her forehead in just a few hours and only one unit of blood was needed this time.

This morning we gathered in OR 4 once again- Dr. Gary, Dr. Michael, Maryke, Melanie, and I- to go through the day's schedule of patients. Our first patient, was 5-month old Moussa, who had a cyst on his head to be removed. We called "D" ward to tell them we were ready and I volunteered to pick up the little one at the bench. I went over the chart with Dan, the ward nurse, and talked with Moussa's mother. Then I offered to say a prayer for Moussa as I placed one hand on Mama's shoulder and another on Moussa, who was in Dan's arm. During the prayer, I felt a very wet and slobbery hand on cheek and looked up to see giggly Moussa staring intently at me. I finished up the prayer asking God to be with us in the room as we took care of him. I cuddled this chubby baby as much as I could as we got him hooked up to monitors. We started looking for an IV and that took over a hour to find, but God gave us one at the right time. It was a busy couple hours and a few stressful moments for the team working to take care of Moussa. As we carried him from the operating room to recovery right where the red stairs end, I had to remember to thank God for listening to our prayers just a few hours before at the bench.
I love meeting my patients at the bench, seeing them smile as I try the local dialect with the help of a translator. I cuddled the babies there. I connect with my patients when I look them in the eye and say their name. I hear a small laugh when I introduce myself as "Alimatu." I see hope beginning to form when they realize this is where the healing starts. More than anything, I love that I am able to pray for my patients and God meets us there at the bench every time.