After an exciting month of preparations, surgeries began this week and it was very exciting to finally witness everything first hand!!!

For the last month I have been working to set up the hospital for patients, which mostly involved moving lots of boxes and updating our inventory system in the computer. This week I began my routine that I will follow during most of our field service in Dakar. Now that the hospital is running I have quickly come to learn that my job has multiple perks.

1. I have access to witness the entire hospital operation

This is rare, as the hospital is partitioned and access is limited to certain people on the ship depending on their department. I get to see all aspects of work onboard the “Hospital Ship”, including witnessing extreme transformations up close. I see the patients as they are admitted to the ship, as they are prepared for surgery, following surgery, and after they are released from the hospital ward. Apparently I will also have the opportunity to watch a surgery in person, not sure if I will take that offer though.

• I get to interact with patients on a daily basis

My job has me restocking the hospital wards everyday.  The wards are where the patients stay before and following surgery.  The cabinets I have to restock are behind the patients’ beds which means every cabinet I stock comes with a patient interaction.  Patients are restricted to a portion of the ship for their safety & privacy which prevents most of the crew from ever coming in contact with them.

Going into this job I was unsure how I would handle such an increase in personal interactions. Despite what you may have heard, us engineers are not the most social of beings. This job has increased my daily personal interactions to increase exponentially from when I worked in my office of (4) engineers in Montana. Not only has the quantity of interactions increased but also the complexity due to the numerous languages and cultures involved on the ship.

So far I am happy to report that my coworkers have been joys to work with and I greatly look forward to my future interactions with patients. In fact one of my greatest joys has been greeting patients in the hallways and in their rooms. My coworkers all speak wonderful English but this is not the case with our patients. Despite the language barrier I have found that a simple smile and a greeting in their local language, Wolof, brings a big smile to their face and in some cases, laughter. I am choosing to believe they are laughing with me rather than at me. 

It is of note that many of our patients suffer from disfiguring conditions and some have been socially ostracized by their family and peers. In these cases a simple greeting goes a long way to acknowledging the person behind the condition they suffer from. I look forward to learning more Wolof so I can more effectively communicate with our patients and hopefully contribute to their healing process as many of our patients require restoration beyond their physical conditions.

Outside of work I have had the chance to explore Dakar and have found it to be a wonderful city full of excitement and friendly people.  The people here are very warm and welcoming. It is true that some people only speak to you so that you will eventually go to their shop to inspect their wares but just as many people have genuinely welcomed us to their country.

This first month has been a whirlwind of transition and I welcome the new routine of hospital operation.  Thank you for all your continued support of thoughts and prayers.