The Mercy Ship

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0:00:03 > 0:00:05For those of you who weren't at Monday morning meeting,

0:00:05 > 0:00:07they talked about rabies.

0:00:07 > 0:00:09They say, do not feed the lemurs.

0:00:09 > 0:00:11They're just concerned because

0:00:11 > 0:00:15they've only got two more vaccine of rabies shots left.

0:00:55 > 0:00:57I'm not squeamish regarding this.

0:00:57 > 0:00:59Squeamish regarding other things like vomit.

0:00:59 > 0:01:01Don't do well with vomit.

0:01:01 > 0:01:05Once patients start vomiting, I nearly start and join them.

0:01:05 > 0:01:07It's not good.

0:01:07 > 0:01:09Dry boke a lot.

0:01:11 > 0:01:13That's happened a few times here.

0:01:13 > 0:01:17Yeah. It's just the smell.

0:01:17 > 0:01:18Blood, no bother. Yeah.

0:01:20 > 0:01:24Cathy, you are sucking diesel.

0:01:24 > 0:01:26Don't scream yet.

0:01:26 > 0:01:27Do a little squeeze every ten seconds,

0:01:27 > 0:01:29let's see if we can keep it.

0:01:29 > 0:01:32No bother. I would high-five you now, but I'm not going to move.

0:01:38 > 0:01:42When I heard about Madagascar, I was like, "I want to go to Africa."

0:01:42 > 0:01:44And the people were like, "Rachel, that is Africa."

0:01:44 > 0:01:47But to me, in my mind, that wasn't Africa,

0:01:47 > 0:01:49it wasn't the main continent.

0:01:49 > 0:01:51They were like, "But it's such an amazing place and loads of people

0:01:51 > 0:01:55"would love to go there." And I was like, "That's great, let them go."

0:01:55 > 0:01:57I'm not that fussed about...

0:01:57 > 0:02:00I just wanted to go and help people that needed help.

0:02:02 > 0:02:05My mum passed away when I was younger

0:02:05 > 0:02:09and my dad and I cared for her at home.

0:02:09 > 0:02:13And if I had to do that again, I would completely in a heartbeat.

0:02:13 > 0:02:17That changed what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

0:02:17 > 0:02:22And that led me into nursing and that opened the doors

0:02:22 > 0:02:25for me going abroad and helping people.

0:02:28 > 0:02:30And when I'm doing this, I feel alive,

0:02:30 > 0:02:34like I'm doing what I was born to do.

0:02:34 > 0:02:36And I love it, I really love it.

0:02:36 > 0:02:41It doesn't mean I don't have hard times, and days where I'm like,

0:02:41 > 0:02:46what am I doing, but life's for living, isn't it?

0:02:46 > 0:02:48Yolo!

0:02:48 > 0:02:50Boom!

0:02:50 > 0:02:51Northern Ireland's on the map.

0:03:00 > 0:03:01CHILDREN SING AND CHAT

0:03:56 > 0:03:58When you first came, it was just you, was it?

0:03:58 > 0:04:01There was me and actually a physio called Gerry O'Connor

0:04:01 > 0:04:05and he was from home as well. So it was very exciting,

0:04:05 > 0:04:08I remember standing in the cafe line and people used to come up to us and

0:04:08 > 0:04:10ask us to speak to each other,

0:04:10 > 0:04:13like talk to each other because they wanted to hear our accent.

0:04:13 > 0:04:15And there was another guy, Joel, came,

0:04:15 > 0:04:19he drove his campervan from Lisburn to Togo.

0:04:19 > 0:04:21Right through Africa.

0:04:21 > 0:04:24I will never forget sitting in the dining room

0:04:24 > 0:04:27and this VW van pulled up

0:04:27 > 0:04:30into the dock and I looked down and went, "Holy smokes,

0:04:30 > 0:04:33"that's a Northern Ireland numberplate. How can that be?"

0:04:33 > 0:04:36There's been a few come and gone,

0:04:36 > 0:04:39but never as many as there is this year.

0:04:41 > 0:04:43It's Louise, Louise, Louise, yes.

0:04:43 > 0:04:45You'll may be able to help me.

0:04:45 > 0:04:47I sent over an e-mail to say that two patients

0:04:47 > 0:04:51are going to the clinic, but I didn't attach the census.

0:04:51 > 0:04:53Are you expecting two patients?

0:04:54 > 0:04:58No, the lady with the leprosy is in the isolation room.

0:05:01 > 0:05:04- What's the craic, love?- Not much. - Not much!

0:05:11 > 0:05:13Can you imagine this being your life, Louise?

0:05:15 > 0:05:17Could you once imagine it being yours?

0:05:17 > 0:05:19No, I couldn't.

0:05:19 > 0:05:20- Could you, Rachel?- What?

0:05:20 > 0:05:23Could you imagine this being your life at any point?

0:05:23 > 0:05:25- What?- This cabin.

0:05:27 > 0:05:29No!

0:05:29 > 0:05:31Before we came to Mercy Ship,

0:05:31 > 0:05:33Rachel and I spent six months working in a rural hospital

0:05:33 > 0:05:36in the north of Madagascar.

0:05:36 > 0:05:40That gave us a chance to see what good health care in Madagascar

0:05:40 > 0:05:46was like and for us, coming from hospitals in Northern Ireland,

0:05:46 > 0:05:51we knew that even the best health care in Madagascar was,

0:05:51 > 0:05:54it was such a struggle to provide it.

0:05:54 > 0:05:57I was so excited about coming to Mercy Ship,

0:05:57 > 0:05:59I couldn't wait because I thought this is my chance to give

0:05:59 > 0:06:01these patients what they deserve.

0:06:01 > 0:06:05I didn't ever think of 400 people living on a ship,

0:06:05 > 0:06:09I didn't think of working with no windows or living in a cabin with

0:06:09 > 0:06:10no windows.

0:06:12 > 0:06:15It was difficult, the adjustment initially.

0:06:15 > 0:06:17Definitely.

0:06:18 > 0:06:20Ready to go?

0:06:20 > 0:06:22We're off to work.

0:06:25 > 0:06:30I've been here since October, so that's four months.

0:06:31 > 0:06:33Well, now I know some Malagasy.

0:06:35 > 0:06:40I had to ask someone have they had a bowel movement.

0:06:40 > 0:06:43Very technical nursing words.

0:06:43 > 0:06:46You wouldn't really need to know in everyday conversations...

0:06:48 > 0:06:50Thank you.

0:06:56 > 0:06:58Somebody fill in the potholes, please.

0:07:23 > 0:07:27I was born and reared here, so I've been here all my life.

0:07:27 > 0:07:28I would be third-generation.

0:07:28 > 0:07:31It's the type of us, we seem stay in the one area,

0:07:31 > 0:07:35we are not people that up roots very quickly and leave,

0:07:35 > 0:07:38we just...are happy with our lot.

0:07:38 > 0:07:41Hopefully it will stay another generation.

0:07:53 > 0:07:56We were surprised Lynette was ever going to be a nurse.

0:07:56 > 0:07:58I was outside one time doing some farm work

0:07:58 > 0:08:01and I happened to cut my knee.

0:08:01 > 0:08:04- With the chainsaw.- ..with the chainsaw and Lynette was only a wee...

0:08:04 > 0:08:06I don't know what age she would have been?

0:08:06 > 0:08:10- Quite young, five or six maybe. - Aye and Lynette,

0:08:10 > 0:08:13she had looked and seen all this blood and she had passed out.

0:08:13 > 0:08:17And that's where the comment come, you'd be not much good,

0:08:17 > 0:08:19well, you'd definitely not be a nurse.

0:08:19 > 0:08:21So how wrong we were!

0:08:24 > 0:08:27Here, or in hospitals even she worked in,

0:08:27 > 0:08:29people, they don't be thankful enough

0:08:29 > 0:08:34for what they have got until you see what they haven't got.

0:08:34 > 0:08:38Even in medical equipment, she would have been giving off about...

0:08:38 > 0:08:40- Wastage.- ..wastage here in the NHS,

0:08:40 > 0:08:43that we threw out this and we threw out that.

0:08:43 > 0:08:48If we only had that when I was in Sierra Leone, or I was away in...

0:08:48 > 0:08:51- Nigeria.- ..Nigeria. - Using a Coke bottle for

0:08:51 > 0:08:53the drip.

0:08:53 > 0:08:58She is happy at home, but she likes to get away and help others who are

0:08:58 > 0:09:02less fortunate. I could see her doing that long-term.

0:09:05 > 0:09:07- WOMAN:- And how do you feel about it?

0:09:23 > 0:09:28It can be difficult, but if it's something

0:09:28 > 0:09:31Lynette...Lynette wants to do, then we wouldn't stop her,

0:09:31 > 0:09:33we're happy for her.

0:09:38 > 0:09:40There's many a family out there who

0:09:40 > 0:09:45doesn't see their kids for far worse reasons.

0:09:45 > 0:09:48Lynette got so much support.

0:09:48 > 0:09:49Young people...

0:09:49 > 0:09:53Hold on, I'd love to do that, but I'm not fit to go away

0:09:53 > 0:09:56to Sierra Leone or away to Africa.

0:09:56 > 0:09:59But you know, there's a few pound, Lynette. Go you.

0:10:07 > 0:10:09Let's have a look and see.

0:10:12 > 0:10:16At age one and a half years is when children begin to speak.

0:10:16 > 0:10:21So it's important the hole between his mouth and his nose

0:10:21 > 0:10:24is closed now so as he starts to learn to speak,

0:10:24 > 0:10:27he'll be able to speak properly.

0:10:27 > 0:10:32So we can make an operation for the inside of the mouth and also to make

0:10:32 > 0:10:34the lip a better shape also.

0:10:38 > 0:10:40- Do you want to make a list?- Yes. - Awesome.

0:10:40 > 0:10:44I can make a list about the things I love about your list.

0:10:44 > 0:10:47- What's that?- Flip-flops.

0:10:47 > 0:10:48They're like primary colours.

0:10:48 > 0:10:51They look so much more manly on the internet!

0:10:51 > 0:10:54It's hard to pack for six months.

0:10:54 > 0:10:59Jennifer and I were meant to both fly out tomorrow with everyone else

0:10:59 > 0:11:02but my interview for a surgical scheme job next year got moved back

0:11:02 > 0:11:05by about a week to what I expected, so I had to change my flights.

0:11:05 > 0:11:08If I'd waited to go out with Ryan,

0:11:08 > 0:11:11it would have meant that it would have been a gap in the rehab team,

0:11:11 > 0:11:13they would have had one less.

0:11:13 > 0:11:15It's the longest we've been apart in a long time.

0:11:15 > 0:11:18Since we got married. We've never been apart for more than

0:11:18 > 0:11:21a couple of days. So, it'll be different.

0:11:21 > 0:11:24She's definitely going to cry when she leaves.

0:11:24 > 0:11:26- I'm not going to cry. - You're so going to cry!

0:11:30 > 0:11:33They'll be nine of us from Northern Ireland.

0:11:33 > 0:11:34Wow, in the three weeks when you're there?

0:11:34 > 0:11:36Hope it all goes well for you, as it will, I'm sure.

0:11:36 > 0:11:38When are you back?

0:11:38 > 0:11:40Er, 20th.

0:11:40 > 0:11:43So it's three weeks this time. They're still looking for

0:11:43 > 0:11:45- radiographers, you know that? - Is that right?

0:11:46 > 0:11:48Those are coming out.

0:11:48 > 0:11:50Those are coming out to go into something that they

0:11:50 > 0:11:52- will not be crushed.- In a shoebox.

0:11:52 > 0:11:55Exactly. They have to be preserved,

0:11:55 > 0:11:57I will think of a way of packing them.

0:11:57 > 0:11:59No, no, they're coming.

0:11:59 > 0:12:02People would say you should roll them up but I really,

0:12:02 > 0:12:04psychologically can't roll anything up.

0:12:04 > 0:12:07- Can you sit on it?- I don't think I need to sit on it.

0:12:07 > 0:12:09This is not good.

0:12:09 > 0:12:12We've got it down, it's all right.

0:12:12 > 0:12:13Bye, little house.

0:12:15 > 0:12:19- Passport, phone?- Whatever I don't have is not coming.

0:12:26 > 0:12:28- Ready.- Ready.- Let's go.- Let's do it.

0:12:28 > 0:12:30Bye.

0:12:30 > 0:12:34We see it as missionary work and by doing it with medicine

0:12:34 > 0:12:36and not just the outreach, then you

0:12:36 > 0:12:40know for certain that their leg is now better,

0:12:40 > 0:12:42you know for certain that they can now walk.

0:12:42 > 0:12:45So you know you've made a difference, physically to their life.

0:12:45 > 0:12:48If they were singing How Great Thou Art by the end of the trip as well,

0:12:48 > 0:12:50that would be good.

0:12:50 > 0:12:52It's not a failure, either way.

0:12:56 > 0:12:58How heavy do think my bag is going to be?

0:12:58 > 0:13:0121.7 kilos.

0:13:01 > 0:13:0322.23.

0:13:03 > 0:13:04THEY LAUGH

0:13:08 > 0:13:11- Are you travelling on your own? - Yes, I am.

0:13:11 > 0:13:13- What's your final destination? - Madagascar, Antananarivo.

0:13:14 > 0:13:16I love you.

0:13:16 > 0:13:17Bye.

0:13:19 > 0:13:21See you later.

0:13:31 > 0:13:32Are you excited?

0:13:34 > 0:13:37Can we go on the ship?

0:13:38 > 0:13:39Stop for a rest halfway up.

0:13:42 > 0:13:44It's a work-out and a half.

0:13:44 > 0:13:46How are you?

0:13:46 > 0:13:47Good to see you.

0:13:47 > 0:13:51- Good to see you too. - How was your flight?

0:13:51 > 0:13:52- No bother at all.- Emotional?

0:13:55 > 0:13:58Yeah.

0:13:58 > 0:14:02You have to come down to the cabin and get your crisps.

0:14:04 > 0:14:05BABY CRIES

0:14:07 > 0:14:09It's all right.

0:14:09 > 0:14:11OR has called. They're ready in

0:14:11 > 0:14:14about half an hour to take him to surgery.

0:14:22 > 0:14:23Three, four, five, six.

0:14:23 > 0:14:25Forceps, just seven.

0:14:56 > 0:14:57All righty.

0:14:59 > 0:15:01See what you can do.

0:15:01 > 0:15:03No rush.

0:15:10 > 0:15:12Thank you.

0:15:12 > 0:15:13We tell them everything,

0:15:13 > 0:15:16but how much they understand is probably quite limited.

0:15:16 > 0:15:20Their baby has a cleft lip and two people come from the operating

0:15:20 > 0:15:25room, or the theatre and lift their child and take them in there,

0:15:25 > 0:15:27that's the unknown.

0:15:27 > 0:15:29So they have to put a lot of trust in it.

0:15:29 > 0:15:32And sometimes I've seen a few occasions like the mum just sitting

0:15:32 > 0:15:35at the bed just crying after the baby has gone

0:15:35 > 0:15:37and the doors are closed.

0:15:37 > 0:15:42And you just wonder, what is she thinking, what fears does she have?

0:15:42 > 0:15:46You do have to place a bit of trust in people.

0:15:46 > 0:15:50I commend them for that because it is a big step, even at home.

0:15:50 > 0:15:52I don't know what it's like for a kid to go through surgery,

0:15:52 > 0:15:55but, my word, you'd be scared.

0:15:55 > 0:15:58So I can imagine it's the same here.

0:16:23 > 0:16:25HE CRIES

0:16:43 > 0:16:45I'm looking for Robin.

0:16:45 > 0:16:48- She's there. - Hiya. Hi, Robin.

0:16:48 > 0:16:49- I'm Jennifer.- How are you?

0:16:49 > 0:16:53- Very nice to meet you.- Welcome. - Thank you.

0:16:53 > 0:16:55- Hi!- Hello.

0:16:55 > 0:16:58- Jenny?- I'm Jen.- Nice to meet you.

0:16:58 > 0:17:00Hello. Pleased to meet you.

0:17:02 > 0:17:05We've got a burn contraction of the neck.

0:17:05 > 0:17:09Oh, wow, yes. Would he mind if I watched?

0:17:09 > 0:17:10- OK.- Straight.

0:17:14 > 0:17:16About there. That's straight, OK?

0:17:18 > 0:17:21Do you want to see if you can do it a little bit more?

0:17:21 > 0:17:22MAN TRANSLATES

0:17:24 > 0:17:27Just a little bit of passive, see if we can go any further.

0:17:29 > 0:17:32Does she mind if I put my hands on her head, is that OK?

0:17:35 > 0:17:36Just try and stretch.

0:17:38 > 0:17:41And then come over to this side.

0:17:46 > 0:17:49- Is that OK? TRANSLATOR:- It's painful.

0:17:49 > 0:17:51- OK.- Thank you.

0:17:53 > 0:17:55It's five degrees more.

0:17:56 > 0:17:57Is that left?

0:18:00 > 0:18:01Go the other way.

0:18:07 > 0:18:09Try and keep facing me.

0:19:04 > 0:19:05Is he a little bit frightened?

0:19:08 > 0:19:11It will be all right. We do have to do one little blood test today.

0:19:11 > 0:19:14Just a blood test to see if his blood is strong.

0:19:14 > 0:19:17Is it OK if we pray together?

0:19:17 > 0:19:18SHE TRANSLATES

0:19:19 > 0:19:22Lord Jesus, we thank you for this little boy, Florentine.

0:19:22 > 0:19:26We pray that you will bring healing to his little right hand and he be

0:19:26 > 0:19:29able to use it very well in the future.

0:19:29 > 0:19:33We pray that he will know your love by the way that we love him.

0:19:33 > 0:19:35In Jesus' name, amen.

0:19:37 > 0:19:39OK. High five.

0:19:39 > 0:19:40Good. OK.

0:20:12 > 0:20:14Good day. Hello, Michael.

0:20:14 > 0:20:15Anaesthetic doctor.

0:20:15 > 0:20:20Can you help me translate for young Florentine?

0:20:20 > 0:20:21Hello.

0:20:21 > 0:20:25I am Dr Michael, OK?

0:20:25 > 0:20:30Anaesthetic doctor. I will be looking after Floratine tomorrow.

0:20:30 > 0:20:31HE TRANSLATES

0:20:34 > 0:20:39We will see Floratine first thing in the morning at about 8.30,

0:20:39 > 0:20:43and when he comes into the operating theatre we'll give him a little mask

0:20:43 > 0:20:45to breathe and he'll go off to sleep.

0:20:50 > 0:20:52See you tomorrow, OK?

0:20:52 > 0:20:56See you tomorrow. Good lad.

0:21:01 > 0:21:02Sorry.

0:21:03 > 0:21:06The kid's got a wee thing called Poland syndrome,

0:21:06 > 0:21:08which I'd never heard of before.

0:21:08 > 0:21:11It's just congenital abnormality of this muscle and this wasted arm.

0:21:11 > 0:21:14- You'd never seen it before? - I've never seen this before,

0:21:14 > 0:21:17most things out here I haven't seen before.

0:21:19 > 0:21:23In the extremes that we see them in, or the ages that we see them in.

0:21:35 > 0:21:38In many African countries where the Mercy Ship work,

0:21:38 > 0:21:43maternity care is very poor and that means the people who live in remote

0:21:43 > 0:21:46villages are dependent on family members,

0:21:46 > 0:21:51or a local midwife who is not actually trained as a midwife to

0:21:51 > 0:21:53deliver their baby.

0:21:53 > 0:21:55Often the baby gets stuck.

0:21:55 > 0:21:57And in that process, for days,

0:21:57 > 0:22:00that often pierces a hole into their bladder or their rectum

0:22:00 > 0:22:03and that will result in their urine

0:22:03 > 0:22:06or their faeces coming through their vagina

0:22:06 > 0:22:10and that means they'll lose all control over

0:22:10 > 0:22:13their bladder or their bowel habits.

0:22:16 > 0:22:19The baby will still be inside them and they'll have to deliver a stillborn baby.

0:22:21 > 0:22:25For me, I had a...

0:22:25 > 0:22:27I just couldn't function whenever

0:22:27 > 0:22:30I comprehend what they've been through.

0:22:30 > 0:22:36I've been blessed, I was born in Northern Ireland where I have everything at my beck and call.

0:22:36 > 0:22:39How will I perceive it if I lived in a country like

0:22:39 > 0:22:44this and was abandoned by my family and all my friends?

0:22:44 > 0:22:48I don't know that I would cope as well as many of them have.

0:22:54 > 0:22:55LOUISE SPEAKS MALAGASY

0:23:12 > 0:23:14You know there's a hole in her bladder,

0:23:14 > 0:23:19it goes to the vagina so what we were planning to do,

0:23:19 > 0:23:22after she's given some anaesthesia,

0:23:22 > 0:23:26we'll just go through the vagina and try to repair that hole.

0:23:26 > 0:23:28SHE TRANSLATES

0:23:36 > 0:23:40Now, sometimes people who have surgery have bleeding problems.

0:23:40 > 0:23:42Sometimes the surgery is unsuccessful,

0:23:42 > 0:23:46so we usually ask our patients to really pray a lot that God will

0:23:46 > 0:23:50bring healing, because we can stitch the hole together,

0:23:50 > 0:23:52but only God can make it, you know, well.

0:23:55 > 0:23:58We are going to try our best and pray to God will give us success.

0:24:23 > 0:24:26Sometimes our problems in this lifetime won't go away.

0:24:26 > 0:24:30Like they won't be healed physically,

0:24:30 > 0:24:31but when you come into a relationship

0:24:31 > 0:24:35like I have a relationship with Jesus,

0:24:35 > 0:24:38that's where you find your hope.

0:24:38 > 0:24:42Without him, I think I would become very depressed.

0:24:44 > 0:24:46I think I'd see the reality

0:24:46 > 0:24:51that without him, there is little hope.

0:24:53 > 0:24:55They've had loss of their babies,

0:24:55 > 0:24:58they've had their husbands just disown them,

0:24:58 > 0:25:02they've had a life that's been shattered and taken away from them.

0:25:02 > 0:25:05But when you share Jesus with them, that can never be taken from us.

0:25:05 > 0:25:07That's something that will last.

0:25:09 > 0:25:11Smile. Smile.

0:25:27 > 0:25:29- See you afterwards.- Bye.

0:25:49 > 0:25:51- So, we have 120 at the moment. - Yes, 36.4.

0:25:56 > 0:25:57One, two, three...

0:26:03 > 0:26:07For a little kiddie, you'll never know what life would have been life without it being fixed.

0:26:07 > 0:26:10So that's a huge thing to think about.

0:26:10 > 0:26:13And of course, this boat takes on everybody, race, religion, creed.

0:26:13 > 0:26:16And it does, and it offers it unconditionally,

0:26:16 > 0:26:18so they don't do it for that purpose,

0:26:18 > 0:26:21but we look perhaps with hope to the future

0:26:21 > 0:26:23that he will build a faith, and build a faith in Jesus,

0:26:23 > 0:26:26who the people on this ship have their faith in

0:26:26 > 0:26:29and he will then live a life full of colour,

0:26:29 > 0:26:33and hope and opportunity and be able to share that with others.

0:26:33 > 0:26:35I suppose that's why we're here.

0:26:46 > 0:26:47So that he maybe will question.

0:26:53 > 0:26:56I've come to do a job, I'm happy to do the job, I love doing the work.

0:26:56 > 0:27:00I love working with the people I'm working with because everybody knows

0:27:00 > 0:27:01what they're at.

0:27:01 > 0:27:03When you think,

0:27:03 > 0:27:06everybody on that ship, probably bar the day crew,

0:27:06 > 0:27:09are working for nothing.

0:27:09 > 0:27:12There's not many people in the world would work for free.

0:27:12 > 0:27:16You do get to mix with people you wouldn't necessarily mix with.

0:27:20 > 0:27:22Prior to all of this,

0:27:22 > 0:27:25I wouldn't necessarily have been particularly comfortable

0:27:25 > 0:27:29in the company of Christians, born-again Christians.

0:27:29 > 0:27:33I always felt a wee bit overpowered and overwhelmed.

0:27:33 > 0:27:37And it can occasionally feel like that on ship,

0:27:37 > 0:27:40but it doesn't really matter.

0:27:40 > 0:27:45Those women have been ostracised by family, friends, villagers,

0:27:45 > 0:27:47referred to as being dirty.

0:27:47 > 0:27:51And when you've seen the surgery, some of it was just so simple.

0:27:52 > 0:27:55Nobody here could do that, apart from on the ship.

0:28:01 > 0:28:03Ooh, sore?

0:28:03 > 0:28:05SHE SPEAKS MALAGASY

0:28:11 > 0:28:13This one. OK.

0:28:17 > 0:28:19Keep going, keep going.

0:28:23 > 0:28:24Well done! Good job.

0:28:25 > 0:28:27You're getting further.

0:28:28 > 0:28:29OK.

0:28:53 > 0:28:54Hi.

0:29:01 > 0:29:04- I missed you. - I missed you too.

0:29:04 > 0:29:07- Look at you in scrubs. - So glad you're here.

0:29:07 > 0:29:09Me too.

0:29:12 > 0:29:15- Working hard?- Can you believe it? - No, I've seen the wee room.

0:29:15 > 0:29:18- It's lovely.- Isn't it class? - It is. Your badge.

0:29:18 > 0:29:20Here, you got yours.

0:29:21 > 0:29:23You're here!

0:30:54 > 0:30:58The hardest thing in screening is to say no to somebody that have walked

0:30:58 > 0:31:03for days and spent all their money to come to you for help.

0:31:03 > 0:31:05But you know you can't help them.

0:31:05 > 0:31:08One, it's not a surgical problem they have.

0:31:08 > 0:31:14Or number two, it's too complicated for even Mercy Ship to even do.

0:31:14 > 0:31:17You're not going to be able to help everyone because it's not possible.

0:31:38 > 0:31:41How many years has this been enlarged for?

0:31:44 > 0:31:48The other thing to look for with the big one is any big veins.

0:31:53 > 0:31:57I think this is all thyroid gland when it comes right up here like this.

0:31:57 > 0:32:00Begin to wonder whether its lymph nodes.

0:32:26 > 0:32:29My name is Brian, I'm one of the doctors.

0:32:29 > 0:32:32Does she ever feel like her heart is skipping beats in her chest and

0:32:32 > 0:32:34jumping around?

0:32:34 > 0:32:35SHE TRANSLATES

0:32:41 > 0:32:44Does she ever find her hands are shaking and trembling?

0:32:44 > 0:32:45SHE TRANSLATES

0:32:52 > 0:32:55The oxygen levels in her blood are perfect, her lungs sound perfect,

0:32:55 > 0:32:58so really happy we can get her on board this afternoon.

0:33:05 > 0:33:09Have you seen her CT scan, has she had a CT scan?

0:33:09 > 0:33:12I'm not sure.

0:33:12 > 0:33:14Could you have her bring it up?

0:33:14 > 0:33:17Scroll it like that.

0:33:17 > 0:33:20That's what I want right there, nice and clear.

0:33:23 > 0:33:25It's called a goitre.

0:33:25 > 0:33:30It's a very non-specific term, just an enlarged thyroid gland.

0:33:30 > 0:33:35Hers is a super enlarged thyroid gland, which has taken years,

0:33:35 > 0:33:38decades to grow to that level.

0:33:38 > 0:33:41The reality is eventually it will suffocate her.

0:33:41 > 0:33:42There's nothing easy about it,

0:33:42 > 0:33:47it's on the limits of doable and the extremes of being actual possible.

0:33:59 > 0:34:01OK. Let's go.

0:34:49 > 0:34:54You seen that vague white fibre there, just teasing it around.

0:34:54 > 0:34:58That's a recurrent laryngeal nerve, so that's your talking nerve,

0:34:58 > 0:35:04and your breathing nerve, too, to some extent. So if you damage one, you can't talk very well,

0:35:04 > 0:35:07and if you damage two, you can't breathe very well.

0:35:07 > 0:35:11When you get a chance I'll take another unit of blood, please.

0:35:11 > 0:35:129.2.

0:35:25 > 0:35:2611.87.

0:35:26 > 0:35:27Nearly 1.2 kilos.

0:35:27 > 0:35:28Yes.

0:36:34 > 0:36:35We think she's doing great.

0:36:41 > 0:36:43- Her voice is excellent. - She's fine.

0:36:43 > 0:36:45Her voice sounds the same.

0:37:13 > 0:37:14So that's us.

0:37:49 > 0:37:52Ever since day one I come onto the ship,

0:37:52 > 0:37:54people come and go two or three times a week.

0:37:54 > 0:37:58So you might come with a group of people and they are there for two months

0:37:58 > 0:38:02and you're staying on. It is hard to see them go and it does hurt.

0:38:02 > 0:38:04'It hurts the heart.'

0:38:16 > 0:38:18Great to see you.

0:38:18 > 0:38:21I don't have anything holding me at home,

0:38:21 > 0:38:25so I'm free to go and do kind of what I want to do

0:38:25 > 0:38:27and this is what I've chosen.