The Mercy Ship True North

For those of you who weren't at Monday morning meeting,

they talked about rabies.

They say, do not feed the lemurs.

They're just concerned because

they've only got two more vaccine of rabies shots left.

I'm not squeamish regarding this.

Squeamish regarding other things like vomit.

Don't do well with vomit.

Once patients start vomiting, I nearly start and join them.

It's not good.

Dry boke a lot.

That's happened a few times here.

Yeah. It's just the smell.

Blood, no bother. Yeah.

Cathy, you are sucking diesel.

Don't scream yet.

Do a little squeeze every ten seconds,

let's see if we can keep it.

No bother. I would high-five you now, but I'm not going to move.

When I heard about Madagascar, I was like, "I want to go to Africa."

And the people were like, "Rachel, that is Africa."

But to me, in my mind, that wasn't Africa,

it wasn't the main continent.

They were like, "But it's such an amazing place and loads of people

"would love to go there." And I was like, "That's great, let them go."

I'm not that fussed about...

I just wanted to go and help people that needed help.

My mum passed away when I was younger

and my dad and I cared for her at home.

And if I had to do that again, I would completely in a heartbeat.

That changed what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

And that led me into nursing and that opened the doors

for me going abroad and helping people.

And when I'm doing this, I feel alive,

like I'm doing what I was born to do.

And I love it, I really love it.

It doesn't mean I don't have hard times, and days where I'm like,

what am I doing, but life's for living, isn't it?

Yolo!

Boom!

Northern Ireland's on the map.

CHILDREN SING AND CHAT

When you first came, it was just you, was it?

There was me and actually a physio called Gerry O'Connor

and he was from home as well. So it was very exciting,

I remember standing in the cafe line and people used to come up to us and

ask us to speak to each other,

like talk to each other because they wanted to hear our accent.

And there was another guy, Joel, came,

he drove his campervan from Lisburn to Togo.

Right through Africa.

I will never forget sitting in the dining room

and this VW van pulled up

into the dock and I looked down and went, "Holy smokes,

"that's a Northern Ireland numberplate. How can that be?"

There's been a few come and gone,

but never as many as there is this year.

It's Louise, Louise, Louise, yes.

You'll may be able to help me.

I sent over an e-mail to say that two patients

are going to the clinic, but I didn't attach the census.

Are you expecting two patients?

No, the lady with the leprosy is in the isolation room.

-What's the craic, love?

-Not much.

-Not much!

Can you imagine this being your life, Louise?

Could you once imagine it being yours?

No, I couldn't.

-Could you, Rachel?

-What?

Could you imagine this being your life at any point?

-What?

-This cabin.

No!

Before we came to Mercy Ship,

Rachel and I spent six months working in a rural hospital

in the north of Madagascar.

That gave us a chance to see what good health care in Madagascar

was like and for us, coming from hospitals in Northern Ireland,

we knew that even the best health care in Madagascar was,

it was such a struggle to provide it.

I was so excited about coming to Mercy Ship,

I couldn't wait because I thought this is my chance to give

these patients what they deserve.

I didn't ever think of 400 people living on a ship,

I didn't think of working with no windows or living in a cabin with

no windows.

It was difficult, the adjustment initially.

Definitely.

Ready to go?

We're off to work.

I've been here since October, so that's four months.

Well, now I know some Malagasy.

I had to ask someone have they had a bowel movement.

Very technical nursing words.

You wouldn't really need to know in everyday conversations...

Thank you.

Somebody fill in the potholes, please.

I was born and reared here, so I've been here all my life.

I would be third-generation.

It's the type of us, we seem stay in the one area,

we are not people that up roots very quickly and leave,

we just...are happy with our lot.

Hopefully it will stay another generation.

We were surprised Lynette was ever going to be a nurse.

I was outside one time doing some farm work

and I happened to cut my knee.

-With the chainsaw.

-..with the chainsaw and Lynette was only a wee...

I don't know what age she would have been?

-Quite young, five or six maybe.

-Aye and Lynette,

she had looked and seen all this blood and she had passed out.

And that's where the comment come, you'd be not much good,

well, you'd definitely not be a nurse.

So how wrong we were!

Here, or in hospitals even she worked in,

people, they don't be thankful enough

for what they have got until you see what they haven't got.

Even in medical equipment, she would have been giving off about...

-Wastage.

-..wastage here in the NHS,

that we threw out this and we threw out that.

If we only had that when I was in Sierra Leone, or I was away in...

-Nigeria.

-..Nigeria.

-Using a Coke bottle for

the drip.

She is happy at home, but she likes to get away and help others who are

less fortunate. I could see her doing that long-term.

-WOMAN:

-And how do you feel about it?

It can be difficult, but if it's something

Lynette...Lynette wants to do, then we wouldn't stop her,

we're happy for her.

There's many a family out there who

doesn't see their kids for far worse reasons.

Lynette got so much support.

Young people...

Hold on, I'd love to do that, but I'm not fit to go away

to Sierra Leone or away to Africa.

But you know, there's a few pound, Lynette. Go you.

Let's have a look and see.

At age one and a half years is when children begin to speak.

So it's important the hole between his mouth and his nose

is closed now so as he starts to learn to speak,

he'll be able to speak properly.

So we can make an operation for the inside of the mouth and also to make

the lip a better shape also.

-Do you want to make a list?

-Yes.

-Awesome.

I can make a list about the things I love about your list.

-What's that?

-Flip-flops.

They're like primary colours.

They look so much more manly on the internet!

It's hard to pack for six months.

Jennifer and I were meant to both fly out tomorrow with everyone else

but my interview for a surgical scheme job next year got moved back

by about a week to what I expected, so I had to change my flights.

If I'd waited to go out with Ryan,

it would have meant that it would have been a gap in the rehab team,

they would have had one less.

It's the longest we've been apart in a long time.

Since we got married. We've never been apart for more than

a couple of days. So, it'll be different.

She's definitely going to cry when she leaves.

-I'm not going to cry.

-You're so going to cry!

They'll be nine of us from Northern Ireland.

Wow, in the three weeks when you're there?

Hope it all goes well for you, as it will, I'm sure.

When are you back?

Er, 20th.

So it's three weeks this time. They're still looking for

-radiographers, you know that?

-Is that right?

Those are coming out.

Those are coming out to go into something that they

-will not be crushed.

-In a shoebox.

Exactly. They have to be preserved,

I will think of a way of packing them.

No, no, they're coming.

People would say you should roll them up but I really,

psychologically can't roll anything up.

-Can you sit on it?

-I don't think I need to sit on it.

This is not good.

We've got it down, it's all right.

Bye, little house.

-Passport, phone?

-Whatever I don't have is not coming.

-Ready.

-Ready.

-Let's go.

-Let's do it.

Bye.

We see it as missionary work and by doing it with medicine

and not just the outreach, then you

know for certain that their leg is now better,

you know for certain that they can now walk.

So you know you've made a difference, physically to their life.

If they were singing How Great Thou Art by the end of the trip as well,

that would be good.

It's not a failure, either way.

How heavy do think my bag is going to be?

21.7 kilos.

22.23.

THEY LAUGH

-Are you travelling on your own?

-Yes, I am.

-What's your final destination?

-Madagascar, Antananarivo.

I love you.

Bye.

See you later.

Are you excited?

Can we go on the ship?

Stop for a rest halfway up.

It's a work-out and a half.

How are you?

Good to see you.

-Good to see you too.

-How was your flight?

-No bother at all.

-Emotional?

Yeah.

You have to come down to the cabin and get your crisps.

BABY CRIES

It's all right.

OR has called. They're ready in

about half an hour to take him to surgery.

Three, four, five, six.

Forceps, just seven.

All righty.

See what you can do.

No rush.

Thank you.

We tell them everything,

but how much they understand is probably quite limited.

Their baby has a cleft lip and two people come from the operating

room, or the theatre and lift their child and take them in there,

that's the unknown.

So they have to put a lot of trust in it.

And sometimes I've seen a few occasions like the mum just sitting

at the bed just crying after the baby has gone

and the doors are closed.

And you just wonder, what is she thinking, what fears does she have?

You do have to place a bit of trust in people.

I commend them for that because it is a big step, even at home.

I don't know what it's like for a kid to go through surgery,

but, my word, you'd be scared.

So I can imagine it's the same here.

HE CRIES

I'm looking for Robin.

-She's there.

-Hiya. Hi, Robin.

-I'm Jennifer.

-How are you?

-Very nice to meet you.

-Welcome.

-Thank you.

-Hi!

-Hello.

-Jenny?

-I'm Jen.

-Nice to meet you.

Hello. Pleased to meet you.

We've got a burn contraction of the neck.

Oh, wow, yes. Would he mind if I watched?

-OK.

-Straight.

About there. That's straight, OK?

Do you want to see if you can do it a little bit more?

MAN TRANSLATES

Just a little bit of passive, see if we can go any further.

Does she mind if I put my hands on her head, is that OK?

Just try and stretch.

And then come over to this side.

-Is that OK? TRANSLATOR:

-It's painful.

-OK.

-Thank you.

It's five degrees more.

Is that left?

Go the other way.

Try and keep facing me.

Is he a little bit frightened?

It will be all right. We do have to do one little blood test today.

Just a blood test to see if his blood is strong.

Is it OK if we pray together?

SHE TRANSLATES

Lord Jesus, we thank you for this little boy, Florentine.

We pray that you will bring healing to his little right hand and he be

able to use it very well in the future.

We pray that he will know your love by the way that we love him.

In Jesus' name, amen.

OK. High five.

Good. OK.

Good day. Hello, Michael.

Anaesthetic doctor.

Can you help me translate for young Florentine?

Hello.

I am Dr Michael, OK?

Anaesthetic doctor. I will be looking after Floratine tomorrow.

HE TRANSLATES

We will see Floratine first thing in the morning at about 8.30,

and when he comes into the operating theatre we'll give him a little mask

to breathe and he'll go off to sleep.

See you tomorrow, OK?

See you tomorrow. Good lad.

Sorry.

The kid's got a wee thing called Poland syndrome,

which I'd never heard of before.

It's just congenital abnormality of this muscle and this wasted arm.

-You'd never seen it before?

-I've never seen this before,

most things out here I haven't seen before.

In the extremes that we see them in, or the ages that we see them in.

In many African countries where the Mercy Ship work,

maternity care is very poor and that means the people who live in remote

villages are dependent on family members,

or a local midwife who is not actually trained as a midwife to

deliver their baby.

Often the baby gets stuck.

And in that process, for days,

that often pierces a hole into their bladder or their rectum

and that will result in their urine

or their faeces coming through their vagina

and that means they'll lose all control over

their bladder or their bowel habits.

The baby will still be inside them and they'll have to deliver a stillborn baby.

For me, I had a...

I just couldn't function whenever

I comprehend what they've been through.

I've been blessed, I was born in Northern Ireland where I have everything at my beck and call.

How will I perceive it if I lived in a country like

this and was abandoned by my family and all my friends?

I don't know that I would cope as well as many of them have.

LOUISE SPEAKS MALAGASY

You know there's a hole in her bladder,

it goes to the vagina so what we were planning to do,

after she's given some anaesthesia,

we'll just go through the vagina and try to repair that hole.

SHE TRANSLATES

Now, sometimes people who have surgery have bleeding problems.

Sometimes the surgery is unsuccessful,

so we usually ask our patients to really pray a lot that God will

bring healing, because we can stitch the hole together,

but only God can make it, you know, well.

We are going to try our best and pray to God will give us success.

Sometimes our problems in this lifetime won't go away.

Like they won't be healed physically,

but when you come into a relationship

like I have a relationship with Jesus,

that's where you find your hope.

Without him, I think I would become very depressed.

I think I'd see the reality

that without him, there is little hope.

They've had loss of their babies,

they've had their husbands just disown them,

they've had a life that's been shattered and taken away from them.

But when you share Jesus with them, that can never be taken from us.

That's something that will last.

Smile. Smile.

-See you afterwards.

-Bye.

-So, we have 120 at the moment.

-Yes, 36.4.

One, two, three...

For a little kiddie, you'll never know what life would have been life without it being fixed.

So that's a huge thing to think about.

And of course, this boat takes on everybody, race, religion, creed.

And it does, and it offers it unconditionally,

so they don't do it for that purpose,

but we look perhaps with hope to the future

that he will build a faith, and build a faith in Jesus,

who the people on this ship have their faith in

and he will then live a life full of colour,

and hope and opportunity and be able to share that with others.

I suppose that's why we're here.

So that he maybe will question.

I've come to do a job, I'm happy to do the job, I love doing the work.

I love working with the people I'm working with because everybody knows

what they're at.

When you think,

everybody on that ship, probably bar the day crew,

are working for nothing.

There's not many people in the world would work for free.

You do get to mix with people you wouldn't necessarily mix with.

Prior to all of this,

I wouldn't necessarily have been particularly comfortable

in the company of Christians, born-again Christians.

I always felt a wee bit overpowered and overwhelmed.

And it can occasionally feel like that on ship,

but it doesn't really matter.

Those women have been ostracised by family, friends, villagers,

referred to as being dirty.

And when you've seen the surgery, some of it was just so simple.

Nobody here could do that, apart from on the ship.

Ooh, sore?

SHE SPEAKS MALAGASY

This one. OK.

Keep going, keep going.

Well done! Good job.

You're getting further.

OK.

Hi.

-I missed you.

-I missed you too.

-Look at you in scrubs.

-So glad you're here.

Me too.

-Working hard?

-Can you believe it?

-No, I've seen the wee room.

-It's lovely.

-Isn't it class?

-It is. Your badge.

Here, you got yours.

You're here!

The hardest thing in screening is to say no to somebody that have walked

for days and spent all their money to come to you for help.

But you know you can't help them.

One, it's not a surgical problem they have.

Or number two, it's too complicated for even Mercy Ship to even do.

You're not going to be able to help everyone because it's not possible.

How many years has this been enlarged for?

The other thing to look for with the big one is any big veins.

I think this is all thyroid gland when it comes right up here like this.

Begin to wonder whether its lymph nodes.

My name is Brian, I'm one of the doctors.

Does she ever feel like her heart is skipping beats in her chest and

jumping around?

SHE TRANSLATES

Does she ever find her hands are shaking and trembling?

SHE TRANSLATES

The oxygen levels in her blood are perfect, her lungs sound perfect,

so really happy we can get her on board this afternoon.

Have you seen her CT scan, has she had a CT scan?

I'm not sure.

Could you have her bring it up?

Scroll it like that.

That's what I want right there, nice and clear.

It's called a goitre.

It's a very non-specific term, just an enlarged thyroid gland.

Hers is a super enlarged thyroid gland, which has taken years,

decades to grow to that level.

The reality is eventually it will suffocate her.

There's nothing easy about it,

it's on the limits of doable and the extremes of being actual possible.

OK. Let's go.

You seen that vague white fibre there, just teasing it around.

That's a recurrent laryngeal nerve, so that's your talking nerve,

and your breathing nerve, too, to some extent. So if you damage one, you can't talk very well,

and if you damage two, you can't breathe very well.

When you get a chance I'll take another unit of blood, please.

9.2.

11.87.

Nearly 1.2 kilos.

Yes.

We think she's doing great.

-Her voice is excellent.

-She's fine.

Her voice sounds the same.

So that's us.

Ever since day one I come onto the ship,

people come and go two or three times a week.

So you might come with a group of people and they are there for two months

and you're staying on. It is hard to see them go and it does hurt.

'It hurts the heart.'

Great to see you.

I don't have anything holding me at home,

so I'm free to go and do kind of what I want to do

and this is what I've chosen.