D-44 days...

When you live with 450+ people, it's inevitable that you stumble across like-minded folks who share your hobbies or passion. This weekend we had a cool spiritual retreat where we had the chance to partake in fun activities. This is always a good opportunity to find out what secret talents your cabin mates and colleagues have.

Last night we had the pleasure of listening to an impromptu choir... At the end the chaplain's comment made us all laugh. He said "I hope you all stay for Christmas!" :) Too bad we won't be here... :(

Yayah today

Do you remember Yayah and his twisted legs?

This is him today:
2 straight legs and a huge smile

Happy Monday! :)

D-45 days

Another wonderful thing about living on board is that you don't have to worry about cooking. We have a great team of people with some pro chefs, local cooks and enthusiastic hobby cooks who provide excellent meals 3 times a day for all of us. 

I used to work in the galley on Doulos, I know how challenging it can be sometimes to whip up a menu with limited resources (like we have these days due to delayed containers) or to prepare something that pleases 450 people all at once! 

My absolute favourite food on board is the Nepalese dishes, prepared by out fearless Ghurkha guards. Second is pizza of course :) The third place goes to the soup and salad days!

On Tuesday evenings we have African food. I think it's a bit westernised for our taste buds, but hey, I am not complaining! Fried plantains with crushed chilli dip, cassava or other veggie sauce and fried chicken... YUMMY!

Here are only some fine examples:

AFM Cake

Ingredients bought locally

Good friends can always squeeze in one more person at a table for 4

D-46 days... fabrics

Those colourful African fabrics... who can forget them? Every day when I walk or drive around in town I see  ladies (and even men) wear those amazing outfits. Over the years we bought several clothes already made, we bought fabrics to have them tailored, but somehow they just don't look the same on my white skin. Each time I see a dress in bright, happy colours I have to remind myself that they won't look so amazing on me; the contrast with their dark skin is replaced by my paleness. :(

Nevertheless, we do try. On Saturday Darren and I went to the market and bought some fabrics. Apparently here they count in Lappa. 1 lappa is 2 yards, as we learnt the hard way. Now we have some extra materials though, if anybody wants some clothes made... :)

The one about Darren's Malaria

In 2 earlier posts (here and here) you could read about our beautiful weekend getaway somewhere up the coasts of Guinea. At the end I wrote something like 'this was a great trip, except poor Darren got malaria'.

This is how it went down from there.
First you can read the worried wife's perspective and then the M-A-N's perspective:

After you are bitten by an evil female mosquito, which has the parasite, you don't have any symptoms other than the usual itchiness around the bite. That was the same with Darren, too. Funny thing is that he always says I am his 'mosquito prevention', because as long as I am around they will always bite me and not him! Sadly though it's true; wherever we go he never gets bitten, somehow they don't like the way his blood tastes... well, until now.

I guess he found the only one with special taste buds and a unique desire to test his blood.... :)

Malaria is latent for 10-ish days. During this period the parasites creep through your blood cells like a thief at night as they poison your blood, but you don't feel any different and sadly it's undetectable, even if you take the test.

But you sure as hell know when it goes full throttle!!! On a Wednesday evening he was doing sound check for our Thursday night community evening. He came to our cabin around 8 pm and he fell into bed with his clothes on. He looked exhausted and had a rough night. In the morning when I asked him he said he was doing much better, but he had a really bad head ache. - this was my first clue. (Ryan, my team member got malaria during the same weekend and his symptoms were showing a day before. He also mentioned a bad headache.) My second clue was the simple fact, that in the morning I FELT FINE! Normally if he gets the cold or flu I usually fall sick as well, but on that morning all was well with me.

Darren being a typical man declared that he was fine and I should drop the topic. You know me (strange, I thought after several months of being married to me he would know by now, too!) I cannot drop something like this. Bottom line, we got into a fight. He swore he didn't have malaria, I questioned his medical expertise. :) 

I talked to malaria patients before and my dear husband was displaying all the typical signs. So, if for nothing else, than to give ME a peace of mind I forced him to go down and have a quick test. The nurse took a drop of his blood and placed it onto the test line. I've never seen it before, so I asked her to explain how it works.

"So, how does it work? What should I see?"
"It's similar to a pregnancy test and takes about 20 minutes. You see numbers 1 and 2 and a big C. C is for the control line to ensure the test works properly. If you see only that 1 line, all is fine. If you see 2 lines, it means he has malaria. if you see 3 lines it means he has malaria AND something else as well. We do NOT want that."
"Oh, cool. Thanks, for the explanation. So, ... umm, wait. I see 3 lines..." said the concerned wife.
"No, you're NOT!" - came the half angry response. She knew me and my habit of joking. She jerked the test out of my hands and took a quick look. I suppose she fully expected to prove me wrong and she was about to say it when she took a second look. A closer look. Then she looked up at me with narrow eyes full of concern: "This is baaaaaaad!"

Darren's only reaction was a proper British response for a situation like this: "Oh, sh**t."

The 3 nasty lines presented themselves after only 5 minutes, so as a first step he was admitted to the hospital. While he was settling in at the ICU (on the same bed that just a night before Ryan occupied) I ran around to cancel his appointments and let people know he will probably MIA for the next week or two.

When I got back to him with his personal stuff he was already over his first round of treatment. I had to go back to work. He, on the meantime felt really good. It looked like we were able to catch it VERY SOON (thanks to my very forceful nagging!!! - just saying)  and Darren was hopeful that he can leave the hospital the same day. We almost managed to convince the nurses to let him go at the end of the day, but they knew better. We were told it usually gets worse during the evening and definitely at nights so they want to keep him there for observation.

I went back a few times during the evening and at night and boy was the nurse right!!! Darren had a very high fever and was freezing in the ICU room with a 33 Celsius room temperature! He had already a few blankets on him and he was only half-conscious. He tried to sleep and rest, but his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Let me tell you, it was an AWFUL sight for his wife!!! The nurses came in brought more blankets and told me it's quite normal... :(

When I left around midnight he had 7 blankets on and was still awake. I tried to talk to him and he seemed to understand me and even groaned a kind of response my way, but when I asked him days later he couldn't recall any of it ever happening...

In the morning he looked much better. So much so that they let him go home and rest in his own cabin. As soon as we hit the cabin he fell onto the bed and was out again. I had to wake him up regularly to give him his pills. During the next day he could finally rest a bit. He was still not happy about eating; he did loose quite some weight. The first night in the cabin was quite bad for him, he had high fever again and was sweating in one minute and freezing in the second.

All in all it took him about 10 days to get over it and gain back his strength. We went up from deck 4 (our cabin) to deck 8 and he was exhausted by the time we got there...

Now he is back to work and all is well. He did learn his lesson though: for the remaining time he WILL TAKE his anti-malaria medication! Sadly he didn't learn the other lesson: Always listen to your wife! Had he not been taken down to the clinic for the test, he would have had a whole lot worse experience and more severe consequences. The type of malaria he had often attacks the brain and if it's left untreated for too long it can and will kill you!

We thank God and ALL OF YOU for praying, sending positive thoughts and encouraging messages our way. We greatly appreciated all your support and thank God for his quick and full recovery.

Malaria from Darren's perspective:

I was fine during Wednesday morning, just felt a bit achy in the afternoon, so I decided to get some sleep before sound practice, but that did not happen due to being on call. I sat through sound practice just wanting to be in bed. I fell asleep and think I had a good night's sleep. I woke up with a small small headache from not drinking enough water during the night. Wife unit moaned at me for taking the day off of work and complained enough for me to go down to the nurse. I took the test for Malaria and it was positive - oh well. Not happy I got admitted to the hospital for the night and tried to get some rest. I felt fine all the time I was down in the ICU and just wanted to go rest in my own cabin.

Every 2 hours I got woken by nurses who wanted to take my temperature and do a blood pressure test. Later at night I felt very cold and asked for more blankets to stay warm. I woke up in the morning and still felt fine, I was able to go back to my own cabin so I did and promptly feel back asleep. So Friday and Saturday I stayed in bed to rest to get over this Malaria but I did not feel like eating, but I did drink a lot. On Sunday we decided to go up to the pool on deck 8 for some sunshine and rest, the walk up the flights of steps to deck 8 completely wiped me out for a while. Later that afternoon I tried to eat dinner in the dinning room and one of our friends said "you only got Malaria as a good-bye present from Africa. Had you stayed, you would have gotten it."

A few more days of rest and I went back to work. All was ok...

D-47 days ... the Patients

Duh! - you could say now. Of course our lovely patients play a huge role in the magic here and I know I will miss some of them for the rest of my life. We have so many patients here each day, it's impossible for non-medical people like me to get to know most of them, but every now and then I have a chance.

Last year in Salone I could form a special bond with a young girl called Sia. Our relationship started with me taking a picture of her on the streets (see full story here and here) and finished with a true happy ending because of many people's openness to God's leading.

This story below is another heart warming one from our ship's writer, who gets to spend lots of time with these precious people and is able to convey their stories in a powerful way.

"Go down two flights of stairs on the Africa Mercy, and you’ll find you’ve stepped out of a ship and into a busy buzzing hospital. On the wards you’ll find kids playing, doctors praying, patients visiting, and plenty of African music. Listen . . . you’ll hear conversations in English echoed by translators in French or one of Guinea’s three local languages – the chatter forms a background like white noise.

One would expect that a 13-year-old girl would be among the chattiest – but not Memouna.

Thirteen-year-old Memouna is seen by Mercy Ships doctors on Screening Day on 3 September 2012.

Memouna’s pronounced facial tumor began above her left eyebrow, spilling down her face to the corner of her mouth and displacing her left eye. This tumor, a neurofibroma she has had since birth, left her looking like one side of her face was sliding off – like Dali’s famous melting clock in a desert. From behind the curtain of her deformity, Memouna saw the world with her good right eye. And . . . to her despair . . . the world saw Memouna.

For 13 years she was taunted for her appearance. Moreover, superstitions run deep in West African culture, and physical deformities are believed to be the sinister mark of someone cursed. Memouna was not only teased by peers – she was completely dismissed. The drooping facial tumor became the source of a broken spirit.

“She was not happy because in Africa people stay away from her. She would cry because she did not understand why no one liked her,” said Memouna’s 17-year-old sister, Aminata, the oldest of her nine siblings.

Memouna’s tumor, a neurofibroma, covered the left side of her face.
 For years she was teased by her peers because of her appearance

“I had so many sleepless nights worrying how to help my child,” said Memouna’s father, who was trying to sell his car to afford her surgery when he learned the Africa Mercy was coming to Conakry. “I was told that no one would be able to do the surgery except Mercy Ships. I had no money to pay with . . . and then God paid!”

On Wednesday, 26 September 2012, Mercy Ships surgeons removed Memouna’s tumor. After her operation, even under layers of bandages, the transformation was profound. Memouna’s profile no longer appeared rough and misshapen. Her face had been physically lifted from the weight of the tumor. Nurses hoped her spirits would follow, but removing years of social isolation is a much more complicated procedure.

After her surgery, Memouna remained quiet, letting her sister and father do the talking for her.

In the days after her operation, quiet Memouna said nothing, while her father and sister took turns staying at the hospital and speaking on her behalf. “I’m sorry, maybe she will talk more another day,” her sister would say to visitors.

Mercy Ships ward nurse Lynne White said, “It was a long time before I realized she spoke. She was so silent that I didn’t think she could. But I can understand it. She went from spending her life keeping to herself with no friends, and then she came here and was overwhelmed by the attention.”

One night a week after the surgery, Lynne came into the ward to find Memouna listening to headphones, nodding her head to music and mouthing the words. “I couldn’t believe it, so I did whatever I could to try to get a laugh out of her – I started dancing!” Lynne said. “Memouna just laughed and laughed. It was wonderful!”



Lynne (a Mercy Ships nurse) and Memouna dance on the docks.

Two weeks later Memouna arrived on the dock with her father for a check-up. She kept to herself, waiting on the benches. “Is that my Memouna?” Lynne exclaimed. Hearing her name, Memouna glanced around to find Lynne, not walking, but dancing over to her. “It’s you, you’re here!” Lynne cheered, waving her arms in the air.

Memouna clapped her hands and covered her mouth, trying and failing to hold back her giggles.



Here, Memouna is all giggles with Africa Mercy Writer, Catherine Murphy.

Even though Memouna does not give up her laughter easily, she lets those who show her love see the real Memouna. In those moments, there is a cute teenager in a pink sweatshirt and orange nail polish . . . where a timid, downcast child used to be.
The removal of Memouna’s tumor marks the beginning of physical . . . and spiritual . . . healing."

D-48 days... Chopped

Living in a community is always fun. But having organized FUN on occasions... well, nothing compares to that! Today's D- post was originally about crazy on-board programs anyways; it just so happened that we had Chopped last night, LIVE from the crew galley :)

If you don't know what's Chopped (relax, before this video clip I had no idea either!) in short: a cooking competition with a twist. Ken, our resident Food Master decided to start the AFM-Chopped competition last year. It was very successful and a great night of fun for everybody, not just the contestants. Naturally, we had one this year as well. Here are some pictures of the fun night!

• 3 judges: a Swedish guy who compared everything to IKEA meat balls, the Chief Steward (and hobby chef daddy) and last year's winner, a cook herself from the galley.
• contestants: 5 random crew members from down the Engine room to a mother of 3 from deck 7 and anybody in between. 
• The goal: 1 main meal with the provided ingredients + one mystery item for the first round. After that 3 would be chopped and the remaining 2 would compete with a dessert item for the grand price. FUN!!!

For the rest of us, Ken and his amazing team provided snacks.
Oh, the and whole night was MC-ed by a Scottish fellow - what else can you ask for???

After the introduction of the judges and nervous contestants Ken presented the mystery item: a huge pumpkin each - leftover from our Fall Festival Decoration. :) Other items to be used were: chicken breasts, nuts and COFFEE! Now imagine that combination: chicken marinated in coffee and served with smashed pumpkins :)

While they ran off into the Crew Galley we had the opportunity to watch last year's episode (it had been filmed, but due to some technical difficulties we couldn't watch it live last year). We could also vote like last year - which I won by the way... TWICE!!! Both years I could predict who gets the first and the second price! :)

For the dessert I went into the crew galley to capture some great moments like Heidi already busy making pretzels while Nigel was still running around looking for a pan. The mystery item for this round was PLUMS together with pizza dough and peanut butter. Yuck...

Heidi ended up doing something like peanut butter balls rolled in cinnamon sugar and plum sauce, while Nigel went with the Peanut butter-Plum Pizza (he based his idea on Americans liking PB-J AND pizza. At the end poor Nigel got chopped, though I tasted his creation and I must say it was pretty good!

Anyhow, great evening, lots of good food, laughter with friends - another special thing I will miss greatly :((((

Here is the slideshow with all my pictures: