moments like this

So I am nearly over my cold and feeling much better. I was a long week or so with just feeling blah. Not really horrible sick, just not healthy or feeling good. I am getting back to my routine of walking or swimming in the evenings and getting fresh air which has helped. It is just some little virus that has been making its way through the crew.

My week has passed quickly with many crew in and out of the clinic. My normal crew doctor has returned from her leave and things seem back to "normal". Interesting thought. Is there really a normal here? What is normal? Immediately I think of my nursing instructor who always told us normal is just a setting on your dryer. :)

Two highlights stick out to me this week.
1) I have been doing wound care for someone who smashed their finger pretty bad. It got infected and had to be opened and drained. The nail will likely come off and it has been very painful. This has been and ongoing process for about a week. It is headed in the right direction now. Caring for this person has been such a blessing. Everyday they come in, get the wound cleaned and dressed, and tell me how I have made them feel cared for. It is a reminder that most of the people here are not used to being treated with compassion. I  have not done anything super special. I have tried to treat this person as I would want to be treated if it was my finger, or my Mom's. I held their hand during injections and rubbed their back when pain was being inflicted. I gave pain medication where I could and love where I could not.

The reward has been marvelous. I have received the best payment. Every day this person takes time to write down a bible verse that speaks to the situation. As they are leaving the clinic they give it to me and the doctor and thank us for the care they have gotten. It is the best paycheck ever. The verses have spoke deeply into my heart and spirit.

2) The second highlight of my week was a couple of days ago. After work instead of heading straight up to dinner, I went down the hall to the hospital. There is a little girl there that I have been connecting with. I met her a while ago while visiting the hope center.This is where patients from far away live while waiting for their surgeries. She is about 6 years old and so sweet. We don't speak the same language but I have been stopping by to see her almost daily since she arrived on the ship. One day I walked in to the hospital to drop off my pager and she saw me across the ward. she sat up in bed and waved energetically. It blessed me that she remembered me. So this day I dropped of my pager and she was in the hallway just outside her ward. I sat down on the floor and was just trying to say hi. She began to put stickers on my arms and face and then she reached over and touched my hair. Then I touched hers, which is shaved close to the head. Then for then next 45 minutes, I sat on the floor while she played in my hair, twisting it and braiding it and having a fun time. For those few minutes it did not matter that we could not speak. She has recently had surgery on a very large tumor on her face and has a big scar on her chin and neck. she kept covering it with a cloth. she would use on hand for the cloth and one for my hair. I could tell she was self conscious about it. So I pointed to her scar and touch it lightly with my finger. she looked down. I lifting her chin and then took her finger and as I lifted my head to the sky, I placed her finger on the scar on my neck and traced it. She immediately understood. I too have had a surgery and understand her a bit. She broke into a large smile. The next thing I knew the cloth was on the floor and both of her tiny little hands were busy braiding my hair. We had a nice time. We sat there playing with my hair and listening to music on my phone and for a little while it did not matter that she was 6 and I was 49 or that she is from Benin and I am from America. For that short time we were just two girls having fun and loving each other.

These are the moments that make it all worth it. They are immeasurable. They are what you cling to when you think of the few things large or small that you must sacrifice to be here. The time with family and friends, the comforts of home, a nice paycheck. I miss those things, and wish I could have them here, but I freely give them up for moments such as these.