Kirsten Aboard the Comfort #3: Finished in Antigua

It is about 11:30pm Thursday night. I was scheduled to work from 7pm to 7 am but there weren't too many patients and another nurse came in. I had 10 patients from 7pm to 11 pm. Today was the last day we did surgeries and everyone will go home tomorrow. We pull up anchor and head for Colombia Saturday morning. I never had to work the night shift, tonight would have been my first night. I enjoyed working the swing shift, although it has its moments as well.

This was my cutest patient tonight! His name is Isaac and he is 9 months old.

Tomorrow I will go in and start working on tying everything down. When we are at sea we have to make sure nothing will move as we could run into some swells.

Some of the people on the ship will be leaving and some new ones will be coming on board. It is sad to see friends go but there is always an opportunity to make new ones. I am also sad to leave Antigua because the people here are so wonderful. Very rarely does anyone complain about the pain. They are so happy to be here and to have had the care provided to them. The one thing all the patients agreed was that it was cold for them, but we were happy to provide an extra blanket to keep them warm. I have been cold at night as well a couple of times.

Many of the older patients brought pictures of their family. I wish I had brought some pictures to show them. The nursing care here is not difficult and I have plenty of time to visit with the patients and their escorts. It is nice to find out what they do, what they used to do, how large their family is etc. They are always so happy to talk with me. I especially enjoy the patients that have cataracts done. They are usually there for a few nights as they have one done, wait a day and then have the other done. I really get to know them better each day. I am usually sleeping in the morning when they leave. Some day I am going to have to get up early and see them off.

We have an accupuncturist on board. He roams around in the patient areas and talks with them. This man was the escort for his mom. He had been bitten by fire ants on his leg. He came in limping and during his treatment he was walking fine.

It will take us about 4 days to get to Cartegena. There we have a liberty. There are some tours available but I have not had a chance to look at them. It would be nice to take the time and do one of the tours. I have to make sure I have someone with me and I have to present my plan to the Commander. It is a time like this when I wish I had family to do some touring with.

While we are heading to Colombia we will be orienting the new staff to the ward, nursing procedures etc. I remember what that was like almost 2 weeks ago. I remember being very nervous.

Our next stop where we have clinics will be in Panama. I am nervous because most of the people there do not speak English. The people from Antigua nearly all spoke English so we did not need translators. Having translators takes a lot more time. I will take advantage of my time off to practice.

I get up everyday and do the eliptical trainer for 45 minutes. After climbing up and down the stairs my legs are tired by the end of the day. I usually end up sleeping through breakfast and just eating lunch and dinner. Of course I am supplementing from the ship's store.

It is hard to believe I have been here almost 2 weeks. It seems like my life back home was so long ago. I do think of my family everyday and I am grateful to dad for letting me be gone for so long. I know he is struggling to take care of the dogs and pay the bills! Maybe I will get a raise when I get home.

We got to celebrate Nurses Day with the nurses from Antigua the other day. It was really nice to celebrate it with another culture. Nursing is very international and it made it even more special to celebrate it here. It was also Florence Nightingale's Birthday. I winder what she would think of how nursing has changed since she was a nurse. I wonder what I would think of how nursing has changed in 100 years! It has changed a lot, but I think it has been improved. We are nurses because we like to care for others, it's not for the pay or for the hours. All of us share a common bond, no matter what language we speak. We care for others that need us and it enriches our lives. I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am to be here. It is so wonderful to be caring for people who appreciate the work you are doing.

This is one of the waiting areas at the clinic on Antigua. It was at the MultiCultural Center. The people here were waiting to see the General Medical Practitioners.

Here is a link to an article my Church did on the mission I am on. They sent a film crew out during April.

I hope to sit down tomorrow and write a little synopsis of the first country we visited. I miss you all and hope you miss me too.

Love, Mom