Life on the wards. Greetings family and friends and prayer warriors! I am going to attempt to let you see into my world on the wards with a few pictures of hopefully "before and after" of the beautiful people God has brought as patients to Mercy Ships. I know all of you who are reading this blog aren't medical but please look past the deformities and surgical needs to the patient and the care and love that God has given as they were able to come for help surgically as well as spiritually. God has brought amazing surgeons, anesthesiologists, operating room nurses, recovery room nurses, ward nurses, translators, physical therapists, cleaning staff, cooks, etc. etc. to help each patient find their way physically and spiritually to a "new creation". A blessing to be a part of that includes YOU! Thanks so much for your prayers and words of encouragement as we travel this road together.
This is Grace who some of you might have "met" on the 60 minute CBS special that aired in the USA. The picture above is her upon arrival and the picture to the right is Grace today. She had just been readmitted the day I left for her final plastic reconstruction. It is an amazing miracle of missionary surgeons and the hand of God.
2 siblings with cleft lip/palate repairs. We call them affectionately our "little kitty cats" as they are super adorable to start with and then we add the little steri-strips following surgery that look like kitty whiskers and sometime a little "button" on nose for cleft lip palate repair as well. We could all be found carrying these little ones before surgery as they are bored in the wards on a ship to after surgery when they need love and affection and pain control while again "living on a totally unknown and unfamiliar" hospital ship.
Often burn patients come with severe burn contractures needing surgical release and painful physical therapy. The majority of the children/patients we saw on the ship had survived falling into open cooking fire pits. Even the fact that they survived was a miracle but without medical care they often face severe and limiting contractures. A favorite pastime of the children was playing with bubbles to get their minds off the pain.
This mama only had her son here but kept taking care of many other children. The child pictured is not her own but quickly adopted her and abandoned her father after surgery when all she wanted was a mama. (her dads not in the picture even!) The gentleman also became an adopted grandfather for most of the children. The translator in the background was a sweet young bride of 6 months who was attempting to improve her English in order to get a better job when Mercy Ship sails in June to the Canary Islands. With a letter of recommendation from the ship prayerfully she will receive a better job in the Congo after serving faithfully with us for ten months.
This is my dear friend Annemarie from the Netherlands. Nadine was one of my favorite patients because of her smile, her love for Jesus and her quiet acceptance of whatever her dressing change entailed for the day. I wish I had a final picture of her because she arrived missing half of her nose but through several surgeries and reconstruction you really can't see anything wrong .She is a beautiful woman inside and out.
The love of church groups and women who quilt blankets and make teddy bears brightens the children's wards for the patients, the staff, and the visitors. Patients could often be found playing memory or connect four, playing with bubbles, blowing up balloons and using them to play catch or kickball. Stickers were placed on dressings or parts of the body as decoration. And of course, spontaneous singing could always break out.
What an amazing transformation from when she first came to clinic (photo below) with severe contractures of the mouth and arm. Her Smile alone says what a difference this has made in her life. 
Wow Bev, thanks for sharing - and for the courage of these patients who are willing to share through the photos! You have seen and experienced so much. It is good to see the pics of you "in action" on the Mercy Ship. May these precious children and young people be blessed with new futures as they heal both physically and spiritually.
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