my first screening...

last thursday I had a priviledge of signing up to take part in one of the screening days. 'Screening' is a process of listening to the peoples issues/problems/pains etc and evaluating whether we can help them by offering surgery. as a nurse who has been here a while i allocated myself to pre-screening...so quickly assessing and filtering out the tummy aches, headaches, backaches and anything else medical, along with redirecting the dental and eye issues to the specific dental and eye screening days. the patients that i havent said no to then go through a further multistepped process before they finally get given a surgery appointment card - other more experienced nurses assess, then finally a surgeon will assess and ensure that all is well before finally saying a definate yes.

this all sounds rather simple and set in stone...but having only been involved once, i've realised what a difficult and emotional process it is.

imagine ....

that you've heard that a mercyship is coming to your country, but you live kilometres from the port city - so you save all the money you can to get to the ship. having heard about the possibilities of free surgery from a poster or the radio, you travel down south and wait in the dark with hundred, possibly thousands of others in or outside a communnity centre; waiting in expectation, in hope, in dread for what the answer will be. then through the darkness 3 white large white landrovers come through the gate and park up, with white yovo's (white people) pouring out. red and white tapes are put up, some put on yellow security vests and others bright orange baseball caps (these are the translators). then they come over to you and try and organise a line. your grateful for this and think its a good idea, cos its awfully important that everything is fair and those who've been waiting the longest get seen first. they start walking through the line, saying yes to some and no to others. its difficult to know their criteria, some that seem so in need and pain are walking straight out the gates again.

this is the scene during the screening. we left the ship at 5am, set up and then started working through the lines. it was not easy. I knew the types of surgery that we do onboard, the specialities that the surgeons are qualified in, but that doesnt necessarily line up with the problems that the people are presenting to you. also time is a particular factor on this outreach, only being in Togo for 6 months, rather than the usual 10. so there were surgeries that we were conducting in Benin that are not available to us in Togo. all in all this made it a hard time to say no. about 80% of the people that came on that particular day we said no to. hopes dashed and smiles gone. but it is all too easy to focus on the no's. for every group of no's there was a yes. a yes to hope and a surgery, to pain gone, stigma and rejection a thing of the past, a future and love. the smiles that were on those faces of the people holding a precious surgery card were what i had to hold onto. to do anything else was too devastating. for those patients that did have a yes, it will be a good thing to watch their story from the very beginning, from screening to admission, surgery, recovery and discharge, every ones a story, every life is worthy. Patients 'dancing on sunshine' as they walk down the gangway, back to their own beds.

screening days are happening 3 times a week until july...thats when the surgeries end in Togo. yup, i know i thorght i'd be nursing until september, but the outreach ends in Togo in July and the Africa Mercy is sailing to South Africa to have her generators changed. So anyways its all in prayerful thorght at the moment, but i might well be home earlier than expected!