A VIP Visit, New Sheriff in Town, Neon Glasses, and an Overall Exciting Week on the Global Mercy

It has been another eventful week aboard the Global Mercy, and I’m beginning to think that “eventful” may actually be the standard around here.

Captain Handover

The week started off with a bang at our All Hands Meeting! All the crew meets Monday mornings at 7:45 for important ship updates and messages from the captain. This week was especially meaningful because Captain Perez was officially handing the ship over to our new captain for the last time and signing off.

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Captain Perez is retiring after serving with Mercy Ships for more than 30 years. It was really neat to watch the handover and see the outpouring of gratitude for all the years he has dedicated to serving on the ship. What an incredible legacy to leave behind!

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I’ve heard through the grapevine that our new captain is much stricter, so I guess we’d better all be on our best behavior from here on out! 😅

New Surgery Service Line Started!

Of course, the most important thing happening on the ship continues to be the life-changing surgeries. This week, the pediatric ophthalmology service was started and has been keeping everyone busy, with children coming in for surgery to correct congenital cataracts.

These are children who have basically never seen before.  Think about that for a minute.

They have spent their entire lives experiencing the world without sight, and then they have surgery and suddenly they can see. It is pretty amazing to watch.

I really wish I could take pictures of some of these kids to share because they are absolutely adorable in their new neon-colored glasses. Seriously, if there were ever a competition for cutest patients, these kids would be difficult to beat.

Meanwhile, in the general surgery world, somehow a few hydroceles managed to slip through the screening process.  And then there was a patient who came to screening for a mandibular tumor. While the team was talking with her, she happened to mention that she was having some abdominal pain. Lo and behold, she had an acutely incarcerated incisional hernia!

And honestly, I'm not complaining.

After doing weeks of inguinal hernias, it has been fun to do something a little different. Apparently even surgery on a hospital ship needs some variety.

Lights, Camera, Mercy Ships!

As if the surgery wasn't enough excitement, filming for Season Three of the riveting reality TV show Mercy Ships began on board this week.

Yes, you read that correctly.

There are now cameras following people around the ship, in public places, and events.

I have absolutely no idea what this means for my future career, but I'm choosing to believe this is the beginning of my reality television era.

Maybe I'll become famous. Maybe I'll get a dramatic storyline. More likely, I'll be edited out completely—or never be seen by the cameras at all, because again the one place they do not want to go is into the general surgery OR, where we are transforming one groin at a time!

And Then Things Got Very VIP

On Monday, the CEO of Mercy Ships and several other executives arrived in Ghana. It was the first time they had visited the ship during this field service, so naturally we assumed they were here to check on how things were going.

But there was a little more to their visit.  They were actually here to prepare for a very special VIP guest.

Because of security concerns, we were all instructed to keep the visit top secret until it had actually happened.

And today, Global Mercy welcomed the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Mahama!

He toured the hospital, met patients in the wards, and got to see firsthand some of the work being done on board. He also had private meetings with Mercy Ships executives to talk about the mission and some of the challenges and obstacles the Global Mercy has faced during its time in Ghana.

Afterward, he gave a speech to the crew.

I assumed I wouldn't actually get to see him and figured I would just hear about the visit afterward. But as luck would have it, his visit happened to land right when we were between surgeries, so we were all able to sneak away from the hospital for a few minutes and see what was happening.

And I'm glad I did.

I got to be with the crew and listen to the president speak.

President Mahama's Speech as he visits Mercy Ships

It was one of those moments where I found myself thinking, Well, this certainly isn't something I expected to be doing when I signed up to come work on a hospital ship in Ghana.

President Mahama comes from the northern part of Ghana, which has historically faced more poverty and fewer resources than some other parts of the country. Because of that, I think he has an interesting perspective on Ghana and the different challenges facing people throughout the country.

Of course, no politician is universally loved, but from what I've experienced and heard while being here, he seems to be well regarded by many Ghanaians.  Regardless of politics, though, it was a pretty amazing experience.

Below is a long video of his visit, but if you want to skip ahead to about the 3:50 mark, that’s when he visits the pediatric orthopedic ward. You’ll get a chance to see the ward, see some of the kids in their colorful casts, and get a little glimpse of what things look like in the hospital.

President Mahama's Arrival as he visits Mercy Ships - YouTube

After the speech, I had to run back to the OR for our last case of the day. But while the patient was being prepared, we happened to catch a glimpse of the president disembarking from the ship through our OR portholes. It was a pretty surreal way to wrap up the day—watching the president of Ghana leave the ship while we were getting ready to operate!

Anesthesiologist Dr. Micheal from Northen Ireland, General Surgeon Dr. Joseph from Zambia, and I waiting for the present to disembark. Not exactly your typical OR break!

In the video below, you can see the portholes that everyone in the OR was looking out of, hoping to catch a glimpse of the president as he disembarked.  Don’t know if you are able to see us in the windows!

| President of Ghana, H.E. John DramaniMahama, departs the Mercy Ship, the world's largest civilian

The International Guest List Keeps Growing

The presidential visit also capped off a couple of weeks of some pretty impressive visitors.

We've had visits from ambassadors representing Switzerland, Canada, and France, all coming to learn more about the work happening aboard the Global Mercy.

Not exactly your typical hospital visitor list.  Most hospitals probably don't have an international diplomatic guest list.  But then again, most hospitals don't float.

The president's visit definitely took the cake, though.

It has been such a unique experience to be here in Ghana at this particular time. Between children seeing for the first time, unexpected surgeries, reality TV filming, international ambassadors, and a visit from the president himself, there certainly hasn't been a dull moment aboard the Global Mercy.

I feel very lucky to be here to witness it all.