Hospital Open House

Last night we went down to Deck 3 for the Hospital Open House. Some of us went more willingly than others - one certain little Cash boy didn't really want to go...but he ended up having the best time of all of us! (and some of us, the matriarch of the family, went primarily for the cookies).  The nurses and doctors and other hospital staff did a fantastic job - there were games and lots of hands on activities (and cookies!). 

 

Warning: I can almost guarantee that words will be spelled wrong and terms will be used incorrectly in this blogpost.  I don't know how to spell most medical terms - nor do I even know the correct terms that I am misspelling...I decided that it will be ok (I just don't want to look up the proper spellings and terms)

 

Fun Fact: I remember reading about the hospital open house last year about this time on someone else's blog (back when Mercy Ships was just a possibility for us....and what seemed like a slim possibility at that!)(hard to believe that was a year ago)...so, ever since I've known we were coming,  I've been looking forward to the Hospital Open House.

 

Confession:  I felt kind of queasy in the "play" operating room...I was thinking that someday I might like to observe a real operation ('cause you can sign up to do that!) but now I'm really doubting my ability to do that...

 

Surgery:

 

Curious Observers - watching "Dr. Jacob" perform a tumor removal surgery on a patient (a real live person is under that sheet!)(but no real live cutting was involved)

 

Eli getting all suited up for sugery.

Dr. Eli using some tool to "hold open" the patient while he waits for some clampers or tweezers or something 

He got his clamper or tweezers...or whatever it was that Dr. Runnels told him to ask for! 

Intubation & Such

 Learning to stitch (suchers?)

 Starting an IV

And what was Emma doing the whole time? Hanging out with Miss Stephanie Duncan. Emma loves this sweet lady!!! (we all do!)  They even won the "grand prize" in the "being a nurse" relay race (I think it helped that Stephanie is actually a nurse!) :)



Miss Stephanie & Emma

So, after our experience last night, I can see Eli and/or Caroline serving in the Medical Field someday.  Makes me curious what God will end up having them doing. 

 

Incredible Statistics:  According to our internal website, affectionately known as Navigator, the very hospital that we were touring and walking through has been the site of  266 surgeries in the past 4 weeks.

• 28 General Surgeries
• 100 Eye Surgeries (85 cataract removals, 15 other types of eye surgery)
• 1 Plastics Reconstruction Surgery (the majority of those will be in the Spring)
• 98 MaxFax Surgeries
• 19 Cleft Repair Surgeries
• 20 Orthopaedic Surgeries 

Those numbers were shocking to me!!  I had no idea that THAT many surgeries have been happening 4 floors beneath us. What a work the Lord is doing through this ship and the people serving on it!!! 

 

And in other news:  Nick broke a bone in his hand yesterday while he was playing football (soccer).  If you need to see it to believe it, he'll be in Columbus next week (or maybe I'll post a picture soon!)

 

Surely there will be more to come (but hopefully no more broken bones...but if you're going to break a bone, this is the place to do it.  He had a doctor's appointment, an x-ray and got a cast within the course of the morning (in the midst of attending a training and doing other work related things) - and we don't have a single medical bill to pay or insurance claim to file!!)