Turkey Day and Theatre Room

Last Saturday evening my team celebrated Thanksgiving a little early, but definitely in as traditional of a fashion as we could arrange. They don’t sell turkey here, so we went with chicken instead, but were able to have green bean casserole and pumpkin pie thanks to my mom who sent the supplies for us! It was quite a feast, and we had wonderful fellowship around the table talking about how grateful we are for who the Lord is, and what he has done in each of our lives.

From the left: Bernie (who joined us last week from the Republic of Ireland and will be in Rehoboth for 6 months), MollyBea, Me, and Alli:

It was a wonderful evening, and though it could never replace being at home and sitting around the table with my blood family, God has been good to provide a family-like feeling among us here.

On Wednesday, I got to spend some time in the ‘theatre room’ (or operating room as we would call it) at the hospital. I started helping a doctor at his clinic in town this week, and he welcomed me to help in the ‘theatre’ where he operates 3 days a week. I was a little leery of what the conditions would be like given the questionable hygiene and sanitation of the rest of the hospital, but was quite impressed by the sterility of things there.

Here I am all scrubbed up and ready to go:

*Only if you’re medically interested: One of the surgeries I saw was an old-school appendectomy. Quite interesting to watch them pull out the intestines looking for the appendix, as in the States it would all be done through a scope. All of the surgeries were considerably more bloody than they are in the States, as there are no cauterizing instruments used, only blades and scissors. One thing that really made me chuckle was the involvement of the surgeons in the process… they did everything! From putting in the IV, to anesthesia, to helping transport the patient to recovery after the procedure was finished, the surgeons did it all. Never seen that happen in the U.S. ;)

I hope you are doing well!

Much Love,

Mackenzie