Yesterday I got to shadow the PT and OT. It was really cool. I got the afternoon off and searched and searched for Ward E. Finally I found it, hidden among actual rooms and completely outside the hospital section of the ship. Mariechen, the Occupational Therapist from South Africa, talked to me a little while before she ran off to the Ghanaian embassy. After she left, I shadowed the physical therapist, Megan.
I really enjoyed seeing what they did. Megan basically played with this little girl who is recovering from surgery to release scar tissue from burns. The girl kept trying to use her good arm to do the activities, and Megan would tease her and make her laugh until she would use her recovering arm. It was hard watching them bend her arm though. The girl didn't speak much English, but she did know "small small," which she was able to say through her tears as they gently forced her arm to bend farther. Megan also looked at a man whose arm had been broken eight months ago. He had radial nerve damage so a large part of the muscles on his arm were wasted away. He was very determined to recover.
It was really neat to get to go down there and see all this. I fully intend to do it again soon.
Yesterday a day worker was killed. He was a translator, and yesterday was his day off. His zemidjan was hit by a car. I saw some of the day workers when they found out. They were sobbing. It was really sad.
For the sake of ending on a positive note, here is a picture of some of my friends. From left to right, Jamie (Hospitality expert), Kendall (fellow Sales diva), me (Coffee and foam manager), and Katie (Cookie and cake manager).
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