I have just finished my first week here in Benin! I'll just begin by telling you it was a relatively uneventful trip from Louisville. Arriving at the airport in Cotonou, it became a little trickier. You first have to go through the immigration line and after waiting in line for only 10 minutes or so, the attendant threw my passport back at me and told me to fill out a different form. He then handed me the exact same form and I filled it out again, exactly as I had done before and this time it was ok. But... he kept my passport and wouldn't give it back, yelling something at me in French. Since I only know how to say "hello" and "thank you" at this point, I wasn't sure if I wasn't going to be allowed into the country or if he was going to give his sister my passport so she could make a new identity for herself or what. All is know, and remember well, is that in Africa, there are always alot of "official documents". I had a whole folder full, mainly showing that I was working aboard the ship and that I was given an exception in having to have a visa for this reason. Finally, after meeting with the other crew outside, we went to see the police in an office about my passport. He said, no I couldn't have it, we would have to come back tomorrow. He was busy watching television and laughing at the program. I gave him all of my official documents, he looked through them, shrugged his shoulders, and pulled my passport out of his back pocket. So... I was now officially in Benin and allowed to leave!

We arrived on the ship late at night and it was easy to see that the Africa Mercy is much bigger than the Anastasis, the ship I had served aboard in 2006. Many things are similar, the food, some of the lounge areas, reception... the rooms are totally different. I have a 10 foot by 6 foot berth with 2 bunks, a desk, and a little double closet for me and my roomate. There are 3 berths in the room and one bathroom with a little shower. It was quite an adjustment for the first few days, as I have been living in a 1300 sq foot house by myself for the past 7 years and now "my space" is the size of one of my closets. Luckily, there is a huge ship to roam around in and plenty of places to read, do internetting, and hang out.

We started the week with a screening at a local children's rehab hospital. I am working with the orthopedic team and our job for the next 3 days was to screen patients to determine if surgical intervention was appropriate and possible in this country, then to prioritize. We were very "green" the first day, as only one of us had ever done a screening before, but by the third day, we were starting to figure things out a bit. We were expecting 28 the first day and had about 100 waiting for us when we arrived. Throughout the day, as a few would leave, it seemed the line never got smaller. But, we found alot of good candidates for pediatric and adult orthopedic surgery and referred many others to the appropriate departments. We have an eye team, plastic surgery, general surgery, VVF (fistula) surgery, and a dental team.
The way the screen would work is that each patient was given a number when they came in and they had to have a history taken. Pretty much every available person onboard came to help at the screening in some way. The non-medical people helped to feed the crowds and play with the children. The patients in our section would first be seen by me, the PA, or the other PT here. We would get a history (by using a translator) and then when we had done an examination and had determined what our view of the problem was, we would call over the orthopedic surgeons to evaluate. This allowed them not to go completely insane! I saw things I have only seen in books and pictures over those 3 days. Most of the deformities are not similar to what you would see in the US, because they are from neglected trauma and other diseases, malnutrition, polio, etc. We are SOOO fortunate to have the healthcare system we have, no matter how frustrated you are with it right now! One man said he had pain in his knee, pulled his pant leg up, and had about 3 inches of a metal plate sticking straight out of it(he had a previous surgery and the plate was used to fixate his leg initially) Many had fractures that were never repaired and just healed completely inadequately and yet they still tried to weight bear through the damaged leg... because they had no choice. We saw many kids with severe bowing of the legs, clubfeet, and polio contractures. We begin pediatric orthopedic surgery this week and it will continue until March 6th.
Today, we went to a church in the village that was planted by Mercy Ships in 2001. There were about 20 adult ladies, 30 kids, and 5 men present at the service, which was filled with singing, dancing, and alot of "Hallelujahs"!! I have been to many African churches, but this one was my favorite. Our group was positioned up front, as special guests, and we were asked if we wanted to preach or talk to the congregation. Cricket.... Cricket.... Finally Dr. James got up and told the crowd about Mercy Ships and told them how much we wanted to serve them and their country. After the service, they handed out Cokes to us, and we went into the crowd and shared them with the children... who loved it! They all wanted their pictures taken with us and wanted a chance to see the picture from the digital camera... they all think it is hilarious to see a a picture of themselves!
It has really been a fantastic week and I am really excited to see what is going to happen here over the next 6 months. I'm praying hard for opportunities to make a lasting difference... projects, fundraisers, something to help within the community itself.
The adventure has just begun.....