Mercy Ships ‘literally changing someone’s life’
A B.C. nurse is sharing inspiring before-andafter Instagram photos from her time working on board a non-profit hospital ship.
Katelyn Martinetti, 29, has spent the last few years volunteering on board Mercy Ships, an international charity that staffs and operates hospital ships around the world, providing care to those in developing countries who might not otherwise have access to health care.
The procedures and treatments are all free for the locals, many of whom desperately require serious surgeries and physical therapy.
The ship staff also go into local communities to provide training so that the communities can sustainably run their own clinics after the ship has moved on to the next destination.
Mercy Ships is operating on the Africa Mercy, a 152-metre-long former rail ferry. The ship boasts five state-of-the-art operating theatres and an 82-bed ward. It has been in service since 2007 when it started in Liberia, West Africa. Since August 2017, the Africa Mercy has been posted in Cameroon.
During the month of May, Martinetti has been sharing before-and-after photos of patients who have received treatment on board a Mercy Ship in Cameroon. Other photos show people who had developed growths or tumours but had come to live with them.
Another photo shows a young boy whose left arm had suffered severe burns but did not heal properly.
It left the boy’s arm folded at an angle, unable to extend straight.
After undergoing plastic surgery, the boy was able to use his arm and hand again, extending fully.
Martinetti is originally from Nanaimo and said she has always felt a calling to help others through serving in health care. On board Mercy Ships, she works as a pediatric nurse providing post-surgery care to those in the in-patient unit.
“I feel like I’m literally changing someone’s life,” Martinetti told Postmedia in an interview this week.
“I know once they get these surgeries, they’ll be able to go home, that their life is going to be different and that we’re going to open their future for them. That they’re going to have more opportunities than they had before.”
Among the cases treated on board Mercy Ships are removal of facial tumours, reconstructive plastic surgery, cleft palate, club feet and bow legs. The ship also trains locals in running their own clinics.
“We’re more than just doing surgeries. There’s a dental clinic on board for dental surgeries; we do a lot of training,” said Martinetti. “We train nurses, we train doctors, we train surgeons — local people so when we’re leaving, we’re not just leaving. We’re building capacity for these people so they can continue on to do these things.”
Because all care on board the boats is free, Mercy Ships staff are unpaid volunteers and are required to fundraise their own living expenses.
Funds are also needed to cover the cost of flights, room and board, insurance and other medical costs. Martinetti is back in B.C. but plans to return to the ship for its next ninemonth posting beginning in September. It will cost her about $9,000.