A bit of cabin fever but a lot of mercy
On a sunny afternoon in an African port, an Upper Hutt woman was helping a young African girl take shaky steps across the deck of a ship.
Justine was one of the patients that Wellington Hospital nurse Josie Christensen cared for while volunteering on Africa Mercy – the world’s largest civilian hospital ship.
Justine came to the ship needing the free orthopaedic surgery to straighten her legs and Christensen took up caring for her postsurgery during a 14-week stint on board.
The ship has been docked in Douala, Cameroon since August and will stay there for 10 months.
‘‘[Justine] had these leg deformities most of her life and her family were unable to afford medical care. Like most of the patients when they arrive to the ward, she was shy and quiet,’’ Christensen said.
Justine was also one of the few patients who spoke English and as she recovered, the Kiwi nurse slowly got to know her. ‘‘She was excited about being able to play sports once her casts are removed and showing her parents her new, straight legs.’’
Twenty-three-year-old Christensen worked mostly in orthopaedics, helping children like Justine to straighten their limbs – which had often been twisted by an accident, deformity or disease.
She said parents were often relieved to know their child would no longer be socially isolated because of their deformity.
‘‘Seeing the patient’s eyes light up when they get up and walking with their crutches for the first time after theatre is a real highlight,’’ Christensen said.
During her last month, she worked a lot with burn victims, both children and adults.
Despite the injuries and health problems people suffered, Christensen found many of her patients had a positive outlook. ‘‘A lot of the people there were always happy for what they had.’’
Christensen first heard about Mercy Ships, the charity behind Africa Mercy, through her church and said she was always interested in the idea of nursing on a ship.
Tight quarters were no problem for her – she shared a cabin with six other people, all sleeping in bunks – and the occasional bout of cabin fever was cured with trips to shore, often to volcano lakes.
Founded in 1978, Mercy Ships has operated on more than 84,477 people in some of the world’s poorest areas. The ship moves around every 10 months, docking in new ports to offer free health services.
Each year, more than 1000 volunteers from 40 countries serve on board.
The ship’s stories are being told through The Surgery Ship, a television series showing on National Geographic.