Anyone want to play "telephone tag ?"

You remember don't you, in kindergarden you played this. Everyone sat in a line or a circle, you whisper a message to the person beside you. He then turns to the person beside him and says the same thing until you get to the end of the line where the original phrase, "the cow jumped over the moon," somehow morphs into "my uncle's cow has a moon on it's head." Ahh, yes. The class bursts into laughter and the game continues!

I play this game EVERYDAY!!! Only, I begin the chain of communication with, "have you had a bowel movement today?" I have since learned a quicker way to find out this answer is to graphically act out the question.. which you can only imagine. If i wasn't already red from a little too much sun, i would be after acting out #2. But all is well, and many laughs are had by all. Think of all of the 'wonderful things' we nurses ask our patients on a daily basis... and then think of the game. Because, today, I had to communicate through 4 translators to talk to 3 of my patients.

For the next 6 weeks, one of the OR's is dedicated to VVF surgeries. This acronym stands for Vesico Vaginal Fistula. This condition is relatively isolated to developing countries whereby women are in labour for days and days. The majority of these women are from remote areas where doctors do not exist, much less skilled midwives. These prolonged labours unfortunately ultimately end in the birth of a stillborn child days after labor. The women too, suffer greatly. The damage to their bodies result in tracts forming between their bladder and uterus, meaning they are constantly wet. These women are often isolated from their communties, cast out from their families, and left to live alone in the bush. One woman told me today, "you know, at home many women from my village have killed themselves because of this problem. They cannot bare it, they cannot bare to be looked upon in the way we are. But, in my heart God told me he understood my problem and would give me the strength to endure it. I did not know if i would one day be cured, but not once did i think about killing myself. And today, I am dry! And I praise God for the healing in my body."

I spent my day working with these wonderful women. For years, these women have not known a friend. A handful still have welcoming families, but for so many, they have lived a life of lonliness and abuse. Here, an entire ward is dedicated to them. For those of you women, it's like one gigantic sleepover on the ward. You would think they had known eachother for years. There is so much laughter and singing. Post-op care is fairly tedious in the first few days, and considering the great distance many of these women have come, the languages become harder and harder to translate. It is fascinating to watch them teach each other. As a group they go for walks, do their special exercises... learn how to care for themselves etc. I cannot describe the awesome comrodory that exists on this ward.

Perhaps it is my medical background that makes this ward my favourite so far. Who knows. I've only spent a few days on each, and i'll probably say that of all the wards in the end. But, today was a great day. It is not everyday that a person has the opportunity to see lives transformed so dramatically. Today was one of those days.

So, anyone want to play 'telephone'?