Tani is one of our hospital patients. I'm not sure of her story, however, I believe she may have been burnt. She has lost a couple of fingers on her right arm, one eye is covered over and deformed and she doesn't have a nose. Or more accurately she didn't have a nose, because she does now. Gary Parker is our resident maxillo-facial surgeon on the ship, and among the many surgeries he performs to reconstruct peoples faces, he has created a new nose for 9 year old Tani. In an intricate surgery he has taken a flap of skin from her scalp, twisted it around and formed it into a nose. Why twist is round rather than cut it off? Well eventually it will be cut off from the scalp, but when the nose is first connected leaving the blood vessels intact to supply the moved tissue increases the chance of the surgery being successful.
However, with such surgery it is imperative to make sure the wounds (both around the new nose and surrounding areas and the donor site on the scalp which is gradually healing over) are kept clean with regular dressing changes. So fairly regularly Tani goes to see Alainie or Jane, our nurses in charge of the wound care of our patients, particularly our plastics patients.
Now the inpatient treatment room, where Alainie and Jane work, is next to the Biomedical Technicians office, where I work. And the other day as I walked past to the office I saw Alainie and Tani and decided to say hello, as Alainie was explaining to Tani that I was her friend. Normally when Tani is having her dressing changed her father is also present, however, this time he was not around, this led to a slightly more boisterous and lively Tani. So I stuck around to see her dressing being changed. Gradually as Alainie unwrapped her bandages and then proceeded to clean the wound Tani started to mess about and play. She looked at the opthalmascopes (used for looking at eyes) and turned on the oxygen flowmeter, and then started playing with me. With Alainie's music going in the background I started dancing with Tani whilst trying not to make it too difficult for Alainie to do her job! Every so often Tani would wriggle away, she wasn't upset or crying, she just wanted to play! And each time I tried to find something else to occupy her that kept her in the right place for Alainie. Alainie always chats to the the patients as she is doing her work (in a mixture of broken French and English) and tells them what she is doing. Admittedly Tani can't understand all of this, but she does know one English phrase which she kept repeating, I love you. Eventually the dressing change was complete and she was able to go back to the wards to continue the craft she had been doing.
Why did I enjoy this so much? Well, not only was it good fun, but I got to spend time with an adorable child. Many of the patients who come to us with such disfigurements, particularly to their faces are incredibly shy and reserved. They are used to be ostracised and made fun of. But Tani was still a joyful little girl, who enjoyed playing and messing about, who was mischievous and playful. She hadn't been so damaged by peoples reactions to her to become timid, but still had the spirit of a young child. It was a joy to see how happy she was, and to know that she will have a new nose when she leaves us. Hopefully when we are in Sierra Leone next year she will be able to come back and get her eye fixed as well.
However, with such surgery it is imperative to make sure the wounds (both around the new nose and surrounding areas and the donor site on the scalp which is gradually healing over) are kept clean with regular dressing changes. So fairly regularly Tani goes to see Alainie or Jane, our nurses in charge of the wound care of our patients, particularly our plastics patients.
Now the inpatient treatment room, where Alainie and Jane work, is next to the Biomedical Technicians office, where I work. And the other day as I walked past to the office I saw Alainie and Tani and decided to say hello, as Alainie was explaining to Tani that I was her friend. Normally when Tani is having her dressing changed her father is also present, however, this time he was not around, this led to a slightly more boisterous and lively Tani. So I stuck around to see her dressing being changed. Gradually as Alainie unwrapped her bandages and then proceeded to clean the wound Tani started to mess about and play. She looked at the opthalmascopes (used for looking at eyes) and turned on the oxygen flowmeter, and then started playing with me. With Alainie's music going in the background I started dancing with Tani whilst trying not to make it too difficult for Alainie to do her job! Every so often Tani would wriggle away, she wasn't upset or crying, she just wanted to play! And each time I tried to find something else to occupy her that kept her in the right place for Alainie. Alainie always chats to the the patients as she is doing her work (in a mixture of broken French and English) and tells them what she is doing. Admittedly Tani can't understand all of this, but she does know one English phrase which she kept repeating, I love you. Eventually the dressing change was complete and she was able to go back to the wards to continue the craft she had been doing.
Why did I enjoy this so much? Well, not only was it good fun, but I got to spend time with an adorable child. Many of the patients who come to us with such disfigurements, particularly to their faces are incredibly shy and reserved. They are used to be ostracised and made fun of. But Tani was still a joyful little girl, who enjoyed playing and messing about, who was mischievous and playful. She hadn't been so damaged by peoples reactions to her to become timid, but still had the spirit of a young child. It was a joy to see how happy she was, and to know that she will have a new nose when she leaves us. Hopefully when we are in Sierra Leone next year she will be able to come back and get her eye fixed as well.
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