Today I had one of the best experiences of my life…I got to watch a surgery! And not just one surgery, I got to watch FIVE. The hospital puts out a sheet of paper with a list of dates and about 10 open slots that you can sign up for in order to watch a surgery. It usually goes up at the beginning of each month, and this past month one of my roommates just happened to be down there when they put the list on the wall, so she signed me up! It gets filled up fast, so I was lucky to get in : )
At 1:30 today, I went down to the OR and was given scrubs, footies, and a hairnet to wear. After entering the “Do Not Enter Unless Given Prior Authorization” doors that I accidentally walked through last month, I was led into the first room on the left. In this room, I watched two eye surgeries. One was to remove cataracts, and the other one removed this red stuff that was growing on top of a guy’s eyeball. During both procedures, the eye surgeon explained everything to me. Not only could I see it magnified on the screen, but I was also allowed to…no…encouraged to look over the surgeon’s shoulder and literally see everything he was doing from 1 foot away! My favorite part of the eye surgeries was when they removed the cataract and the person’s eye color was revealed. And apparently they take care of around 40 cataracts a day!
The third surgery that I was able to see was in the plastic surgery room. As I walked in, all I could see was a leg sitting on the table (the woman was covered up). As I came around to the side that the two surgeons were on, I saw that the woman’s leg was completely stitched up from the ankle to the mid-thigh…but the surgeons were pulling all kinds of guck out of the open stitches. The first comment I got from a nurse in the room was, “that’s the jelly they serve in the Dining Hall.” No joke, it really did look like the strawberry jelly we serve at every meal. When I asked about the patient, I found out that she originally came to Mercy Ships because of a GIANT growth/tumor on her leg. They had removed the growth that made her right leg look three times bigger than her left leg about two weeks ago. But it got infected shortly after, and that’s why they were digging all that yummy stuff out of her leg.
The fourth surgery dealt with a tumor the size of my fist located near a guy’s temple. The nurse told me that it was small in comparison the African tumors they’ve seen…if that tells you anything. This surgeon used a tool that looked like tweezers but burned the skin. It basically cuts the tumor away but burns it to stop the bleeding. The tricky part of this surgery was dealing with all the nerves, because if he hit one nerve, then the entire right side of the patient’s face could become paralyzed. But the surgery was a success, and after he stitched it up I moved back to the plastic surgery room.
So, the fifth surgery was a skin graft. A guy’s pinky was attached to the palm of his hand, so they cut it loose, basically broke the bone to straighten it out, then stuck a metal wire through the pinky and grafted skin from his waist to his hand in order for the skin to heal properly. Out of all the surgeries, I would say that this was the most gruesome. My face must have said it too, because half way through the surgery, the surgeon looked at me and said, “are you OK?”. I was fine & didn’t faint or even come close to it, but apparently a lot of people tend to faint while observing surgeries. If I were the type of girl to faint at gross things, I would have for sure fainted at this one!
It’s crazy that after leaving the OR, I continually see the surgeon’s and nurses everywhere I go…I serve them food every day! And now I feel like I’ve walked a day in their shoes. Well, kinda : )
At 1:30 today, I went down to the OR and was given scrubs, footies, and a hairnet to wear. After entering the “Do Not Enter Unless Given Prior Authorization” doors that I accidentally walked through last month, I was led into the first room on the left. In this room, I watched two eye surgeries. One was to remove cataracts, and the other one removed this red stuff that was growing on top of a guy’s eyeball. During both procedures, the eye surgeon explained everything to me. Not only could I see it magnified on the screen, but I was also allowed to…no…encouraged to look over the surgeon’s shoulder and literally see everything he was doing from 1 foot away! My favorite part of the eye surgeries was when they removed the cataract and the person’s eye color was revealed. And apparently they take care of around 40 cataracts a day!
The third surgery that I was able to see was in the plastic surgery room. As I walked in, all I could see was a leg sitting on the table (the woman was covered up). As I came around to the side that the two surgeons were on, I saw that the woman’s leg was completely stitched up from the ankle to the mid-thigh…but the surgeons were pulling all kinds of guck out of the open stitches. The first comment I got from a nurse in the room was, “that’s the jelly they serve in the Dining Hall.” No joke, it really did look like the strawberry jelly we serve at every meal. When I asked about the patient, I found out that she originally came to Mercy Ships because of a GIANT growth/tumor on her leg. They had removed the growth that made her right leg look three times bigger than her left leg about two weeks ago. But it got infected shortly after, and that’s why they were digging all that yummy stuff out of her leg.
The fourth surgery dealt with a tumor the size of my fist located near a guy’s temple. The nurse told me that it was small in comparison the African tumors they’ve seen…if that tells you anything. This surgeon used a tool that looked like tweezers but burned the skin. It basically cuts the tumor away but burns it to stop the bleeding. The tricky part of this surgery was dealing with all the nerves, because if he hit one nerve, then the entire right side of the patient’s face could become paralyzed. But the surgery was a success, and after he stitched it up I moved back to the plastic surgery room.
So, the fifth surgery was a skin graft. A guy’s pinky was attached to the palm of his hand, so they cut it loose, basically broke the bone to straighten it out, then stuck a metal wire through the pinky and grafted skin from his waist to his hand in order for the skin to heal properly. Out of all the surgeries, I would say that this was the most gruesome. My face must have said it too, because half way through the surgery, the surgeon looked at me and said, “are you OK?”. I was fine & didn’t faint or even come close to it, but apparently a lot of people tend to faint while observing surgeries. If I were the type of girl to faint at gross things, I would have for sure fainted at this one!
It’s crazy that after leaving the OR, I continually see the surgeon’s and nurses everywhere I go…I serve them food every day! And now I feel like I’ve walked a day in their shoes. Well, kinda : )
Leander Meanders 
I AM SO JEALOUS!! Seriously though, that sounds amazing! Miss you!
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WOW Chels!! What an amazing privilege you were allowed to experience! I have to say, I know you always enjoyed watching surgeries on TV, but wasn't sure you'd be OK in real life! How great – I'm SO excited for you!!
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hahha i saw the scrubs picture on facebook and thought that you were already helping out with surgeries like handing the surgeon stuff (i guess surgeon assistant). Glad you liked it (i would have probably fainted) and i'm happy for you chels!!! Love all the stories makes me laugh and wish i could be apart of it with you
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wow……amazing! what neat experiences! and how proud i am of you for not fainting! 😉 i used to work for a plastic surgeon and assist in small surgeries…got a little “woozy” the first time i watched but after that i thought it was so cool! keep the stories coming! neat to be able to hear what you are doing and the neat things God is doing in your life! 🙂 love you! “tante ea”
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And you say you couldn't be a nurse…pshhh. If you could handle these surgeries, you can handle anything. :] It's good that you didn't see too much blood, though…I hope you get to do it again.
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