Mercy in Ambon

27 July 2010

We were anchored the past week a 10 minute motor boat ride off the coast of Ternate on the island of Halmahera. There is a Portuguese fortress dating back to the 1500’s when Portugal ruled this area of the Spice Islands. I was unable to get off the ship and see the town. We’re limited to 2 leisure days on shore in Indonesia. I’ve used one and want to save the other for next stop, Ambon. We are the second ship to even get ‘liberty’ days in Indonesia, due to security concerns, and when we do get off we are required to be in groups of 3-5.

Last Sunday was a very busy day when we admitted 80 patients to the ship for procedures. The rest of the week was spent in follow-up treatments and discharges. We also had patients come on board for CT scans and dental procedures throughout the week. I work in processing and assessing incoming patients rather than on the wards.

Mike worked 2 days seeing patients in town. He saw some sad cancers, Huntington’s chorea, a huge cavernous hemangioma that covered most the person’s face, and some burn contractures. It’s a bit depressing at times being unable to do more. On the second day he experienced a mild earthquake where he “felt the earth move under his feet” and he said he could see the ground ripple.

We spent a day and a half steaming to Ambon since Saturday afternoon and arrived Monday morning where the process of admitting and treating a ‘boat load’ of patients will begin again. We’ll be in Ambon for 9 days and then we’ll go to Darwin and head home. The ship will continue on to Timor Leste for more service and then head back to San Diego via Guam and Hawaii. There’s an offer to invite family members 8 and above to join the trip from Hawaii to San Diego. Wouldn’t that be fun for the grandkids to be in the Navy for a week? I’ve wondered if they would allow us to fly back to Hawaii, re-board ship and accompany grandkids for the trip to San Diego. The trip is available to the first 90 applicants. I don’t imagine there will be any slots available and I doubt any of our family would be that interested, but it’s fun to think about.

This has been quite an experience with a very broad scope of purpose. It is far more than a medical mission. This is an exercise in diplomacy and coordination between government and private groups. In some ways it’s serving as a preparedness drill for disaster response. It’s been a special privilege to work unitedly with these folks, to make new acquaintances and friends. Here’s a breakdown of the 1043 persons on the ship. US Navy: 631 people US Army: 52 US Marines 1 US Air Force 31
US Public Health Service 16 Civilians/Technical Reps 14 Indonesian Military 18
Australian military 25 Canadian Military 17 New Zealand Military 6
United Kingdom Military 1 Cambodian dentists 4 Indonesian interpreters 59
LDS Charities 33 Project Hope 20 University California at SD 39 pre-dental students
Vets Without Borders 1 Civilian Mariners (Merchant Marines) 71

I was asked to speak in church meetings Sunday I talked about our pioneer heritage and legacy. After church we did a tour of the engine room of the ship. Our ship has 350,000 gallons of fresh water holding tanks. We use 50,000 gallons a day, and have three condensers that can distil 70,000 gallons a day. Grey water and black water are kept separate and processed and disposed of according to International regulations for each. Our ship was made in the 1970’s and served as an oil tanker before it was converted with its sister ship into a tertiary care hospital. We are learning much about life on the ocean. It’s a different world.

Sampai jumpa (‘See you later’ in Indonesian)