A new beginning, a new Journey

        The USNS Mercy will be my home from April 30-Aug 11 or if I sail home to San Diego from Cambodia the one month sail will arrive home on September 15th. The 'Mercy' is a floating Naval hospital with a 1000 bed patient capacity! The ship was converted from a tanker into a full functioning hospital with 12 operating rooms, a full laboratory,and a radiology department with an MRI and state of the art imaging. The ship travels at a whopping speed of 17.5 knots an hour! SLOW!!! If blessed I will be living in an estate room with only 5 other girls. This could change and I could live in the open bay berthing with many many girls. There is a computer room on the ship with internet access but I am not sure of the quality of the internet. I am also not sure about phone service. I am considering paying for international coverage, but I don't now how good the reception will be on land. The boat is anchored off shore a distance so I doubt their will be service on the boat. It is also a protected Naval ship so maybe the service and internet is intentionally poor to protect the security of this vessel. This is all a big mystery and adventure for me!
  
        My role on this tour will be a variety of things. I will function as a staff nurse along side other volunteers but mainly Navy Nurses on ship. I will be floating between all levels of care and have to work rotating shifts. I will be working in the ICU, Intermediate Care Unit, Light surgery care, and wound care. There will also be days or weeks that I will be working triage on land. Here the local community is evaluated for general medicine, vaccinations, and to see if they are candidates for surgery aboard the Mercy. Occasionally I will be teaching disease prevention and wellness at Universities or Community centers. Overall this is going to be a huge learning experience for me as well as a tremendous way to serve others. Please pray for strength, compassion, and a heart of service as I begin this journey.

Here is a tentative schedule of the Pacific Partnership Mission 2012

Depart San Diego April 30, 2012--> Pearl Harbor EDA May 8 then depart May 11--> Guam May 23rd

1.Guam (Westbound) to North Sulawesi, Indonesia: 24 May-16 June 2012

 2. Samar, Philippines: 16 June-5 July 2012

 3. Subic Bay, Philippines (Westbound) to Vinh City, Vietnam: 5 July-25 July 2012

 4. Sihanoukville, Cambodia: 23 July-12 August 2012 Cambodia

 Aug 12--> Pearl Harbor ETA Sept 4 then depart Sept 7 -->San Diego Sept 15th

There are many things to accomplish before I move... immunizations, malaria RX (done thanks to Dr, Ram!) medical tests, selling my belongings, changing cell phone coverage, insurance, loan deferments, the list goes on!!!
My last day of work at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, 5 East will be April 11th. This has been my first job as an RN and a phenomenal place to grow and learn. I have had the most supportive staff and friends work along side me and I will miss them tremendously.
My move date from Oklahoma City will be April 15th after I play and go to some concerts with some friends and then drive HOME to California!!