By Violet Li
Flying overseas to stay on a ship for three weeks usually conjures up the prospect of a nice vacation, but for Casey Hospital operating theatre nurse Dionne Smithwick, it is a matter of saving lives and bringing hope.
The Berwick resident will soon jump on a flight to Madagascar to volunteer for the third time in two years with the international development organisation Mercy Ships.
The charity organisation has operated hospital ships around the world with a focus on Africa for the past 30 years.
Each team is made up of volunteers from around the world. Volunteers are there to fill roles in many areas such as medicine, nursing, dentistry, teaching, engineering, hospitality staff, human resources and many more.
Dionne will board the purpose-built ship African Mercy in Madagascar to assist in life-changing and lifesaving surgeries.
“It is a civilian hospital ship which has operating theatres, wards, a recovery room and so much more,” Dionne said.
“I’ll be working in the operating theatre in scrub/circulate, which is, scrubbing and circulating for the operations.
“It’s pretty much a full circle.”
The full circle involves checking the patient in with the family member or carer and the surgeon, bringing the patient and the translator, in this case, into the theatre, conducting a final team time out, prepping the patient for the procedure, helping out, carrying out nursing duties throughout the procedure, advocating for the patient, helping take the patient back out to recovery and handing over to recovery staff and doing the clean-up for the next procedure.
“Shifts are from 8am until the end of the list. Usually, the finish time is somewhere between 5 and 6 o’clock,” Dionne said.
“The first time I went on Mercy Ships, it was very confronting.
“Working with new staff from multiple countries, new surgeries and complex cases you haven’t seen before, as these surgeries would be completed in a timely manner in the Western world.”
Surgical specialities offered on the ship are general surgery, paediatric surgery, reconstructive plastic surgery, ophthalmology surgery, orthopaedic surgery, maxillofacial surgery, obstetric fistula surgery, and gynaecology surgery.
“I first heard about the Mercy Ships when I was working full time at another hospital, through a presentation that was given by one of my then-colleagues,” Dionne recalled.
“I was really fascinated by the work, love and community feel and knew it was something I’d love to be part of. I found that it was a really unique and touching work environment. And for me, it was personally soul-changing.
“The fact that these communities have no access to healthcare is unimaginable to most. Before Mercy Ships I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live without being able to go to the doctor or the dentist or have surgery that you might need. It’s just heartbreaking.
“Some of these people were ostracised from their communities due to their conditions, whether it’s massive facial tumours, cleft palates, or cleft lips that are completely disfiguring them. Sometimes they have to live with these things for 30 or 40 years.”
Dionne said the work they did on Mercy Ships would change the patient’s life forever, that of their family and the whole community.
“I am passionate about the work and the outcomes created for the patients,” she said.
“To be involved with a team from around the world bringing hope and healing to many who would otherwise have no access to healthcare is what I love about serving. It is truly gratifying.
“A highlight for me was being involved in the ophthalmic program and watching the patients we had operated on having their eye dressings removed for the first time.
“Being able to share their joy as they had sight returned for the first time was truly magical and heartwarming. Knowing you have helped make such a positive impact in someone’s life is honestly rewarding and no price can be placed on this.”
If you wish to volunteer with Mercy Ships, visit: mercyships.org.au
