Interesting Competitors on Liberia's Olympic Team

In The News this week: The Liberia National Olympics Committee has disclosed that for the first time in the history of the country, Liberia will feature “quailed Olympians” at this year’s Olympics games in Beijing, China, with the expectation of being competitive.

What does a quailed Olympian look like??

Go Green!

What a great year it has been to be a Boston area sports fan! In the past 8 months the Red Sox won the World Series, the Patriots lost in the Super Bowl, the Bruins made the playoffs, and the Celtics won the NBA championship. After years of heartache (I know, it's only sports, but when you think you'll have a chance to savor victory and it's taken away in a cruel fashion...), it's good to celebrate victory. Since I am out of the US most of the time, I don't get to follow as closely as I would like. This year on the ship we have sports channels and I was able to catch some of the Celtics games, though it has meant staying up until all hours of the night. When I lived in England I subscribed to MLB radio so I could listen to Red Sox games via the internet. That's not an option with the slow connection on board, so I have to follow via Gameday and read recaps the next day. I can't read it on the SI website since the sonic wall blocks it at least half the year (that swimsuit issue raises all sorts of red flags).

Tuesday night I had the television on and the ESPN tuned in (I don't know who showed it in the US, but via satellite it was ESPN)...and fell asleep 15 minutes before it started only to awake after the trophy presentation.

That's about it from here. Just wanted to say that as a Boston fan I do realize what an unusual season this is and I'm glad I get to read about it even if I can't experience it all on tv or in person. The next thing I'd like to see is a Red Sox - Cubs World Series. I'll be home by then and actually get to watch it during reasonable hours.

Patches Off

I headed out to the dockside unit today to see if I could catch "Old Lady" when her eye patch came off. She'd already had hers removed, but there were several other post-op patients in line to have their patches removed and eyesight checked. Two women in particular caught my attention. When their patches came off, huge smiles danced across their faces. Outside the tent the translators were leading a worship time, so the sounds of music carried inside. I asked the first woman if she could see and she responded, "I can't sing, but I can dance!" Hands lifted up she bounced around in her seat. I don't take the time often enough to stop in and capture these events. It put a bounce in MY step and a chuckle in my voice as I thought back to the women who were so excited this morning. Makes it all worthwhile.

Old Lady

No, I'm not talking about myself when I say "Old Lady," though I keep inching closer to that status. Today I helped relocate the patients awaiting cataract surgery from the pilot entrance to the recovery room. One of the women I led down the hallway was named Old Lady. What's with a name like that? I wondered what it would be like to call a baby Old Lady or if perhaps she had started out simply as Lady and picked up the adjective as she aged. And if she picked it up as she aged, when did she cross the magic line? According to WHO, average life expectancy for women at birth here in Liberia is currently 46; in neighboring Sierra Leone it is 42. Approximately one of four children in these countries die before they reach their fifth birthday. Startling, isn't it, in this day and age?

I've been thinking about age recently. My great uncle sent an email last week notifying my siblings, cousins and me of what would have been my grandfather's 100th birthday if he were still alive...but he died before I was born. I'm a year older than my grandfather was at his death. Sometimes I think of all he did with his short life and wonder if I have done enough with mine. I can only say that I have obeyed the call of my Father in heaven and given back to him what he has given to me. I confess it hasn't always been done joyfully nor has it always been done as quickly as perhaps it should have been, so don't think I'm anyone special! I'll be the first to tell you I'm not.

I had NO intention of going here with this post when I started...I was just going to tell you about Old Lady. Together with 25 others today, Old Lady received the gift of sight. And today someone cared enough about Old Lady to find out what her real name was, the one they called her as a child. Once upon a time there was a young girl named Denae (sp?), who grew up, grew blind, and received back her sight on a white ship in Africa. And for a little while today I had the privilege of walking beside her.

Diligence of Duty and Other Observations

Just three brief updates on previous posts:
Wednesday night I ran out to a downtown restaurant for takeout and on the way home I turned on the radio. I was amused to hear that someone was on trial for "diligence of duty." It will be a while before Liberia is back on its feet if diligence of duty has become a crime :)

When I checked the Liberia news alerts, I read that a UN helicopter crashed on landing at Greenville. That's where we flew last month to screen for patients and where I had been uneasy enough about the trip that I wrote out a revised will the night before leaving. The good news is that none of the four crew members on board at the time were injured.

Meanwhile, neighboring Guinea (it circles around Sierra Leone, so it is north of Liberia along the coast, but east of Liberia inland) continues to experience unrest, with a military revolt this past week over the issue of back pay. The trigger for this latest event was the President's removal of the Prime Minister. This doesn't strike me as the stablest of West African nations, but Mercy Ships has decided to go there in 2010. Alimou may have trouble getting home if the flights are interrupted this week.

Avoid Securing Good Health

I should be going to sleep, but I just read this article online and had to comment. Reading many (not all) African newspapers is an entirely unique entertainment, as they strive to sound professional and it so often falls flat. The following is from a story about a father of new triplets, appealing for financial aid:

"Commenting on his means of survival, Mr. George, in a rather sad tone said he previously served as a watchman but that doctors advised him to quit the job to avoid securing good health (emphasis mine), while his wife who previously sold cold water to generate funds for the family also abandoned the business due to her pregnancy."

Tell me, what is so dangerous about good health that one should do everything within his power to avoid it?!?!?!? If I were even remotely touched by this story, I would not be moved to help someone who can't bother to work because he might become healthy.

Alimou Ready to go home

Scurried around tonight to get a photo of Alimou with some of us who went to the Guinea screening. We thought he was going to fly home to Conakry tomorrow, but in the end we decided he would probably be better off sticking around here a little longer and getting stronger. Although flying will be easier than an overland tour, it will still take the better part of the day on a multi-stop World Food Program flight.

Alimou looks terrific. His head is wrapped with a compression garment in the photo. When someone has a tumor as large as he did, it takes a while for the skin to shrink back (like a woman's belly after having a baby). In September when he returns for a bone graft, Dr Gary will also trim a bit of the excess. Do that too soon, however, and he could end up with too little skin.