August 16: First day on ship

Today is the first day on the ship, and everything has gone very smoothly.  We needed to leave the hotel by 8:15 to be at the dock by 9:00, but the dining room usually doesn’t open for breakfast on Sundays until 8:30.  As a major concession, the  chef agreed to open at 7:55, so we all rushed through breakfast and clamored onto the bus, most with dirty teeth.  At the dock, we waited for half an hour in the already blazing sun for the guy from the boat to get his act together.  He, of course, was sitting under a tent in the shade, carefully checking his paperwork while he chatted with the captain of the “tender” (the little boat that ferries people to the big boat.)  Finally, he gave us a wave and we formed a line in front of his tent so he could check our passports.  As soon as the young women in the group began to reach the front of the line, all the time in the hot sun was forgotten.  What had been a group of young professionals quickly turned into a group of well, groupies.  Whether it was the uniform or his smile, (big white teeth, dimples,) many – not all, to be fair – of the women in the group suddenly wanted photos with him, alone and in groups.  He kindly obliged, leaving some of the men in the back of the line looking a bit sour. 

We finally completed the vetting process and were divided into two groups for the trip to the ship.  I was in the first group, and as we approached the ship, I had unpleasant memories of docking on the lowest deck of the USNS Mercy back in 2010 and having to drag my luggage up 9 decks.  This time, we came along side the ship and were winched up to the main deck.  Of course it meant we had to carry our bags down nine decks to the berthing area, but at least that meant we had a gravity assist.

The day has been busy.  First we went to “berthing” where all 1000 people on the ship, except for the officers, sleep.  Being all together in our own “area” merely means that our beds are grouped together in one part of this vast complex of three-tiered bunkroom.  It’s segregated by sex, but not by day and night workers, so the lights are kept off all the time and no talking allowed.  I’m on the top bunk of my tier, partly by choice and partly by what was left.  As I climbed up to make my bed, one of the young women commented, “ I love that about you!! You just jump up there and climb around, so agile!!”  And I said, “ You mean for someone my age?”  “ Yes!” she said, not at all embarrassed.

Each bunk is assigned a smallish locker so the suitcases sit on the floor.  We’ll see if that’s permitted.

 After “berthing,” we had an information session with a video about the ship. There are 12 OR’s, 4 ICU’s, 4 radiology suites and a burn center. The ship has it’s own oxygen and nitrogen production plants and a fresh water production plant.  After that we went to lunch and managed to sit in an area reserved for officers.  Of course we weren’t aware until an officer came over to tell us.  There was a tiny sign on the table that said, “reserved for E-6.”  The officer said, “Excuse me, you’re fine for today, but for the future, be aware that this area is reserved for E-6.”  Then he smiled, sort of, and left.  Luckily there was a nice young E-6 nearby who explained that E6 was a rank and that we should ignore the first guy.

Since lunch we have been unpacking gear and getting the OR’s, wards, recovery room, etc. ready.  Tomorrow’s patients have arrived and settled on the pre-op ward.  I’ll post photos if I can find and get to the WI-FI lounge.