Original Story Published by: Dr. Sherif Emil for McGill Reporter
(Above, from left to right) Dr. Sherif Emil and Dr. Etienne St-Louis with Irene Blotsky.
Dr. Sherif Emil is a pediatric surgeon at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and a professor of pediatric surgery at McGill. Dr. Emil was recently in Douala, Cameroon, on his third mission to the Africa Mercy. The Africa Mercy is the world’s largest civilian hospital ship dedicated to bringing hope and healing to tens of thousands of the world’s impoverished populations. This is the fourth instalment of Dr. Emil’s dispatches from aboard the Africa Mercy.
It’s 09:15 on Sunday morning. Etienne St-Louis, a McGill surgical resident, has been with me on the Ship for one week. We’ve seen our share of challenges in the operating room over the past week, and we are finishing a quiet breakfast, calmly content with many witnessed miracles since our arrival. Etienne will be on call today and I will leave the Ship briefly to attend a Palm Sunday service at the Hope Centre, the residence housing Africa Mercy patients recovering from surgery and those awaiting surgery, along with their families. But before I leave, I decide to do something different.
I have been interviewed several times leading up to, and during, my mission. Today, I get to be the interviewer. And I decide not to interview a doctor, nurse, or other health care professional. I’ve written much about their amazing work. Rather, I’ll interview a woman who on the surface seems far removed from the hospital setting.
To read the full article, visit McGill Reporter.
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