A First

That’s right, this is my finger above, my left pinky to be precise. I am proud to announce that I was the first one to ever have an x-ray taken of me on the M/V Africa Mercy. (No, I didn’t get a certificate or anything.) Some of you may be asking: “Scott, why did you have an x-ray taken of your finger?” If so, that’s a good question.

I was playing basketball (not football, roller skating, bowling, skiing, soccer, or street hockey- all sports that I have broken bones in.) I went up for a rebound and was struck on my finger and felt a familiar snapping sensation. It felt the opposite of good. I checked it out thoroughly, and proceeded to play a little longer. A few minutes later I decided that it would be a good idea to stop. So I did. By the morning it had blossomed into a visually pleasant spectrum of deep reds, purples, and even a little bit of light green. The next day I paid a visit to our friendly crew clinic.

Our radiologist was delighted to have an opportunity to play with our new toy. I thought it would be fun too. So with a ‘cheese’, we took a couple pictures of my finger. We then went across the pier together to the other ship and developed my portrait… it didn’t turn out, but it was cool to see the process that we employ here in Liberia. Later in the afternoon, after she did some fidgeting, we took another pair of pictures. I saw her a little bit later in the afternoon as she hiked up the gangway. She shared that it looked like I had a broken bone. So we looked at the film together in the sunlight. “Number ten” I thought to myself. Fortunately, later on, when the crew doctor took a look at it, he shared that all should be well, that it was only a little deformity. He said that it looked like the little shard on the underside of the second knuckle grew that way. “Or maybe it is from the last time I broke the finger playing football” I thought. Anyway, I simply tape my fingers together for the meantime because they look cool that way. Well, not really, but it keeps the little guy from hurting. In a few days it should be fine.

During the whole process, I shared my picture with a handful of people between the top of the gangway and the time I made it down to deck 3. I thought it was fun to look at. My friends thought the same. In the back of my mind, I thought ‘you’re not supposed to share medical stuff like this with other people’. I still did anyway, but couldn’t help but ask: “Why not?” Why is a picture of my insides supposed to be so private? Aren’t we all the same anyway? And finances? Are they that different? I guess that some people feel sensitive about such things. For me, it’s just my finger, a body part. Heck, everybody has a body! But nobody has been the first one to be radiated here except this one!