Mary's Story

Ali Bowden, RN (LDS Charities:

Yesterday I was blessed to witness the joy that come of strong faith and small miracles. All of the patients I have had the opportunity to care for here aboard the Comfort have a story, but there are definitely some that will remain with me forever; such is the story of Mary Christopher.

Mary was and elderly woman who was brought to our unit post-operatively, after having a cataract removed from her left eye. I helped her to settle into her steel bunk bed, did a thorough assessment, but quickly became busy with other patients – patients who I felt needed more immediate attention. As I worked, however, I began to notice someone softly singing – almost indiscernibly. I looked over to where the sound was coming from, and saw Mary, lying on her side, a huge blue patch over her operative eye, singing quietly to herself. I immediately stopped what I was doing and went to sit with her; and this is how I came to know Mary’s story.

Mary had known that she needed cataract surgery, but had been told by a doctor in Cuba (the closest facility to Antigua that could/would perform this type of surgery) that ‘it wasn’t bad enough yet,’ and that she would have to wait for another year before they would even consider operating. She was discouraged by this as her sight was already severely impaired, and returning to Cuba would be difficult, if not impossible, for her to arrange.

When Mary heard rumor that the USNS Comfort would be coming to Antigua to offer free medical services, she had great hopes that she would see a doctor and get the surgery that she knew she needed so desperately. However, after two full days of standing amid the chaotic mass of people outside the St. John’s Multi-purpose center (where the USNS Comfort providers had set up their ophthalmology clinic), she had not even been successful at obtaining a wrist band – the precious wrist band that would secure her an appointment with the eye doctor. The next day was Sunday and, although Mary wanted desperately to try her luck at the clinic again, she decided that it was more important that she go to church - to worship her Lord and to celebrate Mother’s Day with her family.

On Monday morning, Mary woke at two o’clock a.m. to be sure that she was in line at the clinic by three a.m.. All morning she stood her ground, despite the loud, pushing, and sometimes aggressive crowd. She says she was often worried that she would be pushed over and trampled among the crazy mass of people. Then, a policeman who was manning the throng, noticed Mary struggling to maintain her position and balance; he shoved thought the crowd, approached her and, scolding the others for not being more respectful of this elderly woman, took her to the front of the line.

Mary was then taken by one of the US Military officers to the registration table; she received her arm band, and was lead into the clinic to have her appointment with the ophthalmologist. Two days later, her surgery has been successful and she sits quietly on the 2 AFT Ward, aboard the USNS Comfort, singing a song of praise. After Mary tells me her story, she closes her good eye and begins to sing again - this time much louder, and with greater feeling:

“Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely?
and long for heaven and home.

When Jesus is my portion,
My constant friend is he.
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

I sing because I am happy.
I sing because I am free.

For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.”

Mary repeatedly thanks the Lord, and expresses sincere gratitude to all of us who have cared for her; for we have been an answer to her prayers. She reminds me that the Lord loves his children, and that is mindful of their every need. In her own words: “When me think He no hear, He hear. When me think me prayers no go, He always answer.”

I feel blessed to be a part of Mary’s joy, and to be reminded of this truth – that strong faith in a loving and all knowing God, brings about small, and sometimes great, miracles.

Antigua and Barbuda mission complete

From Capt. Bob Lineberry, Continuing Promise 2009 mission commander:

We have completed our mission on the Island of 365 Beaches. Although we did not see much beach time, with the exception of a few nurses, we did see to the needs of many. During our mission, we seen over 12,000 individual patients and provided nearly 43,000 separate healthcare services and conducted 161 surgeries to the people of Antigua and Barbuda. We had the opportunity to celebrate Nurses Week over the past several days, nurturing information sharing and gaining a true sense of compassionate service to others. During Nurse Week there were six nurses from Antigua and six nurses from COMFORT's team up to screen over 400 patients for blood pressure and diabetes, as well as providing Healthcare counseling at three different sites throughout the Island.

Our Veterinary team stayed extremely busy on both Islands seeing to the needs of many four-legged friends. Prior to work they met with Director of Department of Agriculture, Host Nation veterinarians and the Humane Society to discuss goals. They coordinated and worked side-by-side with Island veterinarians and owners demonstrating veterinary preventive medicine, safe animal handling and animal husbandry to livestock owners. MAJ Powell and his small team saw nearly 2,100 animals and conducted over 5,700 vet services.

One of the more interesting events during our visit was a jam session with the Antigua and Barbuda Defense Forces and AF South Band during a military subject matter expert exchange event. Nearly 30 musicians playing together for the first time and brought calypso music to the ears of the onlookers. The music was colorful and delightful, told stories of island life and the wonderful culture we have been witness to for the past 12 days while working with the people of Antigua and Barbuda. We now have many lasting memories and new friends we can add to our address books.

Now our Humanitarian team is going to have a brief stop in Cartagena, Colombia to recharge our batteries, take on many historic sites and buy some emeralds. After that, Panama!

Nurses change lives, educate each other in Antigua

From LTJG Kirstan Pyle

USNS Comfort

Everything happens for a reason and we learn from EVERY situation we are placed in. I am so glad to be a part of this awe-inspiring partnership with other countries, communities, and services. I have seen so much from each country and Antigua is no different. Antigua has been an awesome experience!


I have had the opportunity to meet, train, and share knowledge with many Antiguan nurses and nursing students. After attending the Antigua & Barbuda Nurse Association Education Conference, many of us realized that nurses, regardless of culture, location and practice, experience many of the same difficulties and blessings.


At the Educational Conference, we discussed Evidence-Based Nursing. There is a lot of thought in nursing that things should continue to be done a certain way because "that's the way it's always been done." Every nurse has rammed head first into one of these situations, and it is sometimes hard to convince others that different isn't always bad. Evidence-Based Nursing looks at research and true facts and those are what determines how dressings are changed, what medicine is best, etc.

The blessings come from our patients and the lives we touch every day, even when we don't truly realize what an impact we have had on someone. We are a part of people's lives when they are the most vulnerable and when they lack control. It is our duty, goal, and honor to reach out and touch them in whatever way is possible, and now we have that opportunity in multiple countries. We might only see them for a day or two, but they will remember us. They will remember the US. They will remember that one moment in time where someone spent time away from their home to take spectacular care for them.

Antiguans are incredibly passionate, caring, and selfless people and a true joy to be around! Our patients in the Peri-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) have been so thankful for the great care that they are receiving from all the nurses and doctors. It is truly my pleasure to be a part of this life-changing mission!

LTJG Kirstan Pyle
USNS Comfort

Seabees Completed mission in Antigua

The Seabees arrived in Antigua with 21 Seabees and two main missions, which were to partner with Ministry of Public Works and the Rotary in completely renovating a 9,000 square foot building with new electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, restroom, shower, floor tile, and painting of both interior and exterior surfaces.

This mission was lead by SW1(SCW/EXW) Buchanan, who completed this mission on schedule. This will greatly enhance the quality of life for the patients at the hospital and produce an environment more conducive to providing medical care to them.

The second mission we had was a Subject Matter Expert Exchange(SMEE) with the Department of Public Works personnel. We provided four facilitators lead by BUC(SCW) Woolston for the SMEE which discussed topics of General Carpentry, Project planning, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, and General concrete/retaining wall construction.

We successfully exchanged with 11 Public Works construction men and received to outstanding feedback of how beneficial the training had been and how professional and knowledgeable the facilitators were during each two and a half hour session over a course of five days.

CWO2 John A. Ford
USNS Comfort Seabees

Happy Nurses Week

Wow, what a great week in Antigua and Barbuda. I’m CDR Mark Marino, the Director for Nursing onboard the ship and we had the phenomenal opportunity of celebrating Nurses Week and the Navy Nurse Corps’ 101st birthday with our colleagues of the Antigua and Barbuda Nurses Association. On Monday, we joined the Nurses Association in an opening ceremony at their building and then on Tuesday, we had 82 Antiguan Nurses aboard for a tour and a cake cutting in celebration of Nurses Week. Wednesday, 24 of the ship’s nurses attended the Antigua Nurses Association Education Conference where we had lectures on pain management, cultural sensitivity, customer relations, and two of our Air Force nurses presented on innovations in nursing and evidence-based practice. Wednesday night, in honor of the Navy Nurse Corp’s 101st birthday, we hosted a social at a local restaurant with 61 of our Antiguan colleagues joining us for the celebration. The food was great and the music and dancing were even better! On Thursday, we joined the Antiguan nurses for a health fair at two shopping centers and the Department of Education where together the nurses screened over 500 people for diabetes and hypertension. Today, we were asked to provide a three hour seminar on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and delirium in the elderly to both nurses and families dealing with these problems. And all week we have had nursing students from the local school of nursing aboard with their instructors where they have been doing clinical time with our nurses as their preceptors. It has been a great learning opportunity for everybody!

It was so impressive to be in Antigua during Nurses Week. By partnering with the Antiguan nurses, we discovered that they share the same issues that we do and are faced with the same challenges. Having an opportunity to discuss these challenges and provide each other opportunities on how to address them has proven to be a highlight of the week. Our team of military nurses from the Canada, the Netherlands, El Salvador, and the U.S. as well as our nurses from Project HOPE and Latter-Day Saint Charities will cherish these memories for a very long time! Happy Nurses Week!

United States Public Health Service

Another great partner of ours during CONTINUING PROMISE 09 is the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
USPHS has more than 6,200 full-time, well-trained, highly qualified public health professionals dedicated to delivering the Nation's public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science.

Presently we have 11 of these fantastic professionals serving alongside us onboard COMFORT. I find them to be passionate about what they're doing and excited to be quite literally on the frontlines in the fight against disease and poor health conditions around the world.

Interesting fact: USPHS Commissioned Corps is one of America's seven uniformed services--their uniform looks just like the Navy one I wear!

As partners in Continuing Promise 2009, USPHS officers offer a wide range of expertise and a unique public health perspective that enhance the effectiveness of our mission during our four month deployment to seven countries. In Haiti, Dominican Republic and Antigua and Barbuda these professionals have worked closely with Host Nation officials providing valuable education and training. We’ve also learned a lot about the region that will better prepare our humanitarian team during a catastrophic event, and this leads to better disaster preparedness for the Americas. USPHS will rotate numerous teammates during this mission; right now I have the honor of working with these officers onboard COMFORT:

CAPT Arturo Bravo, a dentist from Washington State, serves as the USPHS officer-in-charge. CAPT Robert Lott, a physician from Florida, is assigned to the Advance Coordination Element (ACE) team for Panama as a vector control subject matter expert. CAPT Jan Manwaring, an environmental health officer from Alaska, is assigned to the Preventative Medicine team and works on environmental health assessments both on board the ship and at sites ashore. The team’s healthcare providers include CDR Christine Mattson, a family nurse practitioner from Arizona, LT Scott Williams, a dentist from Oklahoma, LT Chris Cordes, an optometrist from New Mexico, LT Temeri Wilder-Kofie, a veterinarian from Georgia, and LT Kara King, a pharmacist from Alaska. CDR Sheila Merriweather, an epidemiologist from Washington, DC, and LT Michael Mero, a dietician from California, serve as health educators on the Preventative Medicine Team. LCDR Todd Lennon, a social worker from Washington, DC, serves as the team’s executive assistant/public information officer and is assigned to Medical Operations.

OUR PARTNERS

By Capt. Bob Lineberry, mission commander

You have heard us praise the efforts of our Humanitarian team and many of the volunteers who are behind this amazing CONTINUING PROMISE team. Over the next several days I want to highlight a few great organizations we work with daily here on COMFORT. Project HOPE currently has 18 outstanding healthcare professionals and educators onboard supporting our efforts. Majority are Nurses, they seek to provide essential healthcare for people around the world and they live by their name, Health Opportunities for People Everywhere. Project HOPE has worked with the U.S. Navy for many years and have been partnered with SOUTHCOM from the very beginning of CONTINUING PROMISE. For this mission, Project HOPE has gone above and beyond to provide the team with the very best in healthcare and educational professionals. The team here is led by Mr. Tom Stanton and Dr. Ken Iserson, Medical Director, they will cycle over 60 individuals through the team during the four month deployment. During our mission in Dominican Republic, the President and CEO of Project HOPE, Dr. John Howe, a true humanitarian, honored us with an overnight visit. Dr. Howe and his team are performing amazing humanitarian efforts throughout the world, our team has certainly benefited from their experience and endless energy to provide healthcare and humanitarian assistance, by the way they are all volunteers here doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. The following humanitarians are currently onboard COMFORT and we couldn’t be as successful without them: Tom Stanton, Dr. Ken Iserson, Joan Cockerill, Darlene Lee, Sarah Cryer, Jan Auerbach, Megan Rohm, Sandra Larson, Margaret Holt, Tauna Ainslie, Elizabeth Malloy, Barbara Perdikakis, Linda Brant, Kelly Magee, Lynn Bemiller, Jane Bower, Michelle Okamoto, Susan Mortensen, I consider them all great team mates and good friends!

Sports Day with the Antiguan Defense Forces

By Jeremy Deiter, "Fun Boss"

Yesterday a big group of us from Comfort spent the day playing sports with the Antiguan Defense Force. It was great! We played a friendly soccer game as well as cricket. The soccer game, which took place first, was the definition of a "pick-up" game. I consider the game a huge success. The Comfort team played very well and more importantly we enjoyed ourselves. The informal structure of the game with the pristine ocean as a backdrop made for an amazing combination. After playing two 30 minute halves, the game was tied 2-2. We decided to play a classic overtime with two 5 minute halves. When the final whistle was blown, the score remained 2-2. I always like to look beyond the score and structure in these situations. I enjoyed playing a completely different style of soccer than any of us are used to. Our team consisted of everyone from Helo pilots to Project Hope volunteers. The game is a great way to build camaraderie between the ships different departments and personnel. Soccer presents the opportunity learn a lot about the people you are playing with and against. While the Caribbean style is something that I am not quite used to, it was fun to take part in something that was so laid back and relaxed. Soccer is a sport that is known around the world. Even though we may not be able to understand what they say on the field (the Antiguans speak English, but their island dialect can be very different from the English we speak at home!), we are able to understand the joy of competition and the companionship that sports create. After the soccer game, the Antiguan military offered to teach some of us how to play cricket. Cricket isn't really known in the US, but it's very popular here. The Antiguan Military taught us how to play the game before taking us on in a test. The friendly match created an atmosphere that promoted positive relations as well as fun. As I watched the test, I commented with my soccer teammates and opponents on our cricket performance. Needless to say, we all shared a couple good laughs. The Antiguans that participated in the soccer match were able to explain the game to the rest of us so we were able to follow what was going on. After all the athletic action finished, all four teams shared pizza and sodas. I have had the opportunity to play soccer in countries all over the world. Every time my opponents become my friends and I come away with amazing memories and this experience was no different. With the added cricket match, I felt that the two countries shared something that only sports can create.

H1N1 Influenza A Virus

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control are the lead U.S. federal agencies for the H1N1 flu outbreak. We are sensitive to the ongoing health situation and are monitoring it closely.
There has been no impact to Comfort's mission or schedule at this time.

Dominican Republic accomplishments

On the ground in Dominican Republic, our team was invited by U.S. Embassy Consular Section to participate in their leadership day to conduct a community relations project in Mirador Norte. We had the wonderful opportunity to work alongside Dominicans and the State Department team picking up litter, learning about reforestation and renovating playground equipment. We were able to meet new friends and reiterate our promise to be a valued partner in the Americas.

We had the opportunity to provide a superb humanitarian organization IDDI (Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral) in Dominican Republic . Five children’s bicycles were donated via Project Handclasp and more than 200 children entered an art contest, with the top five receiving the bikes. The children are part of a learning center program to continue to develop them and promote a positive learning environment.

Our Dominican Republic mission was extremely successful, we had the opportunity to work closely with many Dominican healthcare professionals, Dominican Navy and local engineers. The people of Dominican Republic are very appreciated of our hard work and continue to be outstanding partners to assist United States of America in our efforts to enhance security, stability and prosperity for all in the Americas.

"Ha sido un honor a servir al pueblo dominicano durante Misión Promesa Continua Dos mil Nueve. El equipo del USNS COMFORT y Los Estados Unidos de América, les agradecemos por ser tan fieles compañeros y amigos."

As always we must give great thanks to our partners who have provided health care professionals, educators and donations from Project HOPE, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, University California San Diego Pre-Dental Society, Rotary International, Project Handclasp and the United States Public Health Service. We could not have been as successful if it wasn’t for your unselfish efforts and continued humanitarian service around the world.


CAPT Bob Lineberry
Mission Commander
CONTINUING PROMISE 09