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Crew Bio: Desre Bates (ZAF), Hand Therapist


“Serving with Mercy Ships as a hand therapist is a constant game of tug and war of the heart. There is this constant pull at my heart between joy and sadness. Joy, because miracles happen here as our patients come for surgeries that they have hoped and prayed for years; and sadness because the conditions that we face can be so very severe that one is constantly moved to extreme levels of empathy. I love all of it. We celebrate the joys and we share in the difficulties. Nowhere else have I shared in my patients’ journey as much as I have here.”

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