A former Vanderbilt University nurse has been on a ship traveling around the world with a team of doctors performing life-saving surgeries in under developed countries.
Elizabeth Harter took a leap of faith and went aboard the Mercy Ship more than two years ago.
Harter said, "After surgery they just kind of light up. And you can see that they have new hope."
PHOTOS: Former Nashvillian Works On Hospital Ship
Harter said they will be docked for 10 months at a port in Cameroon, Africa.
"I was taking care of this man named Ernick and he had a large tumor, and he came in, and when he saw our surgeon at our surgery screening my friend Emily was with him and she said you could tell he was really nervous," said Harter.
Local doctors referred this patient to the non-profit. Elizabeth said he came onto the ship hiding his complexion.
"Eyes were downcast, he had like a towel wrapped around his face so you couldn't see his tumor," said Harter.
After surgeons performed a life-saving surgery, he changed.
Harter said, "I was with him when he got to take off his bandages for the first time and see his face without this large tumor. And he was holding a mirror to look at himself. And you could see kind of the shock at first."
It's patients like this one that have kept Elizabeth at sea for more than two years.
Harter said, "Once you see that and are faced with that truth, it is kind of hard to turn away and just leave."
The former railway ferry is equipped with 76 beds, multiple operating rooms, and a post-anesthesia care unit.
Mercy Ships has performed over 82,000 surgeries since 1978 according to a non-profit spokesperson.
Mercy Ships is looking for volunteers. To find more information visit their website.
