i first saw beatrice in the crowd of people outside our patient screening at Liberia's JFK hospital.

as did the many others waiting in early morning heat, beatrice had come to see our surgeons, hoping a free surgery and a new life.

she cringed as my eyes fell upon her, she held a blue, terry cloth towel over her face, hiding what I knew would be a large tumor. I prayed it was benign.

inside, at our mobile pathology station, the biopsy provided good news and beatrice was scheduled for surgical intervention onboard the Anastasis.