On D Ward we have a variety of patients ranging from large
facial and neck tumor removal, cleft palates and lips, goiter surgery, facial
reconstruction, etc. However few patients have captured my heart like each one
of our Noma patients. Maybe its just because the Noma patients are generally on
the ward the longest, but I think that is because of their character and
disposition. Each one of the Noma patients has come from a different
background, but all have been severely disfigured at an early age. Even though they have had to persevere
through taunting and abandonment, through shame and hurt, they have all come
through the storm with joy and kindness. I have learned so much from my noma
patients, and I have grown to love them!
For those of you who are tuning into my blog now, Noma is a
disease that causes a gangrenous infection of the oral and nasal cavities. It
eats away the tissue of the face, nose, and mouth leaving survivors permenatnly
and severely disfigured. They come to Mercy Ships to reconstructive surgery and
skin grafts. Repairing Noma usually requires multiple surgeries. It can be very
difficult for the patients because they usually end up looking and feeling
worse before they ultimately get better. Each stage of surgery can require up
to 3 or 4 weeks of healing before the next surgery can be performed. It
requires a lot of patience and perseverance.
Delamou “The Ladies Man”
Delamou is a 6 year old boy that came to us from the forest
region of Guinea. When he first arrived at the ship he was extremely sick. He
had malaria and other infections related to Noma. He was in such poor health that we were not sure
if he would be able to have surgery on the ship. He was admitted for a few days
and then sent to the Hope Center in order to recover and receive proper
nutrition in hopes that he would recover sufficiently to proceed with surgery.
Delamou made a
fantastic recovery and had 3 subsequent surgeries. He has to wait to have the
final steps of noma repair until he is in his teens and has stopped growing.
Mercy Ships will keep track of him and arrange for him to come back to the Ship
when it is back in Guinea or a neighboring country.
Delamou quickly became
a ward favorite! Not only was he adorable, but he went from being a reserved,
shy child to a wild ladies man. He is best known for his practical jokes,
incredibly dance moves, and voracious appetite. He really is a charmer! He has
a reputation for winning the hearts of female nurses everywhere, only to break
them again! One day he will be so adorable, loving and cuddly and the next he
will be fickle hearted, giving his love arbitrarily to another nurse! I see a
heartbreaker in the making.
Fodi “The Life Long Learner”
Fodi is another patient who has completely stolen my heart!
Fodi has been on the ward for a few months, patiently awaiting each
surgery. However, he has not let any of
his time go to waste! Fodi is in his mid fifties, but because of his disfigurement
as a child he was never sent to school. When he came to the ship he could not
read or write. It is obvious however, that even in middle age Fodi has a thirst
for knowledge. He has used his time convalescing wisely and has learned all of
his letters and numbers. He spends hours each day perfectly copying words to
practice his writing. He can now read
basic street signs and the names of cities in Guinea. He is learning more
everyday.
Not only is Fodi
determined to make the most of his time in the hospital, but he is also
incredibly kind! He is known to many of the other patients and day workers as
Koto Fodi, “Uncle Fodi.” Fodi will reassure those who are nervous about their
surgery, lend his flip flops to other patients to take a walk, hold crying
babies, and make sure the other patients are doing their therapy exercises.
What I love about
Fodi so much is that he is not letting life go to waste. He is living each day
to the fullest even from a hospital bed! His capacity for learning, his caring
heart, and sense of humor make D ward a better place!
Bala “The Punk”
Bala is 19 years old. He’s a typical 19 year old, aka a
punk. He is surly and resistant, but hilarious at the same time. I just can’t
resist telling Bala that he is such a baller and thus singing him the many rap
songs involving the word. When I explained to him that “baller” is lingo for
someone who is generally known to be a totally awesome bad-ass in the States, he conceded that he in
fact was a Baller and that his name was fitting.
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| Bala and Fodi do their stick exercises with the help of Trudi and Brian |
Mariatou “The Perseverant Queen of Silent Humor ”
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| Mariatou has had another surgery to open up her mouth since this photo was taken but I don't have a more recent picture. She will have one more surgery this friday to graft a piece of bone into her new nose |
I have already prominently featured Mariatou in previous
blog posts, so I’ll spare you the long story! Mariatou has been on the ward for
almost as long as I have, about 3 and a half months. Through 5 surgeries, pain,
vomiting, weight loss, a trach, and other complications, this special lady has
never given up. Not only has her perseverance been an amazing inspiration, but
her humor has been a blessing to us all. Unable to speak for most of her stay
on the ship, Mariatou has become the queen of non-verbal jokes. A few weeks ago
she put on a nursing scrub top, filled her pockets with tube feeds, syringes,
and other necessities and pretended to walk out of the ward with her feeding
pump and IV pole. She has also been caught wearing a crown on various
occasions, dancing, “weightlifting” using IV fluids, and giving her cousin
Djeneba a hard time. Now that she can
speak again it has opened up a whole new world and it has been such an amazing
thing to see her personality blossom!
Kadiatou “The Cuddling Kleptomaniac”
Kadiatou had her first stage of surgery almost two years ago
in Sierra Leone. Noma had completely eaten away Kadiatou’s nose, leaving her
with no nose and no palate. She came
back to the ship this spring to have further surgeries. Like Delamou, Kadiatou should not have her
next stages of surgery until she is finished growing. However, her father said
that he would not send her to school or let her be seen in public until she
“had her face fixed.” In this culture, education makes or breaks your fate,
especially for young girls. Doctors aboard Mercy Ships decided to continue
surgery, and give her a slightly bigger nose than usual in hopes that she will
grow into it with time. Kadi is an adorable and cuddly child, who can be
likened to a clinging koala bear. She loves balloons, stickers, and bubbles,
and has an infection little squeaky laugh.
However, she also has a talent for mischievously stealing things from nurses’
pockets. Can’t find your pen? Somehow
Kadiatou stole it from your pocket and is coloring with it in her bed. Is your
ID badge missing? Kadiatou is most likely wearing it. Many missing things have
been discovered underneath Kadi’s pillow. She is a tiny yet stealthy criminal.
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| Kadi the Koala |
Nonfadima “The Giggler”
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| Nonfadima and translator Augustin |
Nonfadima is another young girl who suffered from Noma in
early childhood. Her Noma affected the entire left side of her face all the way
up to her eye. She had no vision from her left eye because of extensive damage
and scar tissue. Even so, Nonfadima’s laughter can be heard almost constantly
through out the ward. She is so loving and trusting. She rarely has visitors
come to the ship, but she never loses heart. When you greet her she is full of
smiles and giggles. She laughs at the nurses silly sense of humor and is always
game for fun. The only time I’ve ever seen her upset is when she didn’t know how
to turn the sink off in the bathroom and accidently flooded 2 of the isolation
rooms!
Each of these Noma patients has beet the odds already! 90%
of children affected by Noma die. The same perseverance that allowed them to
survive the illness is so evident in each of their unique personalities. I am so thankful to have had the privilege to
care for and get to know each one of these special patients! They have taught
me so much about living and loving with abandon and humor. They have given me
more than I could have ever hoped to give to them.
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