APRIL FAMILY PICTURE

This month's family photo - to be shot on April Fool's Day - was planned by Sam; however, two family members were not well enough to smile then so we had to wait!  Do you know who?  

Yes, friends, it was Sam recovering from shoulder surgery and Matt who just couldn't smile after having his wisdom teeth out.  Fortunately, we all look much better now!  Thanks again, neighbor Nancy, for bringing out our smiles!  

Dreige and Eddy . . .

 Dreige and Eddy met a few months ago at the eye clinic, where each of these teens had come to have his vision restored through free cataract removal. The boys became fast friends as they healed together after surgery. When they were recently reunited, Dreige looked over Eddy's shoulder as he flipped through photos on his mom's camera, and the two would point and comment and fall into fits of laughter. The act was simple: sharing photos and laughing. The miracle behind it was amazing - the gift of vision restored to two young friends, now able to do something as simple as look at a photo and laugh.

Claire and Olga . . .

Caring for an ill child or parent is never an easy task. Illness can take a toll on the whole family. Many of the patients who come to the Africa Mercy are accompanied by a care giver to help them through the healing process.

 

Claire came to the Africa Mercy so that she could have free surgery to remove a goiter. Her daughter, Olga, faithfully cared for her in the ship’s hospital during her recovery. Now, Olga and Claire have returned home, where both mother and daughter are filled with renewed hope. “I am so overwhelmed with joy,” Olga said. “The first day we came to meet Mercy Ships, we didn’t know what the outcome would be. Right now, I want to say a big thank you to Mercy Ships and all the doctors and nurses who changed my mother’s life. I never thought my mother would have this surgery. She had this condition for [28] years. I’m very, very happy.”

Benjamine

Once again, taken from the Captain's blog, Trethaway Lines . .  .

Here on the Africa Mercy, we are quite proficient in the language of smiles. When local languages like Kituba and Lingala aren’t your strongpoints—the smile remains your most genuine form of communication. Benjamine, a 12-year old from Congo’s interior, speaks this language with beautiful fluency. When crew first met her at the secondary plastics screening, they were taken away with her ability to push through such severe burn contractures to send us the most heartfelt smile we could imagine.  

Benjamine was able to receive a free, life-changing surgery onboard the Africa Mercy. Her operation included multiple upper-body and facial burn contracture releases and a sizeable skin graft.   Burn scars covered so much of her body that our surgeon, Dr. Tertius Venter, had to release five locations of her skin at the same time – both elbows, both armpits, and the skin around her neck and mouth. On top of that Dr. Venter had to take large portions of the skin from both of her thighs to graft onto her neck and arms, leaving Benjamine with seven different wounds to heal.

One day she was sitting at the foot of her bed laughing and even singing to a nurse’s guitar, but she has her on-and-off days. She was in a lot of pain; and her recovery would be a long one.   Needless to say, Benjamine needed our prayers and support more than ever as she made her journey through the pain and into a complete restoration

 She still slept a lot, but slowly regained her energy. During the day she did a good job of getting up and moving around – especially when there were bubbles involved.  

 Sweet Benjamine was on the wards of the Africa Mercy for more than two months. 

It was a long road of healing, however, she has pressed through the pain and kept up with her exercises to rehabilitate those newly freed muscles and joints. During her stay she received a lot of love and she gave us back more love and laughter than we know what to do with.

After 3 months having been through screening, surgery, rehab, dressing changes, games of hide-and-seek, hugs, laughter, and pain, one thing never changed – the smile on her face. On a beautifully bittersweet Monday some of the medical staff threw her a farewell party before she left the ship - these are some of their hugs. Now the Africa Mercy is a bit dimmer without Benjamine's sweet smile lighting up the hallways, but we're happy knowing Benjamine is off brightening someone's day.

More on Plastics . . .

Taken from the captain's blog, Trethaway Lines, which I bet his wife, Sharon, writes . . .

Whilst we were away the 2nd round of plastic surgery went on. Watching our plastics patients heal after surgery is an incredible testament to the healing powers of the human body.  The debilitating contractures that our volunteer surgeon Dr. Tertius Venter operates on are often caused by fire. When burn wounds are left untreated, the skin stretches and heals itself in the only way that it can after a trauma.  For many of our plastics patients, restoring function and appearance means restoring life.

Dr. Tertius Venter, explains how we change lives with plastic surgery: 

"In Plastic Surgery, the word 'plastic' comes from the word "plastiki". It's a Greek word which means to re-mold, or to form, and that is what we do. A majority of the work we do on the ship is restoring function after burn injuries and burn contractures. Our main purpose through Mercy Ships Plastics Surgery Program, is to get people's function back so they can function normally in their societies."

B Ward became chock full of plastic patients who were in various stages of the healing process.  Above is Chadrac, post-op!  He was one of our cutest plastics patients. He had surgery to release burn contractures on his hands.   He is coming along well in his rehabilitation exercises!  His skin grafts are healing and we are continuing to treat them.  An important element of his recovery is his exercise regime so he can regain the use of his wrists which involves stacking Jenga blocks.  

When he is all healed up, Chadrac has one goal: go to school.

Jordis, 8, waits in B Ward with his mom and sister before going into surgery. Jordis needed plastic surgery to correct his deformed left foot. Jordis hoping for a speedy recovery so that pretty soon he can be on the soccer field.

Accidents happen all over the world, but in developing countries, healthcare is not easily accessible. In Congo, an untreated burn can leave victims immobilized. Let one of our patients tell you in his own words:

"I am Anselme, I am 63 years old. In 2009 I was in an accident, hot water from a car radiator burned my arm. That is what paralyzed and deformed my arm. I cannot shift a gearstick and drive. I want to be able to drive a car again. That is what brought me here, so that they can heal my arm."

Here is the group of nurses that supported Dr. Tertius and care for all our patients.

In Congo so far we've completed 199 plastics surgeries on 172 different patients and followed up with over 2,500 services including dressing changes, wound care and rehabilitation exercises. We're grateful for our amazing plastics surgery team and all of their hard work in Congo!

And so plastics ends . . .

Here's a plastics update from Nurse Ana Glover . . .

As the last plastics patient was discharged from the ward, I was so happy, that was it I had done my job, all the dressings had finished! but I also felt a bit of sadness as I realised I would not be seeing the patients every day that I would only get to see them occasionally while they came back to have their physio. The last few patients took awhile for their wounds to heal, in that time I got to know them better. It was great to see them and chat to them every day while I did their dressings!

 This was the second block of plastics patients, we screened them at the beginning of January and then surgeries began the next day until March when the Plastic surgeon had to leave. In that time we had over a 100 patients have plastic surgery, to release burn contractures, to remove neurofibromas,  to remove lipomas and more! It is exciting to see the patients have their surgery and then see their skin grafts heal which then helps them move their hand or arm for the first time in years, or their neurofibromas removed from the faces and the joy in their eyes at the realisation that the thing growing on their face has gone and they can go back to their families and the communities!

I feel so privilege to be able to do a job that I love, to see wounds heal and to get to know the patients. Also to work with an amazing team of nurses and physiotherapist (and OT's), and not forgetting a plastic surgeon who is so dedicated to what he does, it's great!

So here are some of the photos from this round of plastic surgeries and the patients I have come to love and will miss dearly!

Amazing team!

FOUND: Jerry!

Rachel turned to me in church today and said, "They've found Jerry - he's alive!"  I wanted to hop over the four rows that separated us and get the rest of the story, but at that moment, church began.

You might remember that back in September I had written about Rachel's nephew, Jerry  who worked for SAS Aviation Service out of Bamako, Mali.  He had been in Johannesburg, South Africa bringing a company plane back.  He was the lone pilot and he never arrived back to Bamako.  

Jerry had been a missionary pilot with Missionary Aviation Fellowship for twenty-three years.  When MAF left Bamako, they sold the aviation service and the new owner hired Jerry.  He and his family stayed on in Bamako until Jerry's disappearance.  His wife, Gina, and their three children have all since moved back to Indiana.  

He disappeared on April 7, 2013 and now on April 13, 2014, I find out his family got word that Jerry is alive!  Rachel did not have a lot of details - she doesn't know where he is being held, but he is thought to be alive.  Pray with me for his safe return home!  To God be the glory! 

Jean Bosco's Back!

Jean Bosco is a farmer. Just north of Congo’s capital city of Brazzaville, fields bear the mark of his honest labor – hectares of cassava, gardens of blooming eggplant and tomato, and lime and mango trees providing welcoming shade from the African sun.
 

Jean and his wife, Carine, worked hard to enjoy life with their six children. They enjoyed simple prosperity and stability . . . until a mysterious growth appeared on Jean’s back in 2003. What Jean calls his maladie was, in fact, a lipoma – a benign, soft-tissue tumor composed of body fat. Left untreated, a lipoma can reach giant proportions.

Jean explains:  “When my malady started, it was barely noticeable. But after three years, it began to rise from my shoulders. I became afraid; if I were to die, my family would suffer greatly,” Jean said.

Driven by concern for the well-being of his wife and children, Jean saved enough money for a hospital visit in 2009. But the appointments, bloodwork, and medicine quickly emptied his pockets, and he had to return home without surgery.

Nevertheless, Jean refused to give up. Day after day, he worked to save more money, desperately hoping for healing. Exhausted by the shifting, heavy growth, his work suffered and his fields’ productivity decreased. His family now found itself in dire straits. “At that time,” Jean says, “I abandoned myself to prayer that God would help me.”

Help arrived in God’s creative, unusual way. In 2013, Jean’s lipoma ruptured and began to bleed. He had no choice but to seek emergency medical care in Brazzaville. He found himself once again on the doorstep of surgery but without the means to pay for it. While in the city, he learned of a hospital ship docked in the Congo. “Go to Mercy Ships,” a friend told him. “The surgeons will help you for free.” Jean was amazed, and he wasted no time in traveling to the coastal city of Pointe Noire.

By the time Jean boarded the Africa Mercy, the watermelon-shaped lipoma protruding from his back weighed 20 pounds! Even in extreme cases, a lipoma usually reaches only 8 to 11 pounds. Under the expert hands of South African volunteer Dr. Tertius Venter, the massive lipoma was removed in a two-hour surgery.

A few days later, resting comfortably on his back in his hospital bed, Jean grinned and said, “My doctor thinks I’m a machine! I am too happy to feel pain. It has been ten years since I could rest on my back.”

Jean is overjoyed with the gift of health he has received from Mercy Ships. “What could I give Mercy Ships in return?” he asks. “What am I to say to God for what He has done for me? This ship goes beyond. This ship is in God’s truth. All I can give is ‘thank you.’”

Now, Jean Bosco – a farmer, a father, and a husband – can return to his family . . . without his terrible burden. His easy smile lights up as he envisions his homecoming. “Imagine your favourite fútbol team has just won the World Cup,” he says, “…that is exactly how my family is celebrating as we speak. There is a very perfect joy that is waiting for me and mine when I get home.”

 Jean’s smile and easygoing nature reflect a satisfaction with his life’s work and his faith. Now, with the free gift of surgery, he will be better able to care for his farm and his family.

The day of Jean’s surgery has arrived. “Since 2003, while I had this tumor, I could not lie down or sleep on my back, ever.” He is eager for that to change.

The watermelon-shaped lipoma growing from Jean’s back weighed an amazing 20 pounds! The majority of extreme lipoma cases typically reach 8 to 11 pounds.

 “Because it was so big, it always bothered me. I could not work hard, as it would exhaust me too quickly. I have always been good at keeping the welfare of my family in equilibrium, but my malady made our lives very difficult,” Jean says.

 Jean’s surgery and healing has been miraculously swift, and  Jean is eager to get home: “My family is so excited to see me now. There is a very perfect joy that is waiting for me and mine at home,” Jean says in an interview on his last day in the hospital.

Would you look at those shoulder blades! Jean descends the gangway of the Africa Mercy with a grateful and triumphant spirit. “When I look at Mercy Ships, I feel the presence of God,” Jean says. “Those who can support Mercy Ships do not have to hesitate. This place is so wonderful, so in truth. Thank you, Mercy Ships.”

Clem, the Communications Team Translator, spends some time with Jean before he leaves. The two Congolese formed a great friendship while Jean was onboard the Africa Mercy.

“When I arrived in Pointe Noire a few weeks ago, I crossed paths with a policeman on the street. He took one look at my back and asked me where I was headed. I told him, ’to the Mercy Ships.’ He smiled and told me, ‘You are in good hands there, my friend.’”  Today, as a healed Jean leaves the hospital, it is plain to see that the policeman was right.

Story by our Communications Team"

Written by Grace Antonini

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Photos by Ruben Plomp and Michelle Murrey

Cataract Patients

Reblogged from "A beautiful wander" . . .

I have often talked about the surgical patients onboard, patients having large facial tumours removed, or their legs straightened, cleft lip babies getting a new smile. But there are also a large number of smaller eye operations taking place every day giving sight to the blind or almost blind. The Mercy Ships eye team perform hundreds of cataract operations in each field service, to date almost 800 cataract patients have been treated here in Congo. I often walk past the patients on the gangway as they are carefully guided up and down the steps, some of them holding on for dear life. A few weeks later the bandages are removed, and the same patients leave the ship with the biggest smiles on their faces trying to take in this big white ship and no longer needing a guide down the gangway.
After the operations the patients and team come together in a ‘celebration of sight’ to sing and dance together and rejoice in the gift of sight. For some people this means seeing their children or grandchildren for the first time; for others it means being able to go back to work and earn a living again. For me it is another reminder of the injustice between the two worlds that I know – one where a quick free operation is done for all in need, and the other where people remain blind due to lack of skill or money for this simple procedure.

Angelique

I have taken this from Deb Louden's blog so that you, too, may give glory to God!

Perhaps some of you are wondering what has happened to my beloved patient Angelique. Her story began here. When we first met her she looked emaciated and like we were her very last hope.

Sometimes our patients here are quite complicated. Angelique was one of them. Since we met her in December she has had three surgeries, each time removing tumour growing in the space where her cheek bone was and each time the pathologist has reported that the tumour has been something different, rather unidentifiable or non-specific.

No matter what the results have been, eventually we saw Angelique begin to thrive, thanks to your prayers! She has put on a good amount of weight and looks healthy. She is lively and energetic. She is taking care of her three year old son again (one son stills lives in the village they came from) and able to live without her mother’s constant help. The day crew in the ward love to sit and have a joke with her and comment on how funny she is! She giggles and laughs out loud frequently, which thrills me.

During her last admission, I would look at her laying on her bed, knowing how far she’s come and feel my heart catch in my throat threating tears of joy to spill over. God is so good.

I said from the very beginning of Angelique’s admission, that before the ship sails away I wanted to see her hair, that was whispy, brown and barely growing, so thick in tight, black curls that she’d be able to have it braided and a weave put in.  Her hair is growing now and when I sat with her on deck 7 one afternoon last week, I tried to put her new curls in a braid. It was a little too short still, but it’s so much thicker than it was- well on the way to a weave!

I don’t know what the rest of Angelique’s life looks like, whether the tumour will ever grow back or if she’ll stay healthy, but it’s not up to me, nor Mercy Ships to make sure. We have done what we can while she’s been with us. We have loved her, cherished her, encouraged her, prayed for her and more. In return we have be blessed by her and her strength to stand against such odds, to fight for her life, to not give up but to push forward. Many days she would join u at our 2pm prayer time in the ward, standing by us as we prayed for her and the others recovering on the ward. Little does she know but she has changed each one of our lives by her strength to not give up.

photo taken before her last surgery.

Today's Doctor Appointment

Today was my annual check-up so I could be read the riot act on my cholesterol (always too high!) and my thyroid (always perfect!).  Oddly enough, my doctor pulled me in from the waiting room.  He said the nurse was busy and he was ready for an easy patient (pretty sure he meant me - he's been my doctor for 25 years!).  He checked my weight and height and told the nurse he still remembered how to do it.  Then he told me my cholesterol was too high (no surprise!) and that my thyroid was perfect (really?).  But he never mentioned that I had lost nine pounds since last year, so when he left I asked the nurse for a sticker because there should be some reward for losing nine pounds!  I got the Cinderella sticker in the bottom right corner that I've worn with pride all day!  Just ask Paul and Melinda because when we had lunch together, I was the only adult wearing a princess sticker in the restaurant!

P.S.  My friend, the goiter, grew just a bit on the right side (: