A Mother's Hope

Today's post was reblogged from "Into the Deep".  Be blessed!

“I would like to see her go to school. I want to give her the chance to run with the other children. To see her walking like every child! That’s my motivation!”

In a few, succinct words, Sandrins mother, Lydia, summed up what most parents hope for their eight-year-old child. They hope that their child will be accepted, will receive a good education to build a future on and that their child would be healthy enough to be able to play with other children. A year ago Lydia didn’t think that hope was possible.

On November 3, 2014 Lydia awoke in the very early morning, the sun had not even risen, and roused Sandrins from her sleep. Lydia heard through the radio that a hospital ship had arrived and it could correct the feet of children and make them straight again. Lydia didn’t know if Sandrins foot could be corrected but she knew she had to try and give Sandrins her best chance at a normal life. Away the two went with Sandrins on Lydia’s back for part of the 40-minute journey to the screening site. When they arrived they waited with hundreds of others who had a variety of physical ailments; all hoping for a free surgery that would cure them.

When their turn came, Lydia shared with Mercy Ships’ volunteers the heartbreaking details of how her daughter’s foot changed almost overnight. When Sandrins was only five years old she contracted malaria, which required a quinine injection – one in each leg. There were no problems with the injection on the left leg but not long after Sandrins received the injection to her right leg, Lydia knew there was a problem.

“About one week after the injection her foot began to swell and then it was like that for several months.  We tried everything without result.”

The injection caused Sandrins right foot to bend, forcing her to walk on her toe. As Sandrins foot grew worse it limited her mobility until she could no longer take more than a few steps without help. Often Sandrins had to be carried from place to place as she couldn’t walk far distances. Lydia tried to keep Sandrins in school but eventually it became impossible to carry her to and from the school – approximately a six kilometer walk in each direction. More and more Sandrins foot excluded her from life and slowly she was left behind.

After three long years, Lydia heard the news that she longed for, Mercy Ships would be able to correct Sandrins foot! The road would include two surgeries and months of physical therapy but the end result allowed Sandrins to return to school, play with her friends and return to her normal eight-year-old life.

Six month after she was fully healed, one could never imagine what Sandrins experienced during those difficult three years. Today, as Lydia watches Sandrins play neighborhood games with her sisters or head to school with all the other children in the village, Lydia cannot help but think about the long journey to reach this point. When asked what the biggest difference in Sandrins life is, Lydia shares, “Now she can play with her friends, she is going to school. She is accepted.”

This is what Mercy Ships does folks. It helps change lives, restores families and leaves the corner of the world they are visiting a little better than they found it.