Victorine
steps off the bus and surveys the site in front of her: Hospital
Manara-Penitra, the site of Mercy Ships screening. It is five on a
Wednesday afternoon and Mercy Ships staff has left for the day but they
will return early tomorrow to continue evaluating patients. In a
developing country like Madagascar, where healthcare is only available
for the wealthy, what Mercy Ships offers – a free surgery – is far more
than people like Victorine can ever hope for. The lines to receive an
evaluation can sometimes reach a thousand people but Victorine is here
because there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her children. She
gathers her blankets and picks a spot on the lawn and settles into her
“bed” for the night. Here on the lawn of the hospital, alongside the
busy capital city streets she will wait overnight in the freezing
temperatures because her son, Tahiry, is one of millions of people in
need of specialized healthcare.
As Tahiry approached his second birthday, Victorine noticed something
a bit odd – Tahiry’s legs were taking the shape of the letter “O”. She
wasn’t sure what to make of the condition and when it didn’t improve,
she brought Tahiry to the local hospital where doctors explained that
his legs could only be straightened through an expensive surgery. The
total cost of the surgery would be around one million Ariary
(approximately $315USD).
As a single mother of two children, Victorine struggled to provide
enough food for her children. She worked half the year farming and the
other half the year she washed clothes for extra income. She could work
her hands raw and she would never come close to saving that kind of
money.
“Sometimes I look at him playing with the other kids and he is
different because of his legs,” she shares. “I’m sad to look at him.”
For over two years, Victorine searched for a solution to what she
felt was a desperate situation. When Tahiry was five years old,
Victorine had new reason to hope. She heard through family living in
Toamasina that there was a hospital ship visiting that offered free
specialized surgeries. However, when inquiries were made on Tahiry’s
behalf, the surgery schedule was full. Victorine was heartbroken. Had
her son’s only chance for healing slipped away from her?
Relatives told her not to be discouraged as there were rumors that
the ship would return after a brief time away. They were right! The Africa Mercy
returned for a second season of service in Madagascar and Victorine was
determined that this time Tahiry would be evaluated for a free
orthopedic surgery. Her determination paid off.
Tahiry was one of over 100 orthopedic surgeries performed in a
two-month period by Dr. Frank Haydon, a volunteer orthopedic surgeon
from the United States. Tahiry’s rambunctious nature made him unlike any
other orthopedic patient. Although confined to casts for six weeks
after his surgery, more than once Tahiry returned for new casts as he
wore out his casts all the way down to the bandage wrapping. His
physical therapists couldn’t hide their amusement – as soon as Tahiry
was out of casts, the challenge would be to keep him from re-breaking
his bones.
Alongside Tahiry through the surgery, all the cast changes and the
hours of physical rehab was his mother, who encouraged her son every
step of the way and was willing to go as far as she needed to for his
straight legs. Now that Tahiry’s legs are fully healed and restored,
Victorine looks to his future with a renewed hope.
“My first goal now is to send him to school. My hope for him when he
is older is, I would like him to have his own business. I don’t want him
to struggle like I do. Now perhaps, he won’t have to.
With legs that can now carry him Tahiry will no longer struggle to go
to school, which is the first step towards the future that Victorine
hopes for him.
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