Today's post is reblogged from "Through my Porthole" and is dedicated to my friend Marilyn who has been asking if I'd heard any more about Olivienne.
It has been a tough couple of weeks.
One of the reasons is that Olivienne returned to her village.
She came to us four months ago; malnourished and close to
asphyxiation by the large benign tumour growing into her mouth. A
special love for Olivienne crept into our hearts over the weeks as she
gradually gained strength, then received complex surgery to remove the
tumour that had also destroyed part of her jaw. It was an uphill battle
as bone and skin grafts seemed to take a long time to heal. Finally our
beloved Olivienne was strong enough to return home to visit before her
last operation. But this fragile young woman was badly beaten before she
reached her village. She found her way back to the Mercy Ship with new
damage to her face. Something seemed to break within her. Olivienne
began to loose weight again and one skin graft would not heal. Sadly,
tests showed that the tumour was regrowing. Her body couldn’t sustain
her healing, and our dear Olivienne finally went home to her two small
children in her remote northern village. Would you stop and pray for her
just for a second? For her children, her pain, her remaining weeks –
and her eternal days.
In the deck below me, Lanto is in her hospital bed. She is a sparkling 14-year-old who was born with gigantitism in
her right leg. She came with her friend, who had six toes on each foot.
Her dearest wish was to be able to wear a pair of shoes just like the
other girls at school.
We were able to reduce Lanto’s foot so it is now the length and width
of the other, but the disease made significantly reducing the depth
of the foot impossible. Those cute shoes will be forever out of
reach. Lanto’s deep disappointment is perhaps underscored by the
fabulous result her friend received; her feet will look pretty
normal as the surgery site heals. Would you take a moment to lift
Lanto’s self image, her hopes and dreams to her Maker?
20 year-old Tsima has suffered with an obstetric fistula for 7 years
(!) She received a free surgery late last year, but her body refused to
heal. She is scheduled for a second surgery in April to repair this
permanent incontinence resulting from a birth injury. The tiny teenager
lost her child, was abandoned by the baby’s father, and is only
tolerated by her family. Please pray Tsima finds the courage to return
for the second surgery, and that her body will be healthy enough to
heal.
Each day people are leaving this ship healed and whole. But
occasionally a patient does not receive the results we expected. A lot
of screening, radiology and testing goes into deciding if a patient’s
condition can be treated on board; we are not into offering false hope.
The complex, tough cases keep us on our knees, and we keep our patients
close to our hearts.
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