Patient Stories

This post is reblogged from Kathy Shearon's blog, "A Journey of 10,000 Miles - Be More Heart."  It's a lovely recap of some of the patients seen aboard the good ship so far this fall . . . 

Every patient that comes to the ship has a story.  The nature of being in the lab is that I don’t get to personally meet every single patient that comes for a surgery.  I see their samples but don’t get to always get to know them personally.  We have a wonderful communications team that does a beautiful job of capturing and recording our patient stories.  Here are a few of our patients that have come to the ship in Guinea and started their journey towards hope and healing.

Salematu

It all started with a tooth infection. Unable to access adequate medical care, 26-year-old Salematu’s infection grew into a facial tumor that she couldn’t fix. She dropped out of nursing school and spent the next two years at home, not wanting the world to see her: “I shouldn’t look like this.” The arrival of the Africa Mercy in Guinea was the answer to Salematu’s biggest dream: being healthy enough to return to school and become a nurse.  Below are photos showing Salematu’s journey and also her excitement and joy at her future!

 

 

 

 

Ibrahima

Imagine not being able to walk – or even stand up straight. Already injured in a fire, 24-year-old Ibrahima’s scars began to contract, and immovably bend his knees, and this became his reality. No longer able to work or take care of himself, he had to rely on his older brother to carry him everywhere. But when he heard of a surgery ship sailing to Guinea, he felt something that had long been absent: hope.

On the Plastics ward Ibrahima worked really hard to regain his sense of independence one step at a time.   Using the aid of a walker, his mobility increased a little more each and every day.  The physical therapy part of his healing was the most difficult but he has many people to encourage him and cheer him on!

“I feel taller already. I was always sitting and seeing the world from a lower level … Now I’m even taller than my big brother!”

Samory 

When Samory first experienced the pain in his tooth four years ago, he never thought it would turn into a tumor that he couldn’t afford to do anything about: “The worst part was that I knew it was only going to get worse and grow bigger. When I thought of my future, I was scared”

But the 25 year old that arrived at the Africa Mercy for surgery was filled with a hope that things wouldn’t always be this way: “I am so happy to be here. It’s amazing to think that years’ worth of pain will be taken away in just one day!”

Gamai

When little Gamai was a baby, a tragic accident involving a pot of boiling water resulted in burn contractures over her hands and arms.  Now at 5 years old, her limited mobility is all she has ever known.  Despite torments and mockery over the past few years, her brave mother has brought her to my ship home where she under went surgery a few months ago to regain the use of her limbs.  The surgery was the easy part.  Gamai has had lots of physical therapy to help her build up the muscles and regain her lost mobility.  Her mixture of sweetness and spunk has stolen the hearts of everyone on the wards!

Aicha

Last and certainly not least is one of our ortho kids.  This has been the theme of the hospital the last few weeks.  We are in our final week of surgeries but these kiddos will stick around with follow-up and physio (aka physical therapy) for months yet.  I can’t say I am complaining because they sure are cute!  And it is fun to watch them adapt to their casts and run up and down the hallways!  At 6 years old her bones started bowing outward due to not having enough of the essential nutrients during her development.  Since this condition will only get worse while she grows, I am thankful that she was able to have a surgery on the ship!  Our age cutoff for these types of surgeries is around 15 years due to the fusion of the growth plate.  Once the plate fuses the recovery process for the patient gets much longer and the outcomes not as promising.  Aicha has just started her journey, but she will get there one casted step at a time.