Noely is a strong, proud Malagasy farmer. He is one of the blessed;
he owns a plot of land and raises coffee, pineapple and bananas to
provide for his wife and only child. Like most, he digs and cultivates
by hand using a few basic tools. At 40, Noely has already devoted a
life-time of back-breaking work to barely make ends meet.
One morning when Noely was washing he called out to his wife, “There
is something swelling on my neck!” What began like a small stone lodged
at the base of his throat gradually grew. As it didn’t hurt, Noely did
his best to ignore it (Note to self: men are the same everywhere!)
And still it grew.
Someone in the village told him the growth looked like a goitre, but
going to see a doctor never crossed Noely’s mind. He had never been to a
doctor in his life, “I would never think of spending money to fix it,”
he told me.
And still the lump below his throat grew.
This dignified man now required his daughter to tie his shoelaces.
Noely could no longer bend his neck to see his feet. The growth was
slowly distorting his ability to speak.
A decade after his disturbing discovery in the mirror, Noely’s
brother called him with amazing news. The Mercy Ship was returning to
Madagascar, and they were treating goitres – for free! “I’m going to do
everything I can to get there!” was Noely’s responce.
At a patient screening in August he was confirmed as a candidate for
goitre surgery later in the year, with no charge for any of care.
Just four days after being admitted to the ship’s ward in
January, Noely was headed home; “Feeling great” and minus the
softball-sized growth from his neck. It was totally amazing to see such a
huge change in such a short time.
When Noely swung by for his check-up 6 weeks later, he sure had some stories to tell me.
“When I first arrived back to my village, people were amazed. Some
people cried they were so happy. We had a really big party. They killed a
pig and ten chickens, and we danced and ate with my family and friends.
They were so happy to see me back happy and healthy!”
Noely really is a character. You can glimpse his dry sense of humour
is this last pic. I found it really interesting when he told me that
everyone in Madagascar born on Christmas day has “Noel” someone in their
name. How fun is that?!
