Today I want to share with you some of the amazing medical stories that are happening daily. Many are miraculous and true answers to prayer. If you don't believe in a God who knows our every need and has us in the right place at the right time then please read on. If you do believe in this God than please give Him thanks for His awesome and wonderful deeds.
Where to start- perhaps with a hernia repair patient from last week. In the middle of the night a man (approx 40 yo) started to bleed- badly. He was opened up by a great team in the ICU before been rushed to surgery. The lab was called for blood (I wasn't on). Night reception was asked to pray and pray they did (along with many other staff). The patient was B Pos which is a little hard to come by but 4 donors were found and woken between the hours of 1am and 6am (gotto love it that we can just go upstairs and wake our potential donors- and at times the other 10 people in their cabins). Conveniently our ward physcian was B pos, the Captain was also roused from his sleep along with many others. After a haemoglobin around 40 and been on the brink of death with the added risk of infection from been opened up again this patient miraculously recovered and was discharged 5 days after this crisis. A true answer to prayer.
Next is a Nigerian man I met at the hospitality centre awaiting surgery. He tells an amazing story of God's place and timing. Emmanuel has a large facial tumor. He is from Nigeria but was in Benin on business. In the market a women left her stall and ran to him speaking in Fon- speaking English he couldn't understand. The women found another lady who could speak English who told Emmanual of a hospital ship in Benin. The womens young nephew who's had had a similiar tumour removed only months earlier wanted this man to have the same opportunity. Emmanual asked the women to take him to the ship and she did. On Sunday Emmanual will be admitted to have his tumour removed. The market visit was his first time in Benin and he gives great thanks for this women and for God's timing in having them both in the same market at the same time.
Emmanuel with the lady from the market and her nephew after his surgery.
There are many toddlers around who can brighten any day.
Meet Maiomi- a sweet little girl who had a haemangioma (large mass in laymans terms) on her neck nearing the size of her head i'm told. She was tiny (and still is- she looked newborn although she was 4 months). I'm speculating but it is likely she couldn't feed properly due to the mass. She has a stomach feed in although now drinks by herself and after been in hospital for many months finally went home this week. Her mum was ostricised because in this culture children with her deformaties are believed to be cursed. Even now her mum has fears that the feeding tube which will remain after her return home will cause the villiage to reject her. Our prayer is that she will be lovingly received by her people just as she is by the God who loves her.
Then there is Geraldo the little fellow below. He was born with a neural tube defect in which a part of his brain coming out through a hole in his skull. Now he is the snuggliest little boy in the hospitality centre.
Meet Ansette ( Below). She has a cleft lip and palate which means she has trouble feeding and is very small and malnourished. She is currently on a feeding program to bring her body to a condition to cope with surgery. At present the max- fac team and plastics team of surgeons is on board so the focus is on facial reconstruction and tumour removal. Ansette will be one of many to received this surgery. In Benin children with this condition are considered cursed- some are left to die, others die because they are unable to suckle. The lucky ones survive.
The picture for confidentiality and the confrontational nature of the injury I am prevented from showing you. I walked through the post op door to deliver some results on my first day and a gentleman named Ganiyou was sitting on the bed awaiting wound care for his burns. His entire torso was pink, white and raw looking. Both his arms were amputated above the elbow. He was doing some electrical work on his mothers home and was eletrocuted over a year ago. At first he was left alone- believed to be dead but he came around sometime later and was taken to the local hospital. His burns were so severe to his arms that both were amputated. For a year he went through the terrible pain of wound dressing and care at the local hospital. His wounds failed to heal. After 6 weeks on board his wounds have healed and he doesn't need any grafts . He awaits prosthetic arms and is keen to get back to normal life. Praise God for such amazing healing!
The last little guy I want to tell you about is Daniel. Daniel is about 10. He was born with probable cerebal palsy which meant he never learnt to walk- instead he had calloused knees from crawling. Daniel has been a regular in the hospital halls for many months doing rehabilitation- first for core strength to his body which had never been upright in the standing posture and to his legs as this tendons and muscles were stretched and strengthened. The pictures below tell his story and amazing transformation from been unable to stand or walk to walk out of here last week when he was discharged.
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The best part of Daniel's story is that his mum now believes in the God of the bible who through some miracles and the work of loving, skilled people on the Africa Mercy has brought her son to be able to walk.
This is why I am here! I love it and the little ups and downs an inconveniences of living in ship community are far outweighed by the impact had on the lives of our patients. If you can walk how much have you to be thankful for!!
" You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, " Psalm 65:5
I am speechless..
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