Let me Introduce You to a Few of My Lovely Patients

Over the last two months the ship has done 80 plastic procedures. Some patients are here for only a week, others have stayed with us for the entire service and still remain on the ward. Through the course of this time there has been a select number of patients who have taken a hold of my heart and I will miss them greatly and carry their stories with me for years to come. Here are a few to share with you.

Fidel

Fidel is a patient who came to Mercy Ships with a Neurofibroma tumor covering the right side of his face. A neurofibroma is a benign tumour originating in nerve sheaths. The ones that we have seen during plastics have been large and debilitating. Fidel's if left untreated would have obstructed his air way and he would have died due to suffocation. He received his surgery on the 4th day of the plastics service back in the beginning of March. In that time he has a number of barriers along the road to healing. We have seen great improvement and discouraging setbacks. He is a funny patient who has a deep chuckle whenever you call his bluff while playing cards or who lets out a little chuckle when you are scolding a patient in the bed next to his. He has been on our ward the longest and  has seen many patients come and go. He is not the loudest of them all but will always great you with a crocked smile and a solid hand shake every morning, evening or night,

Amiatu 

When I admitted Amiatu I extended my hand to welcome her and she placed her melted fingers in my palm. She had burned her right hand while cooking 10 years earlier.That night, before her surgery, I was talking with her what to expect and we were walking the halls looking at the OR entry and recovery room. I asked if she was scared and she said yes. She is 24, and had a 6 year old daughter who was staying with her parents. She was use to the hand and has been covering it with a scarf while in public for over a decade.We talked about the hospital and the skilled surgeons, reassuring her I would be there the following day once she returned from the recovery room, and we prayed.

Her surgery went well and her fingers were straightened and wires were put in place to hold them in the proper position for healing. A skin graft was taken from her thigh and placed over her joints in her fingers and wrist to allow the joins to fully extend once again. Once she was discharged I visited her often at the Hope center (Our rehab off the ship) and after she was discharged i still ran into her on the streets of Conakry on my way out of the port as she came for her daily physio appointments. We love running into each other and Amiatu greats me with a big hug every time. I will miss her greatly when we close the ship down and Leave Guinea. I feel so blessed to have met her and spent time with her during her recovery.

Nana

Nana had a similar story but she younger at 19, and loves to joke around and play Janga! Just think, before her surgery many tasks were difficult due to her crippled hand. Now she is regaining her dexterity and can have the use of her hand returned to her! I love this photo of Nana using her hand, you can even see the wires in the photo

 

 

Ousmone 

Yesterday i had to say goodbye who is another one of those patients who i have loved through his recovery.. Ousmone was a 19 year old who hated to wear his splints! He obtained his burns when his family home caught fire two years ago by a forgotten candle. 3 family members died and he was severely burned at 17, leaving his body and arms down to his wrist severely burned and contratures at his bilateral axillas and elbows. After the fire he received minimal medical care, was lucky not to surcome to an infection and returned to the village where his Mother looked after him. Everything was next to impossible without the use of either arm. Bathing became a chore for his mother and as she was aging he was feeling guilty being a young man, unable to care for himself. He became depressed, did not attend school, and of course was unable to work.

I was there when we received him back from surgery. Over the course of his stay I was his nurse many times. He had splits that he wore to promote the new scar tissue to heal with his arms fully extended at the armpit and elbow. The list of exercises were extensive and he was a trooper! Over the weeks he was with us he was always up for joking around. playing cards and dancing.Once he was released to the Hope Center (our rehab off the ship) some nurses and I visited him often. One time he showed me a video on his phone of me dancing to some random African music he had on one afternoon! You never know who is filming you, even in Africa their camera phones are out at all times it seems!Yesterday I saw him in the outpatient tent after his final appointment. He told me he was off, back to the village to care for his mother who had spent the last two years caring for him. Ousmone was happy to be discharged, we played a few rounds of Cards and said our final good byes. Wishing one another the best in what ever is to come next. He was such a character.

And then there was 12....  

Here is our Nurse Team leader With the patient who we are
praying blood supply returns to his foot and graft site.



The patients on the ward now have been with us for extended length of time. We are just waiting for the last of the grafts sites to heal. Two of the patients returned to surgery on Monday for re-grafting. With only 2 weeks left of hospital time we are praying they take. One of the cases is needing a miracle and that is what we are Praying for. Tomorrow we are committing to 24 hours of prayer for all of the plastic patients, for grafts to finish healing, infection to leave the wounds, and wounds to dry up. Specifically we are also praying for one of the young men who went back to the OR on Monday. His graft has a lack of blood supply and this will not result in good news if it doesn't change soon. We are praying for the blood supply to return to his foot. I would encourage you to take time on Thursday May 9th and Pray with us here on Mercy Ships for our Plastics patietns as we participate in 24 hours of committed prayer.