Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
Psalm 96.3 (NIV)
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Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Psalm 96.3 (NIV) |
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06/08/08 |
     
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Cotonou, Benin, West Africa
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In my last newsletter, I described screening days as controlled chaos. Previous experience in Togo, West Africa had prepared the crew for the possibility of an overwhelming crowd, so advertising about the screening days was kept to a minimum. As a result, we had controllable crowds for screening in early December, but were unable to completely fill our schedule. In January we held another day of screening. By this time, people all over the country had heard of the ship and the services we offered. Many of them had seen people return to their villages after surgery – and now hoped the ship could help them too. When the ship security team reached the screening site at 0630 on January 19, they found the area overrun with potential patients. Many of them camped out overnight. One of those waiting was… top of page Did she dare to hope? She arrived early on January 19 for screening after an acquaintance told her of the ship offering free surgeries. Her friend Hugues had a huge tumor removed from his face and he thought that perhaps the doctors could do the same for her. For several years Justine had lived with a huge, slow growing, jaw tumor. Because she kept her head covered, scouts sent out to walk up and down the waiting line missed her. Now she heard people telling the crowd to go home; the surgery schedule was full. Her husband wanted to leave, but she’d come too far, waited too long. She sighted a white person and dared to display the tumor to him. He quickly led her inside the building and located Dr. Tony Giles, a maxillofacial surgeon. He seated her before Eric Vis, unveiling her face as inspiration to shuffle patients around and find a space for her. In late January Justine underwent a 7- hour operation to remove the 1.45kg tumor and replace her jaw with a titanium plate. She now wears a smile instead of a scarf. Shortly before we sailed, Justine and Hugues came back to have excess skin removed from their faces. Six-year-old Louis’ family did not bring him to screening; they figured nothing could be done for him. A crew member saw him playing one day and convinced his father to bring him to the ship. Louis’ skull opened near the bridge of his nose, allowing his brain to protrude (like spina bifida, but on his face). Edith, another child with the same condition, underwent surgery two days before he did and went home quickly. Louis progressed more slowly. At one time his condition deteriorated, he was placed on a ventilator, and we recognized he could die. Crew prayed around the clock for his healing. In a few days, his condition improved, he no longer needed the ventilator, and his laughter could be heard throughout the ship as he and his pal Leonie played and sang together. As I write, Louis is in Germany where neurosurgeons and maxillofacial surgeons provide the expert follow-up care he needs. I hope to be able to visit him in Bremen during our stay in Holland or Germany. top of page I wouldn’t be giving you the full picture if I didn’t tell you that there were some difficult days during the outreach. We completed 584 surgeries during the seventeen weeks. Some of these, like Justine’s and Hugues’, lasted all day and into the evening. Some patients required more than 10 units of blood from our ’walking blood bank’ (the crew). We turned away some patients because their malignant tumors were too large and involved. Biopsies for a few returned with a poor prognosis; a nurse followed up and supported some of these who lived nearby. In late February, Clement arrived in for the removal of his neck tumor. He came alone. In the ward the night before his surgery he watched the Jesus video (from the gospel of Luke) with the other patients. One of the translators, Victor, noticed his interest in the film and spoke to him. That night Clement decided he would follow Jesus. During his surgery the next day he bled more than expected, but seemed to do in the recovery room. He was awake, talking, and ready to return to the ward. Then he developed a sudden, severe breathing problem. A call for prayer was broadcast throughout the ship as we attempted to resuscitate him. Clement died in spite of our efforts. I can’t begin to describe the emotional whirlwind we each experienced at that time. We found support among the crew and comfort in this: regardless of the circumstances, we must let God be God. It was not the ending I would have chosen, but it wasn’t my choice to make. As we worshiped that night, we sang of God’s faithfulness and prayed that God’s glory would be put on display. top of page Dr Seraphin received his medical training in Kiev, Ukraine, initially studying pediatric general surgery and later obtaining orthopedic training. His heart lay with the children of his country, so between stints in Kiev, he returned to Benin to practice. He recently began a pediatric surgery unit at Abomey hospital. Hearing of the Anastasis and the kind of surgery offered on board, he anticipated the opportunity to learn from the surgeons. During each week of the outreach, he came on Mondays and Fridays to work alongside Dr. Gary and other surgeons. He assisted on major cases, but it was the cleft lip and palate surgeries that piqued his interest. He observed and assisted, and on the final day he repaired a cleft lip independently – with excellent results. When I spoke to him that afternoon, he said, “Now I know I can do it. I have something more to offer my people.” In addition to the training, we also provided him with an anesthesia machine, surgical instruments, operating lights, sutures and more for his pediatric surgical unit. top of page
Dates to RememberApril 10: Set Sail! Cooler Days Ahead… April 29-May 17: Barry, Wales. Vacationed in the UK with my parents & procurement phase resumed… May 20-June 11: Delfzijl, Netherlands….maybe a visit to see Louis in Bremen, Germany. June 11-June 30: Emden, Germany July 1-August 17: Rotterdam Shipyard, Netherlands. Ward renovation & routine maintenance plus early stages of shipwide air conditioning installation. July 25-August 11: My vacation in the USA August 20-September 11: Stavanger Norway September 13-22: London, England September 23-Oct 21: Antwerp, Belgium top of page Looking down the road…Our next outreach will be in Guinea, West Africa, November ’98 – April ’99. The Anastasis was in this largely Moslem nation several years ago and they want us to return. We’ve already received pictures of individuals with huge facial tumors – as large as Justine’s was! top of page
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This site was last updated 12/04/04
