A week ago we held two medical screening days at a big stadium in downtown Cotonou. There was estimated to be around 5,000 people in line, with half being family members, over 2,500 patients were screened for surgery! Its a day of full of amazing hope, but also despair for those whom we cannot help due to problems that are not operable.
Just like screening day in Ghana 2 years ago, it always turns out to be one of the BEST days of my life. My role in this years screening was to be in charge of hydrating all staff and patients. Trying to keep over 5,500 people hydrated during our long, HOT days proved to be busy, but SO fulfilling. I had a great team who worked extremely hard walking up and down the lines offering cold cups of water over and over again.. although Africans don't like to drink a lot, we really needed them too so we could get bloodwork off of them at the lab station and no one fainted on us!
The first time I came to the ship in 2006 there was a verse the hospitality team placed above my bed, " And whoever offers one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, ... you have done it unto me." - Jesus Matthew 10:42 When the screening director asked me to do this it felt like it was meant to be as that verse meant a lot to me years ago when I first stepped foot on this ship. Many of us may not be able to speak much French or their many tribal languages, but handing a glass of water and bread to the hungry with a smile is all the communication you need sometimes to calm nerves, show you care and that they are in a safe place.
We saw a little bit of EVERYTHING, huge tumors, cleft lip/palate, clubfeet, goiters, encephaloceles, cataracts, and other unusual deformities. Many surgical spots were filled but we finished at the end of two days with lots of openings so we are holding screening days throughout the next few months every tuesday and fridays at the ship. We have had many more show up this week including more Vesico-vaginal fistual women whom seemed strangely absent from screening day. We only have the VVF surgeon here for the next few weeks so we are broadcasting throughout the country to help spread the word were they can be healed for free, and hoping they are able to come soon!
Just a few days after our screening the OR opened and our wards are filling up day by day!! Its been a crazy week with all the new staff from around the world learning where everything is and the hospitals protocols & procedures, but we are slowly but surely coming along now. I've already worked 5 shifts on the ward this week and am getting more and more comfortable and excited. I have had mostly kids this week from simple to extremely complex surgical cases. I had a 5 yr old kid who had major facial reconstruction due to severe cleft lip and palate whom tried to pull out his airway tubes, but even in just the past 2 days he is finally up playing and drooling :) (typical part of recovery) but starting to smile. He will finally be able to talk and eat normally like he never been able to before.
One of my favorite patients I have already fallen in love with is a 6 week old baby who has bilateral cleft lip and palate deformities. With a young mother who has never been to school and has no money or breastmilk coming in, she has been feeding her son water for weeks, leaving him dangerously malnourished. He is just around 6 pounds and all wrinkly skin and bones. I took care of him over the weekend and we started him on our feeding program to get him big & strong enough to have surgery hopefully in a few months. I had to feed him tiny syringes full of formula every two hours so he did not get "Refeeding syndrome". He was so lethargic when he first came in we were not sure he would even make it through the night or next few days; so dehyrated he couldn't even close his eyelids! I am happy to report he is slowly gaining weight and energy!! Mom is eagerly learning basic parenting skills and showing good bonding signs. The little guy even got to meet the President of Benin this week when he came to visit the ship and met patients on the ward :) Please keep this little guy in your prayers as he is not in the clear yet!!
Just as there are many hopeful things happening on the ward, there is also a lot of hard things to accept. I had a young boy last week who came in with a facial tumor. After further cell testing they discovered it was inoperable and was referred to our hospice team with less than 6months to live. It took everything I had to hold the tears in when I prayed and discharged him with his mother.
And its only week 1!.... the adventure begins full force.
