Weekly Scoop (14 March)

NEWS UPDATES

Easter Sunday--Messages of Hope

Andre hadn't been able to lift his right arm since he was six years old! After he was badly burned more than 30 years ago, Andre had almost given up hope of ever moving his arm and neck freely. Then a total stranger paid for Andre to travel to the Mercy Ship to be assessed for surgery. Andre's flickering hope was fulfilled, and his healing is wonderful to behold. With physiotherapist Tracey Merril (USA).

Each Easter Sunday dawns with the Africa Mercy crew members gathering, reflecting on the immeasurable hope given to us this day. We ponder the transforming power of Christ and thank God for his healing of our patients.

Nearly all of our goiter patients have returned home after being freed from the deforming growths from their necks. Among the 51 patients that received restorative surgery was Vaviroa, who could not wait to return home and show everyone that her burden had been lifted!

What's Jocelin thinking about? Maybe he's thinking about what adventures the big white ship has inside? Or perhaps Jocelin is excited for his admissions appointment and his surgery the next day and wonders what he'll look like without the massive cyst on his face and neck.

See the "Patients Update" section for more information on Jocelin and what he looks like today!

"When the world says give up, Hope whispers ... try it one more time." -Anonymous

As we celebrate Easter, we remember the hope offered by a Mercy Ship beginning a new field service as thousands flock to receive much needed medical evaluation and possible specialized surgeries. We look forward to our next field service in Benin beginning August 2016 and the hope and healing that the Africa Mercy will bring to many people there!

PATIENT UPDATES

Albertine's Finish

Albertine's journey with Mercy Ships began over 14 months ago when she attended a screening in Mahajanga in January 2015. Carrying the burden and pain of a tumor that grew from her jaw, Albertine had desperately searched for a solution that would remove her tumor and allow her to continue supporting and raising her children.

After successfully removing her tumor last field service, Albertine returned this field service to have a new jaw fashioned for her. We have grown to love her smile and wonderful spirit. Although it is tough to say goodbye to her, we are excited to return her to her husband and two children physically restored and eager to embrace the future.

Thank you very much to Mercy Ships for the help they are doing in Madagascar by giving free surgeries to people! -Albertine

Jocelin's Joyful Journey

Over the last 18 months Jocelin's father, Jean Paul, struggled to understand the growth emerging from his son's face and neck. It first showed itself as something small just before Jocelin's 11th birthday, but within a few months it was so large that Jocelin began hiding it with a scarf, embarrassed by the deformity. When Jean Paul heard about Mercy Ships he knew it was his only hope for his son.

In the last week, Jean Paul's hope became reality as volunteer surgeons aboard the Africa Mercy removed the cyst filled with nearly one liter of fluid. No longer will Jocelin be embarrassed by his cyst and hide behind a scarf!

PRAYER REQUESTS

Unsung Heroes

Near the Africa Mercy chain locker, on one of the lower decks near the bow of the ship, an amazing group of people work strategically to support the Mercy Ships hospital from behind the scenes. Please join us in prayer for their vital detailed work, and pray for others to be inspired into action through information and the data they gather.

Some manage the logistics behind our patients' experiences, others oversee numerous details to assist local health care training, while others track statistics and reporting during each field service. Together they provide information and planning that allows our healthcare and mentoring work to be targeted, accountable, and measurable.

A New Hope

A new group of OBF patients arrived on the Africa Mercy this past week. Our OBF ward is full of ladies who have recently had their fistulas closed. Soon these ladies will move off site to our OBF clinic to continue their healing. Will you pray with us that these ladies will experience full restorative healing over the coming weeks? 

CREW BIO: Dr. Sherif Emil (USA/Canada)

For most people the path to study medicine would not include a trip through engineering school but that's exactly where Dr. Sherif Emil began his career.

After growing up in a family of doctors, Sherif thought he would like to try something different and carve his own path. He completed an undergraduate engineering degree before coming to the realization that he really did want to pursue medicine.

"I like the personal aspect [of medicine], I like the interaction and I like the human aspect of it." 

That change in career path would lead him to specializing in pediatric surgical medicine in the United States and Canada and eventually would bring him to Mercy Ships. After accepting a position on the Canadian Mercy Ships board in September 2014, Dr. Sherif began preparations to visit the ship as a volunteer surgeon. Recently those plans came to fruition and he was able to experience the joy of serving in the operating theatre aboard the Africa Mercy. 

He shares: "There is such a great sense of fellowship in the OR here. Where I work [in Canada] there is no room for error, which is great, but there is also a very narrow margin for tolerance and I didn't feel that here. We're not here alone, God's here working with us and you fill it in the most profound ways. I've operated in many places in Africa, including university hospitals and the resources there are nowhere near what this ship has to offer in terms of medical care." 

Dr. Sherif was most impacted by a case involving a five month old baby, named Paulinah, who had the largest teratoma he had ever seen growing from her buttocks. Despite the number of obstacles htat stood in the way of the baby's survival, Dr. Sherif was impressed how Paulinah had chosen to live. In addition, Dr. Sherif was amazed by the care she received. 

Photo: Paulinah [Read Dr. Sherif's article on the surgery here.] 

Paulinah's case was the highlight of Dr. Sherif's visit but he was also touched by the care he saw after the baby's surgery. 

"This is a difficult patient to take care of (because) you have huge incisions that need to heal. (You have to) keep the area clean and to keep the wound from getting infected takes a lot of work. This baby recovered without the infection. It was a testament to the incredible amount of care and compassion the nurses showed this patient and every patient." 

Dr. Sherif was impressed by the unique nature of a hospital ship providing the best specialized surgical care possible in the developing countries in Africa.

"The Africa Mercy is unique," he says. "There is no other way of providing surgery globally that comes close to what this ship does because of the way it organizes itself, integrates itself and the way it leaves something behind when it's gone."

"The ship is making a difference in the lives of families and communities. We had a saying when you save a child, you're not just saving a life, you're saving a lifetime and there a lot of children that receive that treatment on the ship."