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You Have Been My Friend

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Writing a blog about our final day is very difficult. I have run out of time to say all that I want to say about this remarkable team and our remarkable 2017 mission.

Preparation for our last clinic on Thursday began at 0200 when NEA gave out 180 tickets to the elderly, the women and the children sleeping on the ground outside the gate. In a lovely gesture, they moved this large and vulnerable group inside the gate to ensure they would be seen before the big crowds arrived in the morning. Dr. Perry looked great in his birthday tiara at breakfast, but the party was cut short. With crowds swelling at the gate, we were at our workstations by 0730 to begin what would be the largest clinic we have ever run in Ghana. Each team cared for record number of patients and by day’s end, this compound provided high quality health care, surgery, dentistry and eye care to over 900 patients in one day! Our surgical team finished this mission with 296 procedures performed. I still don’t have final laser numbers as the entire eye team rushed out of dinner with an “all for one, one for all” cheer to help run an after-hours clinic. This total also does not include the patients treated and sent home for minor ailments, or the lines of patients who received acetaminophen for their joint pains, or the hernia patients seen and listed for last year. What a day it was!

I could write a book on the stories that happened on this day alone: a visit from the District Chief Executive from the Ministry of Health; a visit from a NEA hospital board member; a thermometer that read 43 degrees in the sun; a visit from a little boy born with a stump for a left leg who was proudly running around playing football with the prosthetic leg that donations to last year’s team supported; a final emergency whistle call as a woman started to seizure in the clinic; a very ill 5 month old baby that our nurses Esther, Renee, Kathleen, Rita and Dr. Anne literally provided ICU care to until we could transfer the baby to the nearest NICU.

The funniest moment of my day came when I popped into the David theatre at the end of the day where Dr. David Hunter was operating. He looked up at me and through his surgical mask said “One more kiss, Jenn, one more kiss.” It was an awkward moment … until I realized that an Irishman pronounces ‘case’ exactly like ‘kiss.’

At 3:00 pm I received my inspiration quote from Caitlin while I was consulting on a patient. I glanced down and what I read made me start to cry:

‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte to Wilbur. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.’ – E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web.

This little line from this famous children’s story tugged at my heart in a big way and my poor patient and my poor translator thought I was having a mental breakdown. These words, said by a spider to a pig, crystallized for me why this mission has been such a tremendous thing.

The growing friendships amongst our leaders and team members, our deepening friendship with NEA staff, and the professional friendships we have developed with our Ghanaian colleagues all while serving wholeheartedly together is very unique and very special. So it seems really fitting to me end off with a tribute to our Ghanaian health care colleagues who will continue this work when we are gone.

Our friend Abraham just completed a Masters degree in Hospital Administration in England and is a brilliant, kind, servant leader who I believe will become an excellent hospital administrator.
Our friend Samuel is a dental assistant trained in Kintampo who, after training with our dental team, spent all day yesterday working completely independently scaling teeth.
Our friend Dr. Richard is an maxillofacial surgeon who works at the the teaching hospital in Ghana. He is already thinking about how his medical, dental and surgical colleagues in Kumasi could work with NEA.
Our friend Rita is one of NEA’s scholars who just finished nursing school. She is sharp, keen and ready to serve her people with using the knowledge, skill and experience she received working with our 13 exceptional nurses.
Our friend Emmanuel is an NEA scholar who is now a pharmacist. He wants to change the way pharmacies are run in Ghana. He wants to raise the bar to the level with which Linda and Sherry and team run a pharmacy.
Our friend Daniel has been a translator for 8 years with our team. Along the way he was inspired to go to nursing school and is now graduated. He told me that the compassion and patience we show to patients and the counselling we provide them at pharmacy about their illnesses and how to prevent them is unique. He claims the perseverance of our team over these many years inspires him to persevere to bring better health care to his people.
Ernestina is now a retired midwife and nurse who won a President’s Award for the best run health clinic in Ghana. As she says, “I’m retired but not tired.” She is now a Helping Babies Breathe Master Trainer with Leyaata and a member of the Carpenter Hospital Board. She has been waiting her entire career to see a well-run hospital come to this part of Ghana.

Daniel is a pharmacy technician from Wenchi. With his big smile he said to me today as he looked around the pharmacy, “This is how NEA will run a pharmacy!”
Dr. David is a NEA scholar who is now a licensed physician. He spent 2 weeks gleaning every bit of surgical and medical knowledge he could from our seasoned practitioners. He is an amazing young doctor with a very, very tender heart.
Alexandria is a nurse midwife who is also one of the Helping Babies Breathe trainers. She was by our side every moment of these two weeks and I know we will have a very hard time parting tomorrow.
Our friend Collins runs the medical clinic in Carpenter. As a community health nurse, he has been inspired by our team to pursue further education so while working, he is also completing his Bachelor of Public Health In Nursing at the University of Northern Health and Allied Science. Collins is one of the most hard-working, compassionate nurses who persistently advocates for the needs of his patients.
Eric is a nurse anaesthetist who was so inspired by Dr. Tony and Dr. Perry that he too became an NEA scholar and completed a Masters in Anaesthesia. “I could write a book with all I learned today alone,” he told me after the first clinic day. He is a smart, compassionate man who is becoming an expert in his field.

These are our colleagues. These are our friends. And these are the tender hands into which we will leave our patients when we leave. These heroes are the future of health care in Ghana and they are ready to change the way health care is delivered in Ghana. They all believe, as do we, that under NEA’s leadership, with ongoing support and training from their friends in Canada and UK and around the world, that this NEA hospital will be a model for the entire country that could impact generations to come.

And so, together, this enlarging group of friends eagerly await the opening of the doors of the NEA hospital. Everything is in place and everyone is ready to move full speed ahead. Momentum and excitement are at all-time high. If we could raise just raise a few more million dollars (obvious fundraising pitch), the capital campaign will be complete and this self-sustaining, model hospital can open its doors to meet a critical and desperate need. After what we have witnessed these two weeks, we collectively agree that the day cannot come soon enough. Until the time that our Ghanaian colleagues and friends can stand on their own, we, the enlarging “NEA fan club” … or perhaps I should say “NEA friendship club” … will continue to do what we can to help, by all means, because that is what friends are for.

Friday we will spend packing up, inventorying everything and distributing left over supplies and medicine to the local clinics and hospitals. A big party is planned for Friday night and Esther has made a record number of dresses and shirts so we should all be quite a sight. Now that our work is done, we are all missing our loved ones and ready to begin our long journey home. This is a great opportunity to say a big thank you to all our families, friends and colleagues who have made it possible for us to spend these two weeks in Ghana. Without your love, practical support, and financial support, this could never have happened. Thanks for journeying with us!

I’ll close off this mission with one of my favourite little prayers by John Bailee:

Make me a more worthy following of the One who cared for the sick and the oppressed. Let your power, O Christ, be in us all, to share the world’s suffering and redress its wrongs. Amen.

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2017 Ghana Health Team

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Comments

  1. What a tremendous accomplishment the team has done. You all deserve a rest when you get home. Leslie you are part of an amazing group of healers. The dedication this team has given is remarkable. Safe trip home.

  2. Thank you , thank you to the team for your amazing work, compassion and dedication. Reading the blogs has restored my faith in the goodness of humanity, a faith that has been sorely tested in today’s often shallow, frequently violent world. All of you have made a genuine difference to people’s lives. I am especially proud of my darling sister Nurse Leslie. Who continues to use all her knowledge and experience to help others when she could be just retired and relaxing.
    Loved seeing all the Ghanaians you have trained! They are the future.
    And finally Dr Jennifer I don’t Know how, at the end of a long exhausting working day,you still find the energy to write so eloquently, with humour and compassion.
    Safe travel home!
    Love and best wishes to you all especially you Tookie dear!!

  3. Come on home everyone. Job well done! You’ve been an inspiration to the people of Ghana and even more people around the world I’m sure. I can’t wait to hear more wonderful stories about all the good things that were done. This blog was very well put together and kept family and friends in tuned with what you guys were up to on a daily basis. Thank you very very much for this.

    Toys, I know mom has posted some comments on here for you and the team. Like she said, we all love and miss you. We’re also very proud of you. Can’t wait to see you when you return back home.

    Travel safe team. Great job!

  4. Time really flew by so quickly and mission is coming an end, Katie! We are all very proud of you to be part of this fabulous team! Can’t wait to hear all the stories when you return home tomorrow! See you soon!

  6. What an incredible job you ALL have done!!!!!! We have been in AWEE with each and every blog and thank you ever so much for letting us all know what each day was like. WOW!!!! You all should be very, very proud! Time to come home now Renee, Steve is lost without you. Thank you each for your part and safe trip home.

  7. Loved the shout-out to all the Ghanaians that work with you there – great to hear a brief bit about their strengths, and what brought them to the clinic. So proud of my mom and all the great work she’s done to contribute – safe travels home!

  8. Thanks so much Jennifer for keeping us abreast of how God was using you, while we at home prayed day by day. I’m sure we are all going to miss these daily reports, but will keep the people in our thoughts and prayers…and the hospital!

  9. I am in total awe and full of pride for all of your collective efforts. This team is far greater than the sum of its parts. You are all endlessly caring, compassionate, determined, focused, professional, committed to excellence and full of generosity. I am especially proud of my mom Sue, cousin Amy and dear family friend Lesley. I love you all so very much!

  10. Overwhelmed with tears seeing the fruit of all the planning,, prayer, hard work, and love over the past 10 years of missions coming to fruition with such an amazing partnership with our Ghanaian colleagues . What an inspiring blog Jenn. Thanks so much for highlighting them all and it is so special to see so many friends I’ve been privileged to work with over the years.

    Praying for safe travels and no issues on the way home!! Well done everyone.

  11. Very touching accounts of your wonderful work helping those who are so in need of health care. Safe travels to you all as your return to your loved ones.

  12. Thank you again for your blogs,
    Look forward to next year God bless you all.

  13. Brilliant last blog. We can’t wait to have our loved one back but are so very proud of everything he and everyone else has achieved over these last 2 weeks! Well done Ghana Health team! Xx

  14. I can’t read these updates without Kleenex in my hand. Thank you for sharing the journey with us at home. I am truly in awe of what has been done, the lives that are changed and the incredible love that is shared between nations. See you soon:)

  15. My heart is overwhelmed and bursting. Thank you Dr. Jenn for allowing me–us– to have a glimpse of what God is doing through you and the team. I have felt somewhat a part of each blog, because I could identify and picture in my mind’s eye many of the situations, places ( even latrines!!!), and people you speak about. I was delighted to see a photo of Ernestina. I’m sure she would not remember me, but wow, her faithfulness.

    Praying you home safely,

    Luanne Evans

    Ps. 115: 1 NIV
    “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

  16. Just sitting here wondering what could possibly be written that would match the work that you have all done these past weeks and the seed planted for the future care in that part of the world. The words have to befit the work, effort, human caring, hours of preparation, months of planning as well as the love and the sharing of the human experience in the most positive way possible – healing others. Words that would capture the shared experience of those in Ghana and those of us watching it unfold from a distance. This is really hard, you might say near impossible, but language, any language will always find a way to express it accurately…

    WOW!

    See you home soon Sweetie!!!!

  17. I don’t have the words to say what I mean, but for those of who remember me, I hope you can imagine. To have been a part of this amazing project makes my heart swell, and whilst I wish I could still be there with you, I am so incredibly proud of everything you all continue to do year after year. Good Job Team! You’re all blinkin’ marvellous 😉
    Have a great final party night, and safe travels to you all on your journeys home.
    Sarah, ex-Team GB volunteer

  18. Great work + Compassion x Much joy = Love. Love is in the air…..I can’t stop humming that tune.
    Thank you. See you soon.
    And that hospital will be built. We can already imagine it. And to quote Emile Coulee:
    ‘When the imagination and willpower are pulling in the same direction, irresistible force is the result.’
    Love you all back.

  19. Totally overwhelmed with your BLOG today! Tears in my eyes! That darn spider!!!!

    Thank you for keeping us up to date when I am sure you were ready to drop at the end of the day. The kids and I have enjoyed every word.
    We are much more aware in this household of how blessed we are to live in a world with so much.
    Blessings to all that received care this trip and a safe return home.
    Alex

  20. May God richly bless you for all you have done in His name and for His glory, Dorothy

  22. I have so enjoyed your letters, prayed for you and relived my missionary days overseas, where I was privileged to spend 38 years. I’m sure you’re be leaving with mixed feelings.
    Have a happy reunion with family and friends over here.
    God bless, Dr. K.J.Kreuger.

  23. Safe travels home..your daily blogs are an inspiration to everyone who has the privilege to read them…

    Especially as our holiday season is approaching…it makes you stop and think how very lucky we are to live in our peaceful country with amazing doctors and the wonderful healthcare we all seem to take for granted…thankyou Dr. Wilson..you and your amazing team truly are angels realizing what really matters in this world…and not just talking about it..actually making a true difference making this world a better place.
    God Bless All Of You

  24. Thank God for giving an opportunity to serve Ghanaian people and completing two weeks mission successfully. It will be great memories that you have worked with Ghanaian colleagues and friends. You made a wonderful work with tremendous results. Hope to make a safe journey
    back home. God bless you all.

  25. They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well, Dr. Jennifer, your words paint a thousand pictures!! You have written an amazing blog over the last two weeks bringing your experiences to life – congratulations! You must all be feeling emotional about coming home with mixed feelings but you should all be VERY proud of what you have achieved. You are all incredible. Safe journey home! Love to Dan H xx

  26. Such a lovely posts and such a beloved faces!
    I missed you all very very much this year!
    I wish you a safe and short trip home. Enjoy the spicy chicken at Acra’s airport!
    Lots of kisses

  27. Lovingly and tirelessly done all your hard work, our God and Ghanaian are remembering for years to come!
    Thank you for the daily updates so I learned so many things what the health team doing past two weeks.
    Good for you eye care team run an after hours clinic to help!
    God Bless you all, Ghana Health Team2017!

    Ps: Angie,
    Christine & Ed will pick you up at the airport and we will see you Sunday late afternoon.

  28. Jennifer thank you so much for your blog… I think you will have to write a book one day?
    Thank you and your team for your dedication and perseverance of going back year after year and changing the health of the people of Northern Ghana… we eagerly await the hospital…
    Lord Bless you and your families for all you have done and continue to do.
    Toys we love you… looking forward to seeing you on Sunday…
    Have a safe flight back home everyone…
    Love and Blessings to David and the NEA team

  30. I’m over welmed at everything you all have done in just two weeks.
    I’m proud of my son Ashley who has been a part of this.
    I’m proud to be British that we still help other countries when it’s needed.
    We are very lucky to have the NHS. People who moan about it. Should read some of your blogs. We have nothing to moan about.
    Hope you all have made new friends, life long friends.
    Well done to you all. Safe journey home.
    Love you Ash. Xxxxx

  31. Bless you all as you return home to your loved ones you have healed and relieved suffering what a miracle that all these people have experienced

  32. I am very proud of you, and in particular my wife/ our mother Elke. Thanks for keeping us up to date with your blogs. Klaus, Isabella, Valerie