Thank you, friends and donors of the 2013 Ghana Health Team. What can we say? You have given so generously, and we have already reached our team’s general fundraising goal of $65,000! Thank you! [Read more…] about Thank You from the Ghana Health Team
Until We Stand On Our Own
Friday morning we gathered once again under the gazebo with the entire team from Canada, UK and Ghana. It felt like just a moment had passed since NEA’s chef, Abraham, had challenged us to play our roles well two weeks ago. Joan, whom we nearly evacuated out by air ambulance the day before, was able to share her thanks to the pastors who prayed so powerfully for her. Dr. David shared scripture from 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3:
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
He challenged us to continue to move forward together to alleviate poverty in this region through work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope.
We received an unexpected visit from the Regional Medical Director and his district team. He shared the many challenges this vast area faces. Right now there are 17 doctors for 2.5 million people in the 19 districts of this region. (Note: We have 15 doctors on our team.) Many of the district hospitals have no doctor at all; they just do their best. There is one opthamologist for 2.5 million people and he is semi-retired. They have very few obstetricians and too few midwives. As a result, 90 women in the region have died in childbirth this year alone. My thoughts immediately went back to our patient who delivered twins in Busweme that we were able to help. She could have been the 91st death.
He concluded by saying that “until we can stand on our own, this partnership to provide medical, surgical, dental and eye care is making a difference in thousands of lives.” It is going to take time before sustainable health care reaches this area. Until then, he requested the continued support of Canada, and the UK and NEA. I will never forget those words “until we stand on our own.” It describes so perfectly the vision that we all have have for these people.
In our honor, the NEA staff and the team of translators played football (soccer) to the cheers of the “expats” as we are fondly called. These men know how to play soccer.
The grand finale was an outdoor party to celebrate the success of the mission with the entire team. When I say team, I’m including the almost 100 local Ghanaian volunteers who support us during our two-week stay, along with all their families. These people have become our dear friends and we know each by name. Many of us were decked out in our new outfits made by the local tailor. Some of our translators didn’t recognize us with dresses on, hair down and make up on.
Abraham cooked a feast of cream of tomato soup, roast beef, salads, vegetables all grown on the compound and grilled tilapia pulled out of the pond that day. Dessert was a pumpkin tart. After the children ate there was a flurry of activity under the gazebo and the kids were jumping and clapping and singing. I went to see what the excitement was about and discovered that each child had been given a juice box. I have never seen those kids so excited. After dinner and speeches we read out the names of each volunteer and presented them with gifts from Canada. It was a special moment, especially for some of the Ghanaian women as they heard their name over the speaker and walked to the front to the applause of the crowd. David and Brenda presented generous gifts to each team member. David concluded the party with a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving and asked God’s blessing upon us all until we can meet for supper once again. It was an emotional goodbye.
As I write, we are on the bus heading back to Accra where we will catch our flights home to UK and Canada. Most of the team is fast asleep after giving their all each and every day. It will take a long time to process all we have seen and heard and learned and felt during these two weeks. In the end over 10,000 people received medical, surgical, dental and eye care over these 2 weeks. Operation Hernia hit a record number of 288 surgical procedures.
It is impossible for me to find words to close off and summarize this mission and so I will close with a Franciscan Blessing that was passed along to our team during one of our final clinics:
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people so that you may wish for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
Signing off on behalf of the 2011 team with thanks to all our family and friends for supporting us and praying for us along the way.
Jennifer Wilson
Jan Broni, Jan David
Each day there always seems to be a special moment that is etched in our minds. Today’s moment was when an albino woman with skin as white as ours came to present three small yams to Susan and Sherry from pharmacy. Susan had remembered her from last year and made a point of bringing sunscreen and lip balm for her which she gave to her yesterday. Today, the woman walked 3 miles in the hot African sun to present these gifts of thanks to them. David reminded Susan to give her back her plastic bag as it was very valuable to her. She didn’t have much but what she did have she just gave away. What a great illustration for Chief Charles’ sermon on Sunday.
The gratitude of our patients is hard to describe on paper. Few patients leave our stations or our operating rooms without thanking us, blessing us and often blessing our children and our children’s children. Isaac, the Ghanaian optician, shared with the team that after the patients get their glasses and look around the room they say over and over “Jan Broni, Jan David” which means “thank you whites, thank you David Mensah”.
The day was full of many very moving moments for me. I was moved when baby Joshua’s father Peter carried a paralyzed woman on his back across the field to the doctors. I was moved when women would present us with their babies after being seen by us for infertility last year. I was moved when the nurses spent so much time cleaning and dressing a Buruli ulcer which covered a young man’s entire lower leg. I was moved when Dr. Gillian and Dr. Martin recalled a suffering patient from a previous clinic after considering some additional treatment options for her. I was moved to watch the 2 pediatricians Dr. Sean and Dr. Julie care for an endless stream of the sickest children all day long. I was moved to see a picture of man with a huge smile who, just yesterday, had a disfiguring tumor of his upper gum which prevented him from smiling. Dr. Kyle removed it yesterday and Dr. Rob sutured him up. I could write a book about all of the special moments from this day alone.
Dr. Magdi kidnapped Dr. Joe today and the department of anesthesia doubled in size. Dr. Joe did the spinal anesthetics while Dr. Ira did the general anesthetics for some very, very large hernias.
Every day at 3:00 Mary circulates a red tin box to each team member. The tin has the British logo “STAY CALM AND CARRY ON” written on the lid. Inside the tin is a treat and a little piece of paper with a quote of the day on it lovingly prepared by Dr. Sarah. Today’s quote was by Mother Teresa and said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest to you.” It is easy to be paralyzed by the massive crowds, the long hernia wait lists, and the many, many needs of the patients here. This team is doing such a great job of skillfully and lovingly helping the patient nearest to them to the best of their ability.
The evening closed under the gazebo as we all shared our stories of the day and stories of our lives at home.
One clinic to go! We plan to finish very strong.
Jennifer
Beating to a New Drum
The Sunday morning church service started to the beat of a much-needed, brand new drum set donated to the Carpenter church by chairman of the GRID board Jacques and Brigitte Lapointe. The shiny red drums arrived from Kumasi on God’s timing — just in time for worship.
Under the Kapok tree Pastor Rance and Dr. David Mensah, dressed in full chief attire, led us in the true spirit of worship with clapping, singing, and line-dancing. The African church does not need to be reminded to praise god with their whole heart.
Pastor Charles read the scriptures 2 Kings 4:1-7: Elisha asked the poor widow what she had to repay her debtors. She responded that she had nothing but a little olive oil. Elisha asked her to bring several empty jars to him and told her to pour a little oil into each one. The jars were miraculously filled to the brim.
The significance of the widow’s oil was not lost on us as we reflected on the work of our medical mission here in Ghana. Sometimes we feel as if what we have to offer isn’t enough to fill all the jars of the sick. Pastor Charles reminded the entire congregation of Africans and “the experts” as they call us, that if we are willing, God will take whatever is in our hand and multiply it and work through it to serve humanity.
After more clapping, singing and dancing, a heart-warming testimonial was given by Ernestina, the Ghanian medical assistant who has accompanied us on all five missions.
Her testimony assured us that indeed the Lord is working through our team to fill the jars of oil. She said our team has taught her “tremendous wisdom, insight, gentleness, love and compassion.” The Ghanaian government has recognized her exemplary care of patients in her region that they have put her in charge of a large clinic which has 30 staff. She is now training all of her nurses and midwives using what she has learned from us. She is transferring clinical skills. There is no doctor at this busy clinic that has a 6 bed ER and 8 bed maternity unit. Ernestina is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We were moved by the impact we have had on this remarkable woman and now, on her staff. More jars are being filled.
As the worship service came to a close and while we were still dancing, clapping and singing we were reminded once again that our work has left many Ghanians beating to a new drum.
Sunday evening our convoy of vehicles arrived at the Mole National Game Park, a 4,577 square kilometer reserve dedicated to the protection of wildlife. Last night we celebrated Dr. Laurence’s 40th wedding anniversary by singing a few different versions all at once of “Happy Anniversary” while his wife listened on the phone from Vancouver.
Today we had the option of going on a walking or jeep safari. The guides told us we probably wouldn’t see any elephants as none were seen on the safari the day before. Well … there were elephants everywhere. Some groups saw as many as 12 majestic elephants as close as 100m away. We also saw crocodiles, deer, antelope and water bucks all in their natural habitat. The monkeys were getting a little cheeky while we were cooling off in the swimming pool and one took a bit of a run at our dear friend Sarah Hasted from the UK. She was cool as a cucumber and handled that monkey just fine!
It was a wonderful, well-needed rest and we all feel recharged, refreshed and ready to finish hard for our 3 remaining clinics which will be held here on the NEA compound in Carpenter.
Glenda DeVries
A Mountain of Yams
Saturday morning the medical team arrived bright an early to a remote village called Baniantwe. It was so beautiful and overlooked a huge ravine. The man who had been coordinating the Ghanaian volunteers all week was sitting in the chief’s chair in his traditional crown, robe, and jewelry. We had no idea that Charles was a chief. What an example that this man, in this position of power, would choose to serve along side us all week.
After the speeches concluded, the village presented us with our largest gift ever. One by one the children brought huge tubers of yams until there was a mountain of yams before us. Then a perfect white ram was ushered in to the group. Dr. Mensah surprised Dr. Sarah by asking her to thank the village on our behalf. She did an eloquent job expressing a mountain of gratitude for this mountain of yams. One of the elders responded by saying that even the opportunity for their children to see us and meet us will impact their lives forever. How could we not give our best and do our all for this obscure, tucked-away village who saw fit to present us with these precious gifts?
Every station functioned so well and before we knew it, all 425 of the villagers who arrived for care had been seen. The same number of healthy people received deworming, tylenol and vitamins. While the team helped pharmacy clear out the last of the scripts, Dr. Joe gave the village kids a new soccer ball. Before we knew it most of the men on our team joined the youth of the village in a soccer match. We women would have joined in but we were too busy working! I’m just kidding….those boys will remember that soccer game long after they will remember the medical clinic!
My favorite moment of the day was when I looked out my classroom window to see how our dental station was doing only to see a herd of cattle grazing in and around Kyle, Amanda and the patients. Not even a herd of cattle can stop that dental team from getting the job done.
I came down with a serious case of the giggles mid-afternoon when, every time I tried to speak to my patient, a rooster sitting right outside my window, would cock-a-doodle-do. I think my translator thought the heat was getting to me but it was just so funny.
The most touching moment of my day was when I turned to see Dr. Rob carrying our exam bed out from behind the screen to the front of our classroom. I couldn’t figure out was he was doing only to realize that his patient was paralyzed from the waist down. Rather than the villagers struggling to carry her to the exam bed, he brought the exam bed to her. I’ll call that picture I took “Compassion”.
On the trip home the vehicles took an unexpected detour to the most beautiful waterfall I had ever seen. What a way to end what was most of the team’s favorite day so far. By the way, no one was home sick with DWD (down with diarrhea).
Back at the compound, Operation Hernia had a productive day despite the generator acting up and despite losing their leader, Dr. Magdi, who came with us to the village. The team is up to 180 procedures. If they keep going at this pace, we may need to call the hernia patients from our first village of Nyamboi to the OR.
We are ready for a rest. Sunday after church we leave for Mole Game Park. David warned us that these are not tame animals and that we need to listen to the man carrying the gun who accompanies us. After dinner I noticed the nurses adding some extra stock to our trauma bag and Dr. Carol gathering extra antibiotics while pondering which one would be best for a baboon bite. Don’t worry — we’ll be just fine. If not, there is no shortage of health care personnel to deal with just about anything!
We will try and get a blog to you from the game park if possible.
With love to all our friends and family back home on behalf of the entire Canadian and UK team!
Jenn
One at a Time
Tonight as I reflect on our day I am reminded of the story about the boy who discovers a beach full of dying, washed up starfish and decides to start throwing them back into the water one by one. An older passerby told him it was no use, he couldn’t possibly make a difference. The boy continued to throw the starfish back into the water saying “it makes a difference to this one, and this one, and this one….”
Today reminded me of that story as our team made a difference in the lives of so many individuals.
One little girl who was so sick with malaria on Thursday arrived for her reassessment dressed in her best dress, already recovered from this disease which is the leading cause of death in Ghana. Our visit made a difference to her.
Three men who were blind on Thursday due to the high pressures in their eyes returned and “saw” Dr. Martin for the first time. Their vision was restored. Our visit made a difference to them.
29 patients suffering from dental pain received extractions from Dr. Kyle and Amanda. Dr. Rob from Operation Hernia helped suture up dental patients after he and nurse Sue saw many hernia patients who are now on next year’s list. Our visit made a difference to these people.
Many of you may remember the story of Joshua who almost died 2 years ago of pneumonia while we were here. This robust, thriving toddler was dancing in the circle of women who welcomed us. He had a visit today with nurse Joan who put in the difficult IV that saved his life two years ago. Our visit made a difference to him.
Mid-morning a man arrived breathless requesting help for his wife who was hemorrhaging after delivering a baby in the next village. Her bleeding wouldn’t stop. Cindy, Erin, the local medical assistant, midwife, and I jumped into the pick-up with our emergency supplies. We arrived to a hut to find a woman lying on a mat on the dirt floor. Within minutes the IV fluids were running and the oxytocin was administered to contract the uterus. In the dark corner of the hut under the mosquito net we found not one, but two baby boys. Can you imagine. The babies were healthy but cold, so within minutes a fire was started and two village women cuddled the babies. As we exited the hut with good news, we had a captive audience of wide-eyed villagers. The midwife took the opportunity to educate the village as to the importance of delivering their babies at the medical clinics where a skilled birth attendant is available. What a miracle that we were in that village on that day. Our visit made a difference to this woman and her 6 children.
While there are many problems facing this continent, this unique partnership between NEA, Canada and the UK is making a difference to one person at a time, one family at a time, one village at a time. We all feel deeply privileged to be part of it as we watch many miracles of God unfold before our eyes.
At the end of the day this courageous, hardworking team saw just over 500 patients and David tells me another 500-600 patients went through our “fast track” clinic for deworming, tylenol and vitamins. Despite huge numbers, our incredible pharmacy team with support from the team had us wrapped up in time to be off Yaara road before dark. I’ve forgotten the exact number but the surgical team are up to about 150 procedures. Today they had to call some of Saturday’s patients to the OR as they were so far ahead of schedule. Incredible!
Here is a picture of the medical team after this memorable day. Some of you will notice 3 members were not with us in Yaara today but we are thankful to God that they are back to good health after a day of rest.
David concluded our day with some inspirational words and told the team that each one of us was hand picked by God himself to be here on this mission. He thanked us for surrendering ourselves and doing our work with so much heart. We are tired but ready for our big day tomorrow in Baniantwe.
Thanks for your support and prayers. We miss you all!
Jennifer
Wooden Spoons
Our time in the village of Nyamboi came to an emotional close. The day was full of the breadth of medicine. One moment I was watching the pediatrician team of Dr. Sean and Dr. Julie carrying very sick infants down to our nursing station with pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea; then I’d see Dr. Rob cheerfully heading towards his patient with the fractured arm carrying a splint made of tongue depressors. A woman was laboring most of the day in the exam bed next to Dr. Joe while he kept on seeing patients. Dr. Gillian spent some time doing joint injections on the painful arthritic knee of some of the village elders. I passed by Dr. Sarah speaking with David about a follow-up approach for a young may with severe epilepsy while much laughter could be heard from Dr. Kirsten who got to work with our enthusiasic village midwife Ayi. I cried when Dr. Carol took off her earings at the end of the day to give to Letisha the clinic nurse.
All of this was supported by our fantastic nursing team who screened the crowd, cared for the sickest of the sick, poured tylenol into the febrile kids, and did all our diagnostic testing. Robin and Mary spent the day controlling and moving and interacting with the crowd of close to 1000 people while encouraging us all along.
The eye team had a record-breaking day seeing exactly 100 patients. It is incredible to consider the transfer of skills that is happening by Dr. Martin and his team to the 3 local optometrists.
The dental team was busy all day under the tree and I didn’t want to count how many teeth were in their big jar.
At the end of it all, this combined team saw over 500 patients and a few hundred went through our vitamin and tylenol lines. Oh and I forgot that our surgeons, Dr. Morag and Dr. Paul, screened a whole list of hernia patients for next year’s mission.
Back at the compound 88 procedures have been completed. The team is way ahead of schedule and are graciously fitting in the emergencies from the village. Dr. Rob had to operate without cautery today but did just fine. Flexibility and adaptability are so important around here!!! Our little boy who had the emergency surgery is doing very well and will probably go home tomorrow. What a miracle. One other critical child will stay with us another day.
As the sun was starting to set in Nyamboi the chief and elders presented the team with tubers of yam and a feisty ram. He spoke very deeply to us about this miracle of God that we are to them. Never in their dreams did they envision health care being brought to their remote village. He explained that he had no words to thank us, nor did they have any material gifts to gift us. He especially thanked our newcomers. So as a token of their love and gratitude they carved us each a spoon out of the wood from one of their local trees. Their village has been using these “spoons” long before our great-great-grandfathers came to the land and before the word spoon even existed. Each team member will have many more stories about what this wooden spoon represents to them.
Please pray for health and strength for this team who are working so hard. So far we have all been well and no one has been sick.
Today is our most difficult journey to the remote village of Yaara but we are ready! Please pray for safe travels as the final segment of the road is ….well….challenging might be putting it lightly!
Talk to you soon!
Jennifer
Playing Our Role Well
Today was a truly wonderful day. Our morning began with a special time under the gazebo with the entire team and all the NEA staff. Chef Abraham gave an inspirational devotional on Romans 12:5-8 which speaks about how we, who are many, form one body as we each use our gifts to serve. He challenged each of us to play our role well on this team of over 100 members so that together we can be vessels of healing to so many. He concluded with the quote, “What you are is a gift to you; what you do is a gift to God and to mankind.”
The Canadian team presented three plaques to be hung on each of the operating room doors in honor of David Mensah, Brenda Mensah and Moses Mensah. Moses was David’s father who died at a young age of a hernia in the village right next to the compound. It was a moving moment to realize how easily his life could have been saved by a procedure that hundreds will receive in these two weeks.
After breakfast Brenda surprised us with a visit from a local tailor. Can’t wait to show you our outfits!
We also had a surprise visit from 2 optometrists and an optician from Sunyani who heard about our eye program and decided to donate 2 weeks of their time to help Doc Martin, Marion, Jacques and Brigitte in the nut house. (They run the eye clinic in the peanut storage building on the compound!). Amazing.
New team members went on a tour of the compound while the veterans set up for the staff clinic which began after lunch.
By the time we all congregated hot and sweaty for dinner around 7 pm, the team had completed 22 hernia procedures and just under 200 NEA staff and families were seen by the medical, surgical and dental team. Overall, we noticed a big improvement in the health of the staff on the compound this year.
We are all too tired for a costume party tonight. Off to sleep to prepare for a very busy 2 days in Nyamboi village.
Jennifer