GRID and NEA News

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

This simple but profound message from Mother Theresa was handed to me as we were leaving for Ghana on our very first mission. Every year, I wake up on departure day thinking about these words.

Yesterday is gone. Everyone has done such an absolutely incredible job preparing for this mission, raising funds and doing everything we can possibly do to plan for every contingency known to man. How can I say thanks for all you have done to pull every aspect of this mission together? We have prepared well, and now it is time to forget about preparing and begin. Any oversights we will face together.

Tomorrow has not yet come. Oh that’s a good one, isn’t it? There indeed is no point worrying about what might be or what could be. Whatever tomorrow brings, with God’s help, we will face it together.

We only have today so let us begin. Let us begin to open our eyes to the needs of the developing world and visit the sick. Let us begin to equip Ghanaian healthcare professionals. Let us begin to offer our support to NEA as they get closer to the dream of sustainable health care. Let us begin to have a whole lot of fun together along the way!

Let us begin.

May God bring you all safely to Ghana.

Jenn

These five letters that make up this one little word so beautifully capture how I feel about the very unique relationship between the Ghana Health Team (GHT), Ghana Rural Integrated Development (GRID) and Northern Empowerment Association (NEA). One week from today our team will begin our journey from all over the world to Ghana where for two weeks we will be in a nexus: we will be in relationship with, linked to, and bonded with an extraordinary group of people working towards a most critical goal.

Our nexus is all about our hosts: I cannot wait to greet Dr. Mensah and Abraham and the NEA staff and volunteers under the mango trees when we step off the bus, ready to assist them in their mission of reflecting God’s love to people in need.

Our nexus is all about our Ghanaian healthcare colleagues: I cannot wait to work alongside these remarkable people and bring desperately needed medicine and supplies for their clinics. I cannot wait to share skills that they can use when NEA’s hospital opens in 2020.

Our nexus is all about our patients: I cannot wait to see Joshua, a little boy whose life was saved by our team eight years ago. I cannot wait to see Princess, whose mother’s death during childbirth lit a fire under us all to do more to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana.

Our nexus is all about our friends and families and donors who make it possible for us to share who we are and what we do best with people in need. I cannot wait to share our stories with you.

And finally, our nexus is all about our teammates. Many of us are now lifelong friends bonded forever by our work together. We will add new friends to our fold this year as we wholeheartedly serve each other and our hosts and as we stand in solidarity with those who suffer so much.

The United Nations has issued an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth. They are calling us all to engage in nexus thinking in creating connections and networks and think across different scales, domains, sectors and disciplines to find effective and efficient solutions to tackle the world’s problems. This is precisely what NEA invited us into a decade ago and precisely what we will continue to do until the dream of sustainable healthcare becomes a reality.

I feel so privileged to be part of the GHT-GRID-NEA Nexus. It has been a fantastic journey and I am so excited about what is yet to unfold on the ground in 2018.

May God grant us everything we need to fulfil our mission.

This post is one in a series of Ghana Health Team 2018 Updates. You can subscribe to receive these updates by email.

Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

When Brenda Mensah shared this quote with me, it struck such a cord because it encapsulates what I feel in my heart and soul and mind as we depart to Ghana on our 10th mission.

In 2007 when a small group of us set off as the first Ghana Health Team (GHT), we really didn’t have any clue what was possible, but we did what was necessary. We were wholehearted and gave it our best. It sure didn’t take long before we started to prayerfully consider together with the Mensahs and the staff of Northern Empowerment Association (NEA) team what could be possible.

Is it possible to bring more health professionals? Let’s do it.

Is it possible to create a surgical program? Let’s do that too.

Is it possible to bring eye doctors and treat medical eye disease? Why not?

Is it possible to buy a laser and treat glaucoma? Go for it, Dr. McDowell.

Is it possible to do dentistry here — what about X-rays, what about restorative work for NEA staff? That can be done.

Is it possible to automate a pharmacy in a village with no electricity? Yes.

Is it possible to teach and train local professionals? Absolutely.

Is it possible to help NEA build and run their own hospital allowing for 24/7 health care in the region? That sounds impossible. That is impossible, and we told David Mensah so. So we just kept doing what was necessary and what was possible and now, the impossible is happening. 85% of funds are in. Shovels are going in the ground any day. God willing, the doors to the Leyaata Hospital will open in 2020, and the work of our GHT will end and will shift to train and teach and support the hospital.

How does one explain all of this? Moving from doing the necessary to doing the possible to doing the impossible doesn’t just happen by accident. For our Ghana Health Team, I believe doing the impossible is a direct result of four blessings:

1. We are blessed with an incredibly committed group of leaders who return year after year to prepare, serve and lead. They have sacrificed a lot. We work hand in hand, side by side to assist NEA accomplish their priorities and their vision for their people. That’s how impossible happens.
2. Secondly, we are blessed that we belong to an incredible community of healthcare professionals from all over the world who catch our vision, trust us, and come along to serve. Sixty of us from all over Ontario, Canada, UK, Ireland and Germany will soon leave to do the impossible hand in hand, side by side with Ghana’s health professionals.
3. Thirdly, we are blessed with incredible community partners who give and give and give to us some more to allow us to do what we were born to do.
4. And finally and most importantly to me, we are blessed with the truth of Matthew 19:26: “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible, but with God, everything is possible.””

While we want you to pray as you usually do for our health and safety and our patients and the success of the mission, I want to leave you with a special prayer. It is a prayer by John Baille that says,

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

It is a powerful prayer. We do not want to depart for Ghana with any sense of pride or superiority. We want to depart with an attitude of service to NEA, to Ghanaians, to humanity, and we ask you to pray that we will indeed be worthy followers of Christ who cared so deeply for the sick and the poor and the oppressed. And pray that we will genuinely share in the world’s suffering. This is not an easy task humanly speaking. What we witness there can be horrific and can force us to put up boundaries to protect ourselves. I confess that so often I have said to myself, “Block that out, pretend that didn’t’ just happen,” in order to be able to carry on and get through my day. Forget the four-year-old who died of diarrhea, block out the image of that woman who died from an illegal abortion, don’t remember the teenage boy whose leg is chronically infected rendering him lame, don’t think about an infant growing up without her mom because she died unnecessarily giving birth to her. (Even now, a part of me doesn’t want to remember.)

This is why this prayer is so important. When we are willing to honestly share in that kind of suffering and when we are willing to stand in solidarity with those who suffer, it is then and only then that we can truly engage in the seemingly impossible task of redressing the world’s wrongs. In fact, the very moment I finally realized that we needed to help NEA build this hospital came while I was trying to process, with great anguish, how that four-year-old died from diarrhea just moments before I could lay my hands on him. Pray we will never become immune to the injustice and inequality no matter many missions we have been on and no matter how painful the suffering is to witness. Pray that it will not be ok with us and that injustice will spur us on to ask, “What more can I do?”

Thank you for helping this amazing group of sixty do the impossible — your support means everything to us.

___

If you want to follow our journey, you can sign up to receive the team updates that I write. If you read these and send comments to us, Kim reads them out during our breakfasts and they really do encourage us!

(This post is an excerpt of Dr. Wilson’s remarks delivered at the Uxbridge Baptist Church Commissioning Service on October 21, 2018.)

Our journey to Kumasi was smooth and we arrived with lots of time to spare for our flights to Accra. Fifty of us were awaiting one in-country flight, while the other sixteen of us were awaiting one due to depart 15 minutes later. Our dental colleague Dr. Richard dropped by with gifts for the team. All was well. What could possibly go wrong? (Right Dan?)

Before I tell you, let me rewind by 24 hours.

Friday was a wonderful day as we began bright and early with a devotional time led by the NEA staff. It is one of my favourite moments of the trip when we collectively give thanks to God for his provision, protection and favour during our fortnight. Emotions were running high before we even got to breakfast and I blame Dr. Jo for getting us started!

After breakfast we began PID day. (Our medical readers will get a kick out of this acronym.) For us, it stands for “packing and inventory day.” Each team has to clean, inventory and pack away all of their team supplies, leaving them in order for the next mission. The operating theatres and laser clinic need to be disassembled as they are used for other purposes the rest of the year. Leftover medication and medical supplies are strategically divided up to deliver to various hospitals and clinics. Joan has the responsibility to oversee this entire day and she couldn’t believe that we were were all wrapped up before 3 pm. It was a great final team effort and Joan provided exceptional oversight.

Friday night, many of us dolled up in our new Ghanaian outfits and joined all NEA volunteers and their families for one big party. Large round tables with white tablecloths were set out in the yard and after many pictures were taken, we enjoyed an incredible feast under the stars. After beautiful parting words were spoken by Dr. Mensah, each team member received a container of peanuts from the NEA women’s coop. Dr. Rob and I had the honour of responding to this gift and giving final words of thanks to our Ghanaian team. On one hand we were so happy to be celebrating all we accomplished together, but on the other hand, our impending goodbye was heavy on our hearts.

After dinner, David Mensah himself kicked off the dancing and we danced under the stars with the help of Prosper who was the DJ for the evening. David then decided to hold a “dance off” of sorts. One by one he called each team up to “show us your moves” … the eye team, the doctors, the kitchen staff, the surgical team, the drivers and security team and even the children had a chance to dance in front of the crowd. In the end, our anaesthesia team won the prize as Dr. Perry’s moves could not be beat! What a celebration it was.

Friday morning came all to soon, which brings me back to the beginning of my blog.

At 2:00 pm an airport announcement rang out, “Due to severe weather in Accra, flights will be delayed by 2 hours.” No problem. Our international flights did not leave until 10:00 pm so we had lots of time to get to Accra.

An hour later the next announcement let us know that the first flight to Accra had been cancelled. Oh my. Fifty of us were now officially stranded in Kumasi.

Whenever our best laid plans get thwarted in Ghana, David Mensah always laughs and then says “Murphy has struck again!” Murphy’s law states that “If anything can go wrong, it will,” and David always jokingly reminds us that Murphy is alive and well in Ghana. In fact, this is one of the reasons that resilience is one of our team values.

So when Murphy struck, the team kicked into action. They gathered together and patiently waited for an announcement from our leadership. A decision was quickly made in collaboration with Dr. Mensah that the team would stick together and try and make the journey together to Accra by road. NEA quickly mobilized two busses; one team member bought all the water the airport had to sell; others pooled all snacks in backpacks to divide up; and bladders were drained as much as humanly possible as we knew there would not be much time for pit stops. We had 6 hours and 20 minutes to make a 4-6 hour drive.

Bus number one arrived and it could take fifty passengers. A quick decision was made that all North Americans would go on this bus because their flight took off 30 minutes prior to the UK’s flight. (Dr. Magdi, Dr. Dan, Dr. Neil and Ashley joined us as the second bus could only hold 15.) The second bus would be smaller and would make better time, so the rest of the UK team stayed behind to wait.

45 minutes later Dr. Rob’s team finally departed Kumasi in what he described as a “very cozy bus.”

Onward we went. Let’s just say that Murphy struck many times along the way — bumper to bumper traffic, rain, windshield wipers that temporarily malfunctioned just to name a few. As the minutes ticked by, Google Maps was making it very clear that we would be cutting it very, very close to make our flights. Our GRID team in Canada was in constant communication and helped us get all North Americans checked in online. Surely that would help. Meanwhile, UK family members were doing the same.

What could have been an extremely tense ride was in fact filled with lots of laughter, games, sharing of food, and the UK team spent some of their cozy ride practicing a talent show act for 2018! Everyone stepped up and made the best of our nail-biting 5 hour and 20 minute ride, keeping each other’s spirits high, all the while recognizing that we may be staying a little longer in Ghana than planned.

What struck me the most was how gracious everyone was, and how supportive they were with the decisions that were made along the way. Team Carpenter and our Canadian travel contacts were trying desperately to speak to KLM and Air France to request a delay; meanwhile many of us on those buses and back at home just prayed. I know the entire NEA staff were praying too. We prayed collectively for a safe arrival in Accra first and foremost. And then we prayed we could get everyone home as soon as possible.

At 7:55 pm Murphy struck again with a text from Dr. Rob: “We are all on the side of the road. We have a puncture. Thankfully there is a spare. Standby.”

At 8:21: “The flat tire is stuck on the wheel and they cannot get it off. Progress is slow. Blimey – it’s just like the movies.” I think blimey is my new favourite word.

At 9:00 pm, with one hour until our flight to Toronto, the first coach arrived safely at the airport. Thanks be to God. Steve, Barb and I sprinted in to the airport, leaving the team to coordinate the world’s fastest offload of our carry-on bags and our luggage. Barb stood guard ready to direct our incoming team inside the airport, while Steve and I ran to the KLM gate only to be told it was closed. In no uncertain terms we were informed by agents and management that there was no way they could process 50 people and all that luggage in an hour. I understood where they were coming from but Steve and I were not ready to give up and Barb just kept directing everyone in.

Every type of negotiation technique was employed, including one of my personal favourites — the shedding of tears. Magdi was doing the same at the Air France desk next to us (minus the shedding of tears, I think). Meanwhile our travel representatives in Canada were doing all they could, and many, many, many people were praying that we would just be let onto that flight.

Suddenly, without any announcement, they just started processing us all as fast as humanly possible. It felt like a modern day miracle as we were ushered through. The plane full of people didn’t look too happy when we boarded and I think we made it worse with all our strutting, happy dances and high-fiving.

Meanwhile Rob’s team was back on the road and making a run for it. Fortunately, they made it safe and sound, for which we thank God. Unfortunately, they arrived only a few minutes before their plane was to due depart to Paris, and it was just too late for them to join Magdi, Dan, Neil and Ashley (who did all they could short of lying in front of the door to delay that plane).

The following text came through from Dr. Rob just as we were about to take off: “Dear Jenn. Have a safe trip and I hope you all get home safely. It has been a fabulous trip this year. We have just spoken to David – he is clearly tracking all of us. All will be fine – one way or another. Safe travels and our love to the awesome GHT 2017.” Rob has been an amazing leader to this surgical team so these parting words, in the midst of our happy ending and their not quite so happy ending, did not surprise me one bit.

As I write this blog we are on the final leg of our journey from Amsterdam to Toronto. Magdi and his 3 amigos are already home! Rob messaged saying that they were all smiling now, booked on flights for Sunday night and having breakfast at the hotel in Accra. I know they will have many stories to tell about their Amazing Race Ghana, and we continue to pray for their final journey home.

I believe that one of the greatest tests of a team is how they perform during unguarded moments — moments when they are not expecting to be a team or to function as a team. Today was one of those moments. Our mission was over. We were “off duty.” Our hearts were set for home and then, as David says, “Murphy struck.” A storm, a cancelled flight, a massive traffic jam, a flat tire when we were least expecting it. But this team embraced a situation beyond our control with resilience, creativity, strategy, humour, friendship and trust in our leadership as we faced our last test as a team. And together, with Dr. Mensah’s team in Carpenter and in Accra, and our team in Canada and in the UK, I believe we passed the test. In some ways if feels like a fitting conclusion to this mission, and it certainly will make it all the more memorable!

The important thing is that we are all safe and we are all on our way home. We are are acutely mindful that any temporary discomfort we faced on this one day truly pales in comparison to the challenges that the people of Northern Ghana face every single day. We have learned much from our friends and our patients in Ghana and perhaps we were even able to apply some of what we learned on this very day.

It will be just so good to be home to share all of our experiences with our loved ones.

Signing off for 2017 once again,

Jennifer

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.

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.

It was so lovely for all of us to be working so closely together on the compound with the luxuries of bathrooms, hand washing sinks and improved crowd control due to the fence around the NEA compound.

Preliminary numbers from yesterday indicated that today was the largest clinic ever run in the history of our Ghana Health Team with approximately 750 patients being cared for by our medical, surgical, dental, eye and laser team. At 3:30 pm I snuck away from my workstation to pay a little visit to tall our teams. I’m hoping I can take you all on a little tour.

Our triage and weights and temp team were packing up for the day when Dave pulled a very sick little girl out of the crowd. Her temperature was 39 degrees and she had severe malaria. Thank God that mom got Dave’s attention and his tender heart insisted we add just one more.

Our diagnostics station was humming. This station, led by our lab technician Tracey, has run like a finely oiled machine this year as they dealt with a constant stream of testing for malaria and HIV as well as urine, pregnancy and glucose tests. These tests, often ordered by triage nurses before seeing the physicians, allow us to get to our diagnoses so quickly. It is an invaluable tool to help us provide the best care to large volumes of patients. Tracey and Elena had a thermometer propped up on their table. It was actually 40 degrees under her canopy today!

The physicians were spoiled as our consultation room was the large, air-conditioned training centre. We felt so guilty (well.. kind of) as we worked so comfortably. Our translators were not comfortable at all. It was far too cold in there for them!

The big NEA gazebo was our nursing station today and once again our nursing team were busy dressing many terrible wounds and skin ulcers, giving oral rehydration to sick babies and IV lines were hanging once again from the rafters.

I then popped into the eye clinic. Their home base is the peanut storage facility which we like to call the ‘nut house.’ This eye team was processing patients at top efficiency it was a joy to watch.

Meanwhile, Dr. Toylin and Dr. Angela were busy restoring sight to 35 glaucoma patients in Margaret’s well run laser clinic. To finish off their day with a bang, Dr. Toylin talked the surgeons into giving her one OR and 2 nurses and together they performed a bilateral ectropion surgery with the assistance of Dr. Stephen.

Pharmacy was cheerfully in very high gear today. On the wall of the pharmacy there is a big poster containing the list the drugs we have run out of and those that we are getting low on. With only one day left to go, there were only 4 non-essential drugs on that list and a small handful of drugs we are getting low on. This confounds me that after the numbers of patients we have seen, our pharmacy still has everything we need. It feels a bit like the Bible story of the loaves and fishes. Way to go Sherry! As soon as clinic ends, we have an “all hands on deck” rule that everyone helps everyone prepare for the next day. After such a gruelling day I was touched to see our team docs and even our Team Leader Abraham helping pharmacy pack pills for our final day.

The dental team had a constant stream of patients under the mango tree and it appears that Francois received his first marriage proposal. In medicine we have a term called “last case syndrome” meaning that just when you think you are done for the day, your most serious case arrives. Well the last case syndrome hit the dental team today when Garrett pointed out a man “with an unusually big face” to his dentists. Sure enough, a serious dental abscess needed to be dealt with. Way to go Garrett!

Our surgeons too were hit with a last case syndrome as a small child needed surgery right at the end of the day. He had a rocky recovery but thanks to our incredible anaesthetic and recovery room team all was well.

The team broke the 250 procedure mark and a large of number of children received operations today.

Dr. David Hunter, Aaron and Emilia stayed late to drain two serious finger infections that were seen by the medical team.

One of the funniest stories of the day requires a small explanation. When a surgeon is examining a groin hernia, they place their hands on the patients’s groin and they ask the patient to cough. This manoeuvre pushes the intestines down through the hernia opening so that the surgeon can determine the true size of the hernia and type of operation required. Because this is done over and over again in the preop clinic, our surgeons quickly learn the word for “cough” which is “boa.” Today it was pointed out by a translator that for the past two weeks, while examining their patients, the surgeons have inadvertently been adding an “a” to boa. When they have been place their hands on the groin hernia and saying “ABOA!” they have been actually been saying “ANIMAL!” David Mensah was almost on the floor with laughter when he heard about this.

As darkness fell, Soale and I left the operating theatres and he repeated, “There are no cowards in this place; there are no cowards in this place.” It was a profound statement that I had never really processed before. Soale is right. It takes a special kind of health professional who is courageous enough to work in this place. It is one thing to care for patients with all of the resources of our health care systems back home but working in a low resource setting with all the challenges I have written about over the last fortnight takes a lot of guts. I believe that the courage that we have been able to muster up comes from the constant support and collaboration we receive from this multidisciplinary team and from God himself.

One of our 3pm quotes today was Joshua 1:9:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord God will be with you wherever you go.

Despite all that happened today, we were so happy to join one other for dinner by 7:00 pm, and I’m sure you have realized by the title of this blog what was on the menu. That’s right. One of the emus who many of us love to visit regularly “took one for the team.”

We felt bad for the poor guy until we tasted how delicious he was — as was the carrot and ginger soup, whole wheat rolls, chicken stir fry with rice, salad garnished with beets, beans and carrots, french fries, roast potatoes and fresh watermelon. Teams of NEA kitchen staff are essentially working around the clock to prepare our food every day.

Although today was an amazing day for me, it was also very difficult. Some of the cases I saw involved so much suffering. After consulting on a group of women who had very serious but easily treatable conditions that they had been suffering with for years, I needed to take a minute to compose myself. Even my translator was rocked. “The women really suffer in this place,” he said to me. He is right. I’m beginning to understand why so many of NEA’s programs focus on the women, as the suffering they endure is beyond my comprehension at times.

As we walked out of the main gates to our residence tonight, many men and women and children were already sleeping on mats by the front gate, trying to secure a place in our last clinic tomorrow. It seems a good part of the country knows tomorrow is our last day and my prayer, as this day ends, is that tomorrow we will finish well and our hands will get to those who really need our care.

Anticipating a very large crowd, our NEA logistics team arrived at Asantekwa at 0400 to organize the lines using ropes and vehicles. Let’s just say they got a standing ovation from us all at dinner, as their creative crowd control measures allowed us to do our job with greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Some of you might remember that this is the village that a young woman died in our clinic two years ago. She came too late with a very serious medical condition, and despite our best efforts we could not save her. This death has and continues to deeply impact those of us who were there that day, and the root cause of her death has been a catalyst for some specific NEA programming that is now in place as part of the Leyaata Project. Today, Dr. Carlye and her translator Rachel, who is a Leyaata staff member, consulted on another young woman, who they were able to quickly discern was in that same situation. They intervened quickly and with help from NEA arrangements were made to urgently transfer the young woman to a hospital to prevent what surely would have been another needless death.

The eye team has been very busy seeing lots of interesting cases like vitamin A deficiency, central vein occlusion, congenital cataracts and glaucoma. Our laser was hard at work with 21 patients, and many of last year’s patients are returning for follow-up with wonderfully normal pressures in their eyes. As Dan reported tonight, their “clinic ballet” is so highly rehearsed that the team is working at maximum efficiency. “We may not be saving lives, we are making lives,” he said at dinner. I don’t disagree with Dan often (he is much smarter than I am) but I would argue they are doing both. When a farmer is given his sight back, he can now farm, and his children can now eat and go to school and are saved from diseases of poverty. The child growing up blind with congenital cataracts will not live to adulthood here. Their interventions and the ripple of their intervention are both making and saving lives!

Our dental team were faced with three very serious cases and with the assistance of our Ghanaian maxofacial surgeon Dr. Richard, all three cases were successfully dealt with. One was so serious that Greg, our team paramedic, had to rush in with his backpack crash cart and start some emergency IV medication stop a hemorrhage. Dr. Richard is now one of us. In fact, I just passed him placing a game of cards with Greg, Aaaron, Renee, Esther and Nicole under our gazebo!

The medical team applied every LEAN principle of efficiency to get through our massive crowd. With nursing constantly screening the crowd for the sick and treating minor ailments right from triage, we all worked steadily until the entire crowd was seen. Pharmacy carried a very heavy load of prescriptions with their usual grace, despite dodging bat droppings all day. At one point our nurse Esther (who works on an adult cardiac surgery ward ) was managing with ease at least four patients on IV fluids hanging from the rafters … half of whom were kids.

Back on the compound the surgeons started their day with another emergency case involving a two year old with an incarcerated hernia. He had been up all night screaming and vomiting in pain. Dr. Perry noted how rewarding it was to finally see that little one settled and comfortable as he recovered from his successful surgery. They had a very long day as eight of their cases required general anaesthetic. Oh, and there was an escape! Their last patient of the day was prepped and ready for a hydrocele operation and when it was time to roll him into the OR, he was gone. NEA staff went to try and find him but word on the street was that he was just too scared, ran away and was now in hiding. Poor guy.

There were many special moments scattered throughout this extremely busy clinical day. Dr. Carlye had a marriage proposal and wisely began to tell this gentleman about the weather in Canada. The proposal was revoked! One of the NEA pastors has been working very hard in his orchard this season to bring us a bag of his best oranges. Francois offered to say grace for dinner reciting the grace that he learned in as a little wee cub scout just a few years ago. And last but not least, I got a 20 point cribbage hand (without cheating) and almost skunked Dr. Charlie.

But the truly unique moment of this day involves the title of this blog. It happened to David Mensah, who went out to the village to search for the runaway surgical patient. As he was coming back towards the gate, he heard two men arguing. The topic of their argument — angels — caught his attention. One man was saying that these white people, bringing healing to the region, must be endowed by God with the spirit of angels. The other man was saying that no — we were just humans who have chosen to develop an angel spirit here on earth. David thought he would stop and listen. Just then Dr. Martin popped out of the residence to say that the power was off. The man turned to David and said “See, there is an angel right there.” (Side note to Heather: we are really trying not to let that go to Martin’s head.)

The one man then started to roll up his pant leg and started banging his leg. He told David that last year he had been to every hospital in Ghana with an infection that was causing his leg to rot. No one could help him until he visited our clinic and now his leg is perfect. He continued to argue with his friend (all the while banging on his leg) that the doctor and nurse who treated him were real human beings but they had developed the spirit of an angel to the level that was finally able to cure him. He was at the gate because he wanted to be first in line to come find his human angels to thank them.

Finally, not knowing they were talking to Dr. Mensah, they said to him, “And we also hear that there is a Ghanaian angel who coordinates all of this help from afar. Are you from around here? Have you heard of him?”

Oh, how David laughed when he told us this story, but he wanted us to know that his people are absolutely confounded by what they are seeing here. “You are angels to the people of the Mo tribe. Angels that come to stir the waters at the pool of Bethesda,” David concluded. He ended our evening by challenging all of us to continue to develop the spirit of love, compassion, generosity and service to humanity that brought us to Ghana — to this special place for this very special time of service.