Summary of Guinea Field service

You never know the pain of saying goodbye until you say goodbye. No wonder, there’s a saying which goes “Never say never”. I have been into deep thoughts recently just because we are almost wrapping up with this field service. I was thinking of how we started and all the preparation we did at the beginning and some of the challenges we faced and just so many other things. Three weeks ago, I walked into the screening office and looked at the white board and noticed we had just 3 more weeks to work! Then I began to reflect back on how we started and just all the people we’ve been able to help this field service.  Florence Nightingale in one of her quotes’ said “one words are wasted if they cannot be diluted into actions which brings results” This simply means, if you cannot do it, don’t say it.

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I can say this field service has been quite challenging but it just gave me the opportunity to grow more in my nursing career. I had to learn how to use some of the medical instrument because they were quite different from what we use in our hospitals at home. Before I came on the ship, I could only do blood draws on adults but after some months spent working in the tent, I went From drawing blood on adults to drawing bloods on kids. If you are not a pediatric nurse I guess you know how challenging it is drawing bloods on children just because their veins tiny and are usually difficult find. I started by drawing bloods on ten year old kids then I went lower to drawing bloods on five years old, then from five years old I challenged myself the more to drawing bloods on children from three years old and the last blood draw I did was a baby of three months old! This has been one of my biggest achievements this field service. I also led the team on several occasions by being the charge nurse on the nursing diagnostic and surgeon screening days, As well as being on-call for the patients during the week. All of these helped me develop my leadership skills and ability to manage things as well. Every time I left my cabin to the screening tent, I had a goal to achieve and that was to learn something new. I believe in-order to be successful in life, one needs to be determine and hard-working. I am currently the only African nurse from Cameroon working onboard the Africa Mercy and serving alongside five other nurses coming from New Zealand, United states and Netherlands. Together, we strive for one purpose which is to bring Hope and healing to the poor and forgotten. It is a privilege for me to serve my own people, my brothers and sisters from other African countries.

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The past months have been very challenging but despite the challenges as a team, we were able to achieve the goals we set aside for this field service. It freaks me out when I think we’ve got just four more days to work in the screening. There is a saying which goes “every good thing has an end” But I think it has been the contrary because for every patient who received surgery on the ship, it has been the beginning of something new and a great future ahead. So many who came on the ship with so much hopelessness but yet leave with so much hope. It is something extraordinary which can not be better explained. I have seen the lives of so many Guinean transformed this field service, there have been restoration of homes, marriages, children who stopped going to school because of a leg deformity can now go to school, Men and women who stopped appearing in public because of a huge tumor on their face can now go back to their community and enjoy the freedom of company. Mothers who were leaking urine and stool due to obstructed labor during childbirth can now go home and mingle with their community because the fear of being wet has been repaired through the surgeries were provide onboard the Africa Mercy. Now I know God was telling me to leave home and come onboard, I know why so many of my plans did not work out the way I wanted, I guess it was because God was preparing me for this great vision. I might not have the money I wish to have now but the experience i’m gaining is far beyond what I could ever think or ask for. Few weeks ago, I was conversing with a friend/colleague back home and in our conversation, I told her that I was so worried about what the future holds for me but she gave me a gentle response ; She said ” Christel God’s plans for your life is great and He is the one leading you, He is using you to touch lives”. And that’s exactly what we’ve have done so far ,Transforming lives with life changing surgeries.

As we are wrapping up this field service, I would like you reading this blog post right now to know that Early in the beginning of this field service, we pre-screened over 6000 patients at the people’s palace in Guinea Conakry and as if that wasn’t enough, we made five upcountry trips to find more patients among which I traveled in two of those trips. So many thoughts crossed my mind as I witness the huge need for quality healthcare in Guinea Conakry. So many patients came from very far villages in the hope that they will be selected by my team to receive free surgery onboard the Africa Mercy. This made me speechless for several days as I was trying to answer the question of “WHY” why the so much need for healthcare in Africa. So far, we have been able to provide over 2,442 free surgeries, We have seen 33 palliative care patients( terminally ill patients), We hosted 155 Medical capacity building mentoring participants, we made 168 Mercy ministries visits to the orphanages and made donations to orphans, 7,937 free dental surgeries and mentored 1,096 local healthcare workers in Guinea to help strengthen their healthcare system. My heart is heavy as we prepare to sail from Guinea Conakry In just less than 10 days! I have been feeling reluctant to write this blog post just because I can’t believe it is the end of this field service. So far there have been a lot of bittersweet moments in the screening tent and also on the ship as we witness the lives of patients transformed every day for the past 10 months due to the free surgery we provide. I have been particularly blessed throughout my service here by all the patients. Their constant prayers, and all their testimonies of healing has been my driving force. It is true I don’t get paid at the end of the month but all the prayers and the blessings from the patients are more than a monthly wage and the job satisfaction I get is way more than I could ever ask for. Bellow are some pictures showing some of the great moments we had with our patients this field service down in the screening tent.

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Today, I’m going to share with you three patients stories out of the so many surgeries done this field service. I had the privilege to journey with these patients during their time here on the Africa Mercy.

Bangoura Abdoulaye Story: Bangoura came to us with a large facial tumor to the left side of his face. His tumor has been slowly growing for the past 4 years. The tumor started like a small lump on his face and before Bangoura could notice, the tumor had grown to the extent of occluding Bangoura’s left nasal passage. When I saw Bangoura on his First Nursing diagnostic day, I asked him some questions concerning the tumor just to have a clear diagnostic. These were Bangoura’s words “ I was just waiting for the day when I will close my eyes in dead and so many times I went to bed thinking I might not see the next day” My heart melted when he spoke those words and all I could pray for at that moment is that he receives a free surgery onboard. Bangoura asked me on several occasions if surgery was possible for him but I couldn’t give him an answer because it wasn’t in my power to make such a decision. Bangoura had to undergo series of laboratory testing and had a CT scan done on the ship. He was then seen by two surgeons who requested that an incisional biopsy be done just to rule out malignancy( any risk of cancer) and to make sure that we are providing safe surgery. Bangoura was then admitted in the hospital not for surgery but rather for a biopsy. After some weeks, the results showed that the tumor on Bangoura’s face was not maglignant(Not- cancerous). Bangoura finally came in the screening tent to see another surgeon and this time around he was given a surgical date! I personally announced to him his surgical date and I won’t forget the joy on his face and all the prayers and blessings he prayed over us. But there’s something more special about Bangoura and its the fact that Bangoura is a Muslim and he told me that when he became ill , his family abandoned him because they were afraid that the tumor he had was contagious But Bangoura stated that his loving wife who is a christian stood by him all through and encouraged him all the time. He was in tears as he expressed his sincere gratitude for all the care we had given him and the fact that we treated him well like everyone and encouraged him when he was at the verge of giving-up. I couldn’t recognise Bangoura after surgery because he was a completely transformed individual full of life and hope for better things ahead. Here are some of Bangoura’s post-op photos, The tumor has been removed!

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Mariama’s story: Mariama story was similar to Bangoura’s with the only difference that, Mariama’s facial tumor has been growing for the past 8 years. Mariama narrated that the tumor started growing 8 years ago right after her husband passed away. As such, many people in her community then concluded that she probably had something to do with her husband’s sudden dead and the tumor which was growing on her face was as a result of god’s punishment. Mariama’s husband died leaving behind four children with little income for their upbring. Again, I was the nurse who saw Mariama on the Nursing diagnostic day  and I watched her in tears as she explained to me what she had been through over the past years. Mariama visited several hospitals and was told that she needed surgery but she couldn’t get the surgery she needed due to lack of finances. The tumor was as big as the size of an orange and even went further pushing on the right eye. Mariama had to undergo series of blood pressure follow-up because she was very hypertensive. We gave her some blood pressure medications and monitored her blood pressure until it was normal before we could schedule her for surgery. Just like so many patients this field service, Mariama received a free life changing surgery onboard the Africa Mercy and left the ship feeling so thankful, more beautiful and younger for the tumor is removed! No more tumor, no more shame!  

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Charity’s story: I believe so many of you have seen charity’s post on social media over the past few weeks! I didn’t want to talk about her story but I just couldn’t help it because again, I was the screening nurse who was privilege to assess charity the day she came on the ship and even before she had her surgery. Charity flew all the way from Ghana to Guinea Conakry with someone who volunteered to come with her. This individual was the same person who contacted the ship to find out if charity could receive surgery onboard the Africa Mercy. When I first saw Charity, her face was almost covered with a piece of fabric this was to prevent people from seeing that she has a big tumor on her face. I had no idea of how the tumor looked like until she took off the fabric covering her face and behold there was a large mandible tumor which has been growing for the past 13 years! Her face was so stretched because of the size of the tumor with a massive intraoral involvement. I paused for a while as I imagine how she was able to survive this for so long. During the assessment, Charity stated the tumor started as as result of a tooth infection and has been growing slowing over the years.Charity even stated how she tried treating it traditionally by taking a lot of herbal medications to help manage the pain. After asking series of general health questions and drawing blood for laboratory testing, I took Charity on the ship to have a CT scan and an ultrasound, then she was later seen by Dr. Garry the Maxilofacial surgeon and Dr.Brian the Anesthesiologist who agreed to proceed with surgery. Charity finally received surgery onboard the AFM ( Africa Mercy) and was later discharged from the hospital when she was fully recovered. Charity returned home stronger, younger and with the biggest smile ever.

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As I conclude with this blog post, I just want to say thank you to all who stood by me this field service. All of you who supported me Financially, morally, Spiritually and physically. Thank you for believing in me and for assisting me over the past ten months and for always reminding me that I can do it. It is true that I couldn’t have finished this field service without God but most especially without you because you listened to God and decided to support me in every manner. Thank you for all the presents and words of encouragements through cards and so much more! Thank you for all the phone calls and messages. I am also thankful for all the friends I made this field service, For Some I might not see them probably for a while but i’m so excited to see some of my friends again this summer and spend quality time with them. We are truly finished for this field service and in some hours which I will not mention, we’ll be departing from the port of Conakry and will finally say Goodbye to Guinea . Guinea has been my home for ten months and has been so good to me..

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In this field service, patients like Charity, Bangoura, Mariama and many more received free surgery onboard the Africa Mercy and this time hopelessness did not have the final word. The next country will be Senegal and I will please ask you to pray for our advance team currently in Senegal making connections and working hard so we have a smooth field service over there. In the next field service, I will still be working in screening as the Senior nurse on the dock alongside three new nurses coming from Australia, Canada and united states. I will appreciate your prayers and support as I prepare myself for the job that’s awaiting me in Senegal Dakar. Please feel free to drop a comment, like and share

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