The arrival of the max fax surgeon (head and neck surgery)was welcomed by other members of staff as he brought chocolate with him! Also though he has been able to offer life changing surgery to patients with large goitres and to help further those who have previous surgery but needed further surgery. For some this meant putting in bone grafts to support metalwork in their lower jaws from where they had had large tumours removed along with the mandible.
This kind of work requires painstaking care and is rarely quick surgery. The difficulty sometimes of even being able to ventilate patients easily or pass breathing tubes down so we can keep them breathing during their surgery means itcan take a while just to have them ready for the surgeon. There are always challenges to our skills but Father always takes control and we are able to safely care for these patients.
There is an age mix with these patients so we have had some very young patients alongside older folk. Frequently our smallest patients require the greater number of skilled staff to care for them. So many bodies around one little person....
Wednesday I was called to desert my post with the anaesthetist for about 30 minutes while I donated blood for a patient in the operating room next door! Such things are acceptable practice on the ship. The giving of blood in this situation is quite different to home where in fact I am not allowed to donate blood...... because I keep coming to Africa. As the blood cannot be spun in the onboard lab, it is given whole and must therefore be a very close match between donor and receipient. It doesn't need to go into a special fridge as it is only drawn at the time it is needed by the patient. Consequently we don't require blood warmers as we would at home since it is already warm at the perfect temperature.
Friday morning is the opportunity for the various programs to report on what they are doing. This week was the turn of the reconstructive surgery team. Again no graphic photos here. It served as a useful reminder that the area of reconstructive surgery encompasses orthopaedics, plastic and max fax surgeries. The changes for some of these patients is huge and does mean a change in attitude when they return to their villages. Most dramatic are the large tumours removed or the faces of those with cleft lips and palates restored to a more "normal" looking face. Many of these patients will have been ostracised by their communities and hidden away by their families. They are welcomed back in to their communities and are able to seek employment and earn a living as people are no longer afraid of them. To share one story however will may be help readers to understand why we do the surgeries which may not seem life threatening. This young man presented with syndactally of his ring and little finger (joined fingers).
When asked about his reasons for wanting surgery he explained that he wanted to be able to wear a wedding ring and could not marry his fiancee until it was sorted. One must remember that in some cultures the wearing a ring is very important. A great case to end the program time but we were also reminded that actually all healing comes from our Father who created us and our bodies in such a way that healing can take place.
And for those concerned that I may be not doing enough to keep vaguely fit, yesterday morning along with 3 others I ran to the Ghana border and back, a distance of 20kms or just over 12 miles. We left at 5.45am and we were back by 7.45am. We were joined by a couple of local guys who were running and I was surprised by just how many Togolese were running up and down the beach road. There were football matches in progress on the beach too and at one point ran passed a group of ladies wearing shirts with "Sports Pour Tous" (Sports for All).
Having been out in the afternoon with a small group I was then invited to join two of the doctors for a swim and meal at a local pool. So a busy day off but a very pleasant day too.
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