Sah: he's 54 with cancer. We brought a local pastor with us on our final visit in the hopes that he will continue to visit with Sah. Sah said this week he is tired of suffering and wants to die. There were lots of tears. I expect by the time we return in February that he will have passed away.
Martha: she's 50ish with cancer. We also brought a local pastor with us on our final visit so that someone will visit while we are gone. It may have been a mistake but nothing we can do now. The pastor (a woman) and a couple friends prayed for Martha fervently at the very top of their lungs. I hate to be skeptical of someone else's faith but I don't think God is deaf and I don't think He listens more when you are literally screaming. Again, there were lots of tears.
Mark: 26 years with cancer. He's a sweet guy and my heart really hurts for him. In our final visit as we talked about preparing for death (including the need for forgiveness), he told us how his mother and siblings rejected him because of his skin color (he is albino). His mother knows he is sick but she won't see him even though they live close. Some of his siblings don't even know he has a terminal illness. Heartbreaking. I don't have any photos of Mark but here is his adorable little girl Angelina.
Candy: 11 years old with cancer. This is the worst goodbye. We see her everyday to do her wound care and all week she has just sobbed. Today was really hard for us and for her. She and her dad will return to Cote D'Ivoire next week for the first time in almost two years. She said she is happy that she will get to see her mom. We've taught her dad how to clean her wound and we've found a medication that works for the pain during the wound care.
Survivor: 5 years old with cancer. His dad died just two weeks ago. His mom is having a hard time as you would expect - she's left with six kids and no income. She just started to learn how to basket weave so I bought her first two baskets for $20.00 which should provide food for them for several months. Survivor is getting chemo and has one more treatment. In the photo, Survivor is in the gray/yellow tshirt in between his mom and dad.
Levi: 10 years old with cancer. He was supposed to start his second chemo treatment on Tuesday but it got delayed because he has chicken pox. We don't have an official diagnosis yet so the chemo may not work.
Winifred: 40ish with breast cancer. She's very weak and has had a respiratory infection that won't heal. This could be very dangerous for her. I don't have any photos of her.
Armstrong: 2 year old mentally and physically disabled. There were lots of tears since we were his mom's only support system. I am worried for their future. Here's Dr. Tom and Armstrong's mom adjusting his wheelchair.
Joanna: 7 months old with cardiac/brain abnormalities. Baby Joanna is doing well and her mom is happy. Joanna is sitting up which is a positive sign since we don't know how well her motor skills will work. She can't roll over yet.
Grace: 13 years with TB. Her growths continue to shrink and I expect her to fully recover. There were lots of tears but I think mainly because they can't come to the ship anymore to eat lunch and watch movies.
Nelson: 29 years old with a benign fibroma. He will have surgery to remove the remaining tumor when we return in February. His father passed away two weeks ago.
We also said goodbye to lots of families of patients who have already died:
Family of Nush (8 years old)
Family of Josephs (12 years old)
Family of Korto (3 years old)
Family of Liaa (20-something)
Family of Rose (26 years old)
Family of Yatta (50s)
It's been a very emotional two weeks and I'm looking forward to our break. The crew is in the process of cleaning the hospital wards, the OR and also starting to load things onto the ship. I think they will start loading cars this weekend. Next week, I'll be working on paperwork - we have to write an end of outreach report and then we'll sail sometime next week or so.
Peace,
Michele
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