Well, it's been quite an adventure the past couple weeks. Final numbers are in from the main selection day. We closed the line at 2 pm, the gate for admission to the site was open for 12 hours and 20 minutes, the final estimate is 7,365 people in line, 4,236 of whom were actually examined by our medical staff inside the compound. The remaining people were either caregivers or were screened on the line and found to be suffering from something we could not help. All these numbers are new records for Mercy Ships!!! At the high point, there were 311 Mercy Ships staff at the site. My security crew totalled 44 people, each or whom performed admirably. All these people and we had no serious issues!!!
We have already had stories of great success!! One man, Ebenezer, arrived before we started screening. He is from Nigeria and had a very large facial tumor. He went to Guinea but was too late, so he and his family worked to get just enough money to get a flight for him to Pointe Noire. He had nothing when he got here and happened to bump into MS staff at the airport. We were able to assist him with a safe place to stay until screening and his tumor has been removed! Another 3-year old boy was in desparate need at screening. He had a tumor in his mouth that was cutting off his airway. He literally could not lie down or he would have suffocated. He was one of the first surgeries and has been a complete success. He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, already playing, running and sleeping laying down!!!
However, we have already shed tears for those we could not help. We had a young girl who a mission hospital flew down from the very north end of Congo hoping we could save her life. She also had a tumor that was cutting off her airway; however, it soon became clear this was inoperable and was cancerous. She died this week in our hospital. I'm attaching a link to a blog written by the nurse who held her as she died. (Get your tissues out!) While we couldn't save her physical life, I'm confident that we modeled our Saviour through our actions of loving care as this family dealt with this loss.
http://debsheartinafrica.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/dear-baby-girl.html
Our dental and eye screenings have begun. They have been mostly successful. On Tuesday we were at a site for eye screening where 500 people lined up. They were calm and listened as I directed them into a queue. We were able to see everyone in this line!!! On Wednesday we moved to a different site. When we arrived at 5:15 am, the gates to the compound were wide open (they were supposed to have been closed the evening before) and we had a large crowd inside the compound. We soon determined the crowd was too large and unmanageable so made the decision to leave the site to ensure everyone's safety. These examples demonstrate the roller coaster of life here on the MV Africa Mercy!!!
Sorry, no pictures this time as I'm writing on my work computer. I'm heading about 1,400 km north starting next Saturday so hope to have some amazing photos of the Congo rain forest when I get back!!
