From Esther Blaum our Patient Flow Manager, Africa Mercy
"On Monday, more than 4,300 people waited in sprinkles and sunshine at the People’s Palace in Conakry, Guinea looking for help from the Africa Mercy. A couple hundred potential patients arrived late Sunday evening and waited through the night, but the crowds really started to pour in around 5:00am. The screening went extremely well thanks to lots of prayer worldwide, great teamwork from the crew and good support from the government and local authorities. Over 200 patients were scheduled for surgeries that begin today, with nearly 1,000 others scheduled for further evaluation or treatment. All specialties were represented in the crowd awaiting assistance: Orthopaedic, Maxillofacial, Plastics, General, VVF, Eye and Dental patients. Thank you to all of you who lifted up this day in prayer. Please continue to pray for each of these patients as they continue on their journey toward healing."
screening day was such a neat experience to be apart of. i got to practice the little french i do know. whilst beginning the paperwork & registration process, i got to meet the potential patients and conversate with them a little bit. i had a wonderful translator, Abraham, working alongside me & seriously could not have done it without him. while french is the official language in guinea, most guineans speak their different tribal languages; Susu, Malinke, etc. & abraham spoke every single one!
part of my day was quite heartbreaking. one of the potential patients i had to register, had such grotesque facial disfigurement's. at only 20 years old, he easily looked 20 years older than his age. as abraham & i tried to obtain to contact info from him, we came to the realization that he was such an outcast's from his community, that he didn't have any way for us to reach him. not a family member, friend, or neighbor. no one.
there were a few similar cases that made moments in the day quite difficult.
BUT, what a joy it is to know that there is hope for so many of these patients and they can go back to their villages and communities post surgery/ recovery without shame!
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