A little girl called Gifty

Gifty - before

I don't get little girls.  I have spent the majority of my working life surrounded by men and, Mick and I have three boys of our own. I get boys. I understand them and how they tick. I like how they are loud, energetic and messy.  In fact, despite the fact that many of my relatives and friends have little girls - I have only ever changed one girls nappy (diaper).  So - I'm not used to little girls and I rarely connect with them as patients.

However, sometimes they connect with you.  Rewind three months to January, when we started back in our routine of visiting the HOPE Centre every second Sunday for the patients' church service.  Going to the HOPE Centre is a way for our family to see the Mercy Ships mission unfold before our eyes.  Patients who live far away, come to stay before being admitted to the hospital.  We see the befores.  Some of them are quite confronting to see - especially for our boys.  Of course, once you sit with the patients, sing with them, play games with them - you don't see the "confronting" at all - you see the person.  

Then later on, we see the afters when they are discharged from the hospital.  It is easy when you've seen the afters, to forget about the befores - such is the radical change for so many of our patients.

 Gifty in D Ward with Joyce - her incredibly strong albino Mama

So this is how we came to know Gifty - she sat on us at a service one Sunday.  She decided that Mick and I needed to be sitting differently and proceeded to rearrange us as she saw fit.  She climbed all over us - putting our arms on each others shoulders and my head against Mick's.  I felt like a piece of plasticine.  And all of this was done without talking - as Gifty had a very large cleft in the middle of her face.  Essentially, she had no nose or top lip shape.  However, what she was missing in facial features, she made up for in personality.  So that is how we became friends.

Gifty, and her mum, Joyce are from Liberia in West Africa.  They both speak English as well as their mother tongue.  It's always wonderful to be able to communicate with patients - but even easier when you are not using a second language to do so.

Wanting a photo of her "Ship Mum"

We followed Gifty into the hospital for her very complex surgery.  She had her cleft lip and palette repair, had a nose created and also some cranial manipulation around her eyes.  It was a massive operation for a little 5 year old.  And she was not very happy in hospital. She wanted to go back and play in the HOPE Centre again as soon as possible.  But first, she needed to rest.  This gave Joyce and I a chance to get to know each other during visiting hours.  We played a lot of UNO of course and some other games as well. Actually, it was easy to know when Gifty was starting to feel less pain - she wanted to join in and slither of her personality began to resurface, albeit for short periods of time.

Much improved writing

Finally, she was allowed to leave the hospital and return to the HOPE Centre - visiting Outpatients frequently to get her wound checked out and for any other issues.  And so the waiting begins.

Hospital waiting is dead boring in Australia.  People sit there for hours - staring out the window.  We really are at the mercy of medical professionals - as they decide the best course of action for our loved ones.  I have really come to appreciate that it is so not different on the ship - the patient is discussed with all facets of the medical community - all away from their home, their windows, in air conditioning and waiting.  How boring is that?

Always time to play

In the HOPE Centre, they have activities like singing, board games and craft.  There is a big group of people, united as they undergo a similar experience in physical transformation. Often this includes therapy - physical therapy to get seized joints working again or learning to do something for the first time.  For Gifty, once her physical wounds were beginning to heal, it was time to get working on speech therapy.  We don't have a speech therapist on the ship - mainly because our cleft lip and palette patients tend to be either adults who need no motivation to work on speaking correctly or babies - who if corrected early enough, won't have any speech issues.  Of course, there are always a few kids that fall into the gap like Gifty.  Which means they can already talk fine, thanks and they don't want to work on doing something that is hard when they could be playing with friends elsewhere. Then throw into the mix, Dieticians, who take on the task of speech therapy with a good guide; and some willing volunteers and you get the idea of how it works.

So how do you make talking fun?  With bubbles of course.  With straws. With funny noises.  With 

colouring in.  And with learning letters and numbers.  So that is how Gifty, Joyce and I really got to know each other. And wow did she improve.  She became really careful in tracing her letters, rather than just making lots of colours all over the page.  She was getting louder when she was talking, as opposed to whispering in my ear.  And she was back to her normal self, running me to greet with a big hug and taking my hand, ready to learn.

And just like that, I've changed.  A little girl has stolen my heart.  Joyce asked for my photo one day, so she can show her family at home, who Gifty's ship Mum was - it took me a moment to realise that she meant me. I'm no longer a Mum who sees herself as very much a Mum of boys - I have had the privilege of sharing the joy of the gift that is little "Gifty".

Miracles do happen..an update from Madagascar

Remember Minette and Miliarne?  Those amazing young girls who were fistula patients in Madagascar last year? If you don't remember them, these are the links to first Minette's story: http://africandunnes.blogspot.com/2015/11/minette.html

And then their combined story: http://africandunnes.blogspot.com/2016/05/hope-deferred.html

Minette (left) and Miliarne - last year before the ship sailed

This was where we left them.  Fortunately, our good friend, Natalie, has stayed in Madagascar and is  working at the clinic founded by Mercy Ships, now operated by Freedom from Fistula.  What is even better is since we know Natalie, we get to hear about the patients that were not yet healed when we sailed out of Madagascar.

So first for Miliarne.  I am not a medical person - the details of Miliarne's fistula are lost on me.  However, there are some things I understand - they are universal.  I understood the tears when Miliarne was leaving the HOPE Centre last year - because there was nothing more Mercy Ships could do to repair her fistula.  And I understood that there was still a glimmer of hope that Freedom from Fistula may have a "super surgeon" who would look at her case.  

A crew member recently gave an update on Miliarne - letting us all know that several different surgeons had examined her and decided that the surgery was not possible.  So, with this in mind, one surgeon decided to take one last look to be sure that there really was nothing that could be done to repair her injuries.  And amazingly enough, they were no longer there.  No fistula.  No scar tissue.  All gone.  All healed.  A total miracle.  Amazing.

Natalie - now heading up the Obstetric Fistula clinic

Now for Minette - only a partial update but one full of hope.  I saw a text message from Natalie stating that Minette was having surgery today - 12th April in Madagascar.  They were covering Minette in prayer and really hopeful of a similar outcome to Miliarne. I know that God is a God who can heal because He did the impossible with Miliarne.  Several Doctors - all with the same opinion - declared Miliarne inoperable and not heal-able and that was without surgery. So please pray for a positive outcome for Minette. Pray for the Doctors and the Nurses - for wisdom and discernment.  Pray for complete healing.

Now Natalie is enjoying some much earned rest at home in Chicago - so we may not know how Minette's surgery went for a few more days.  However, when I do hear from her, I will make sure to let you know.

And an even newer update from Natalie - and a beautiful postscript to this story:- Best wake up news ever:

Thanks for your prayers.  God is good!