Screening Day
Conakry, Guinea
3 September 2012
It takes days to process my thoughts after a screening day and this monday was no exception. Since I've been to 3 screening days before this one, I found myself coming into the day with a small idea of how I thought the day would go and what I could expect, and once again God blew that notion clean out of the water. One thing that hallmarked Monday, and all previous screening days is seeing God's faithfulness and provision in ways I never imagined possible.
I wish each one of you could have been there with me that day, to really see first-hand what a day like that entails. It is a day of reaching out and touching people who have been rejected, it is a smile to someone who has either been ignored, or has only been seen as a deformity instead of a life. It is making exam gloves into balloons for the kids, drawing eyes on it so the thumb becomes a nose. It is the kind of day that I live for and it is probably one of my favorite days of the outreach. You are faced with the sheer enormity and extent of the needs, and the tasks ahead of you, but you also come face-to-face with how awesome and caring our God is. I will try my best to share the day with you. There aren't many pictures available yet, so that part of it will have to wait... but if a picture is worth 1,000 words, I'll attempt to share a few pictures worth of words =)
The alarm started screeching around 4:40am and we were up (not awake, but at least out of bed) eating breakfast by 5:00am. By 5:30am we gathered into our assigned groups, walked down the gangway, navigated around the small lakes on the dock from the rain the night before, and loaded into the Land Rovers. The caravan out of the port in the pre-dawn darkness is one of my favorite parts of screening day... there is such a feeling of excitement and expectancy in the air as the dozens of vehicles full of crew pull away from the ship and head into the city. That morning I was just struck by what an amazing team I work with, and how everyone pitches in and gives 100% to make a day like today go so smoothly.
As we rounded the corner to turn into the People's Palace where the screening was being held, you could see the line of people who had been waiting all night long snaking down the street into the darkness as far as you could see. Several people passed us running to join the line. I'm struck by the dedication and desperation of the people who come to screening. I personally have never stayed up all night to stand in line for anything, let alone in the rain. There were several nurses working through the night as 'line screeners' talking to the people who were lining up and finding out what their condition was. That way, if they had something we were unable to treat, they could be told that as soon as they queued up, and not have to wait all night just to be told 'no'.
When we arrived, I headed to the Ortho station and set up the supplies for the day. Dr. Frank Haydon (orthopedic surgeon extraoirdinaire) Nick (Rehab Team Leader), Kalinda (PT), Sharon (OT), as well as a Guinean surgeon who was receiving training in orthopedics made up our team for the day. And, I just have to say what a privilege and blessing it is to work with these people. The team spirit is just incredible and I have to say we all work together seamlessly and have a blast doing it.
We had no idea how many patients to expect, and the morning started off slowly. I guess the day could be likened to a steam engine that starts out slow, just chugging along, but picks up speed until it is going so fast no-one could stop it. The first patient took about 30 minutes as Dr Frank was teaching as he was working (at one point even using playdoh to construct 'bones' then cutting through it with scissors to demonstrate how a specific surgical procedure was actually accomplished..yeah, pretty amazing!), but we soon realized that we would have to pick up the pace if we were ever going to get out of there. Even picking up the pace, there was at one point about 60 people waiting to be seen.
Out of all the patients we saw, we were able to schedule almost 50 for surgery on the spot with another 20-30 needing X-ray evaluation before a surgical plan could be decided on. My day consisted of following Dr. Frank and transcribing his verbal orders about diagnosis, required X-rays, and planned surgical procedures, doing patient education with the kids and their caregivers, doing wound care on some children with pressure sores and injuries, and just directing traffic. We had a break for lunch around 11, but other than that worked seeing patients from around 7:30am-7:30pm. It was one of those days where it was just so obviously God at work. He gave us the strength to carry on for so many hours and He gave us wisdom for the life-changing decisions that had to be made. But He also blessed in another way that was totally unexpected... I believe in some ways He prepared the patient's hearts. I was expecting tears and pleading from the patients we had to say 'no' to, and there were some tears, but there was also gratefulness. Some of the patients thanked us for coming to help their country, and for seeing them that day, even though we were not able to help them. It was really eye-opening for me and is making me analyze the state of my heart... how many times am I so self centered, and get bent out of shape when things don't go the way I expect them to instead of living poured-out for others, having no expectations, only looking outward instead of self-focused? Hmmm... lots to think about!
Another incredible miracle from God was one of healing. The physiotherapist on our team had been really sick for 4 days before screening, and we weren't sure if she was going to be able to work through such a strenuous day, and as a vital part of our team, it would have been difficult to work without her. But on screening day, she was able to come with us, and worked non-stop the whole day with this absolute glow about her. She said she felt wonderful, and we all thanked God for how He had carried her through the day.
I really could go on and on about what God did that day and what I saw, but I'll just share a few memorable moments from the day:
- with the patients we were unable to help, we would ask their permission to pray with them (and no-one refused) then gather around, lay hands on them, and using a translator pray for them that God would be their peace, strength, and asking that He would provide for their needs. We praised Him that while we are so limited in what we're able to do, there is NOTHING that limits His power and ability. We told the patients that they are loved and treasured, and that God has a special plan for their lives. With a country that is 90something% Muslim, our hope was that they would see something different in us, that they would see a hope within us that would cause them to search their own hearts and turn to the Giver of Life.
-there were some patients from Sierra Leone that spoke Krio, and it was a blast to be able to communicate with them with my limited Krio (and it's true if you don't use it, you lose it! I'm a lot rustier than I was this time last year)
- I got some priceless baby-cuddles with a TINY 6 week old little boy who was born with club feet. His parents had taken him to a traditional healer several days after he was born, and this herb plaster was applied to his legs and they were tightly wrapped in cloth. By the time we saw him, his tiny legs were covered in sores from the ointment and being wrapped for so long. I cleaned up his little legs as best I could, taught his parents how to bandage the wounds, and hopefully once the wounds get healed up, he will be able start the casting program to straighten his little feet.
-one boy with severely deformed legs (so much so that he only stood a little higher than my waist) when the translator told him that he was going to be able to have surgery, his face lit up with smiles, and as he waddled up the stairs and down the hallway to get his 'Patient' card, my own heart was overflowing with joy!
I've seen hope restored in these children, and I'm literally awake at night with excitement to see what these next few months will bring. The final statistics say that somewhere around 3500 people were seen that day! Not sure what the total number of surgeries scheduled are, but I know it's a lot. So please be praying for the kiddos that they would stay healthy between now and their scheduled surgery dates. And, stay tuned for more photos =)
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