Waiting in line

 He waited in line for hours, sun shining down on him, an the heat of the day rising up. He waited patiently just to ask a question.
As he got to me, he was asked what was his  problem, what was wrong with him medically. I waited patiently as the translator asked the questions. Instead of replying with "I have a hernia, or I have a lump on my back". Instead he had waited in line to ask a question. He wanted know if we could operate on a woman who leaks urine all the time. I replied back, yes we can, They can come here and we will see her and hopefully give her an appointment to see the surgeon. He explained how the women is in a village a few hours away from Tamatave, but would bring her the week after.

A new week started in the screening centre, One morning I continued screening patients and asking them questions, The pre-screening had already been done outside. now we where inside screening the patients with more in depth questions, to see if we could offer them an appointment to see the surgeon. This women and man came to my area. As I started asking questions it was clear the women was suffering with VVF (Vesicovaginal fistula). After giving birth to her second child she started leaking urine. She had been in labour for 2 days and lost the baby through it. As I looked at the man next to her I realised I recognised him. I asked him if he had been in the line the week before. He replied yes and that this was his mum.

So he had waited in line for hours for his mum. He wanted his mum to get help and to get better. I was so glad I could give her an appointment. She will come to the ship, be screened by the surgeon and hopefully be admitted for surgery that will change her life.

The wards ready for the patients 

What a week!

Where do I start to tell you about my week? A week full of anticipation, excitement, hope, happiness. But also a week with sadness, desperation and anger. Yes it has been a week full of emotion that I don't know where to start or process it.

Why so much emotion, well I am helping out at the screening centre. Instead of having one big screening day, this time we have a centre, which will be open Monday to Friday for a month. My job is to screen patients to see if they are candidates for surgery. Fortunately most of the time I get to give them hope, by saying yes we might be able to help you, and then give them the card with their name with an appointment to see the surgeon! You see their faces light up, then the smile comes and the thank you's. That's my favourite part of my job to say yes we can help! 

I see them crossing the room towards me and if they have a tumour or a cleft lip (problems that are visible) my heart jumps and I get excited, as I know we can give them hope. I start taking their history and their details through a translator. Sometimes the history is hard to listen to, they have been through so much, but they are survivors and it's so good to give them the card to come to the ship!

Unfortunately we cannot help everyone. And those are the hardest, they have a sadness in their eyes when you look at them. When they have this longing to give them their last hope, and you take that away from them. It breaks my heart to say no to them. The comfort I take is that we can pray with them, we also have a wonderful prayer team that can help them find some peace and healing.

I feel privileged to have been asked to help with the screening team. I get to meet the patients that are going to be on the wards soon. Actually tomorrow, our first patients will start walking up the gangway to the hospital! We are starting with orthopaedics, can't wait to see the children all walking with their casts on!

It starts all over again tomorrow, hoping and praying the right people come along. That we will be able to give them a card with an appointment.