The job of the communications team on the ship is to take photos and write stories about the patients and every day events that occur at Mercy Ships. I had been asked if they could follow one of my children on the Burkitts Lymphoma programme (see my earlier blog).
Claire, one of the writers and Liz, a photographer came to the hospital with me to meet the little boy and his mother. They will be following him as he progresses through his course of chemotherapy so a story can eventually be written about him. His name is Soriba and he has the cheekiest smile. He and his mother make the 3 weekly journey from Bo, a town around 3 hours drive from Freetown, to be treated at the hospital.
Below are a series of pictures taken by Liz of some of the treatment process from taking blood through to having the chemo. For those in the medical profession, please turn a blind eye to the technique used by the nurses to give the chemo (i.e. without gloves/aprons!). My job is to only co ordinate the already existing programme so I do not have much of a say in how the children get their chemo! Working here is very much about relationship building so I would certainly be putting several noses out of joint if I started criticising. Sometimes its just about going with the flow!
Having blood taken. All the children have this done pre chemo to ensure they are well enough to proceed with the next treatment
The swelling to his left eye and cheek has reduced dramatically since he started the treatment
Dee (my work colleague, a nurse from the UK) and I doing our bit to build relationships!
The start of the chemotherapy. The nurse in the middle is the ward sister.
Cyclophosphamide, the chemotherapy that is used. This is donated to Mercy Ships.
Starting the chemotherapy
Post chemotherapy with his mother. All the children have IV hydration after the treatment.
I will keep you updated on his progress and post his story and more pictures when it is written. Now the children are starting to recognise and respond to me, I am beginning to enjoy my trips to the hospital. My prayer is that they will all respond well to the treatment and make a full recovery, however I know that statistically this is not very likely. But I do know that we are giving these children a chance at life that they would never have had otherwise. And that is such a great thing to be part of.
Oh my! What a blessing you are giving these families! Thank you for sharing these photos. We continue to hold them and you in our prayers.
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