One of our highest priorities in our surgical screenings related to maxillofacial = cleft lip and palate. Here is a photo of one of our first patient – who will receive her healing on board.
Author Archives: Keith Brinkman
Surgical Screening – Hernia Boy
MEDICAL SCREENING DAY AT KEGUE STADIUM LOME, TOGO. The AFrica Mercy Crew both medical and operational crew volunteer to assist with the screening day. COCA COLA AFRICA donated 4000 bottles of water for the screening day., a photo by keith.brinkman on Flickr.
Where I was station at screening – the first main gate – I watched for any children and would stop to ensure that they had a parent with them. This boy, 10 years old with a hernia came but by himself. Through my translator Ruthie, we explained to him that he needs to go get a parent, brother/sister, neighbor someone. We prayed and waited, waited and then he returned.
Screening Lines inside 1st Gate
For the Surgical Screening here in Lome, Togo, my role was gate keeper and ticket provider to the potential patients (I gave out 1,609) and from my gate they lined up here awaiting the next gate and where they will see a pre-screener.
Screening Lines
A photo of the lines outside the stadium at our Surgical Screening here in Lome, Togo – about 4,000 people showed up (potential patients and their family members)
KRB Update – Jonas from Tema Newtown
Greetings from Lomé, Togo, West Africa. I pray that everyone had a great start to this New Year 2012.
During our short stay in Ghana after leaving Sierra Leone, one thing on my heart was to be able to find Jonas, a former patient, actually one of the first patients I met when I moved to the Anastasis in Ghana in June 2006. Though all I had was his first name, his home town and a before surgery photo. I first met him at the surgical screening day in 2006 and after he finished the screening process, he returned with joy to tell me that he was accepted and had a surgery appointment. I awaited his arrival in our hospital and was actually able to observe his surgery (see below photo). During his recovery, I visited him almost daily for many weeks. Though when he departed, I didn’t obtain any of his contact information.
On the 29 December 2011, I really felt to leave work early and to go and see if I can find him. His hometown is Tema Newtown, an industrial/fishing area near the port city of Tema with tens of thousands of residents. I prayed and off I went taking a shared taxi from the roundabout. While in the vehicle I explained to the driver and other passengers what I was attempting and requested their advice. The driver let me off in a location he thought I should start in. The first group of guys I asked, said to walk farther down. Then I saw two ladies and approached them and one shared she actually saw Jonas that morning. With excitement, I asked, do you know where he lives and she said Yes!!! There was a hint for a Christmas bonus (money) which I didn’t have, but her and her friend walked me back through a maze of shacks for about eight minutes and then I looked left and there was Jonas standing right there and after only split second, he recognized me. It was a great reunion as we last saw each other in October 2006. Please see the photo to the right of Jonas and some of his friends, a nephew and myself outside his shack. Jonas has a condition which actually partially grew back and he knew and was informed that would happen. After visiting, I told him I would check with the surgeon about whether we can schedule a second surgery while the ship is in neighboring nation of Togo – just the next country to the East and only 3-4 hours by public transport.
Dr. Gary remembered Jonas and said to turn in his contact information to the Patient Flow Manager and we’ll see if he can be scheduled (need to wait till after the Togolese patients screened in 2010 are scheduled).
Next Wednesday, February 1st, the entire crew will be involved in the surgical screening for this field service – the surgical specialties include: maxillofacial, plastic reconstructive, ophthalmic, VVF (vesicovaginal fistulas) and general. The operating rooms will be open for 17 weeks and we expect to provide surgery for over 1,200 patients. One of which may be Jonas.
Our Chief Medical Officer shared this prayer with us related to the surgical screening and I wish to share it with you. “That He (Father God) would bring to us all the people He has purposes for with us and that He would keep away those He doesn’t have purposes for with us.”
Serving Together, Keith Email: [email protected] www.keithbrinkman.com/
Mail: Keith R. Brinkman, Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 2020, Lindale, TX 75771 USA
Mail: Keith R. Brinkman, Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 2020, Lindale, TX 75771 USA
KRB Update – Jonas from Tema Newtown
KRB Update #2173 – Jonas from Tema Newtown Keith R. Brinkman January 25, 2012
Greetings from Lomé, Togo, West Africa. I pray that everyone had a great start to this New Year 2012.
Greetings from Lomé, Togo, West Africa. I pray that everyone had a great start to this New Year 2012.
During our short stay in Ghana after leaving Sierra Leone, one thing on my heart was to be able to find Jonas, a former patient, actually one of the first patients I met when I moved to the Anastasis in Ghana in June 2006. Though all I had was his first name, his home town and a before surgery photo. I first met him at the surgical screening day in 2006 and after he finished the screening process, he returned with joy to tell me that he was accepted and had a surgery appointment. I awaited his arrival in our hospital and was actually able to observe his surgery (see below photo). During his recovery, I visited him almost daily for many weeks.
Though when he departed, I didn’t obtain any of his contact information.
On the 29 December 2011, I really felt to leave work early and to go and see if I can find him. His hometown is Tema Newtown, an industrial/fishing area near the port city of Tema with tens of thousands of residents. I prayed and off I went taking a shared taxi from the roundabout. While in the vehicle I explained to the driver and other passengers what I was attempting and requested their advice. The driver let me off in a location he thought I should start in. The first group of guys I asked, said to walk farther down. Then I saw two ladies and approached them and one shared she actually saw Jonas that morning. With excitement, I asked, do you know where he lives and she said Yes!!! There was a hint for a Christmas bonus (money) which I didn’t have, but her and her friend walked me back through a maze of shacks for about eight minutes and then I looked left and there was Jonas standing right there and after only split second, he recognized me. It was a great reunion as we last saw each other in October 2006. Please see the photo to the right of Jonas and some of his friends, a nephew and myself outside his shack. Jonas has a condition which actually partially grew back and he knew and was informed that would happen. After visiting, I told him I would check with the surgeon about whether we can schedule a second surgery while the ship is in neighboring nation of Togo – just the next country to the East and only 3-4 hours by public transport.
Dr. Gary remembered Jonas and said to turn in his contact information to the Patient Flow Manager and we’ll see if he can be scheduled (need to wait till after the Togolese patients screened in 2010 are scheduled).
Dr. Gary remembered Jonas and said to turn in his contact information to the Patient Flow Manager and we’ll see if he can be scheduled (need to wait till after the Togolese patients screened in 2010 are scheduled).
Next Wednesday, February 1st, the entire crew will be involved in the surgical screening for this field service – the surgical specialties include: maxillofacial, plastic reconstructive, ophthalmic, VVF (vesicovaginal fistulas) and general. The operating rooms will be open for 17 weeks and we expect to provide surgery for over 1,200 patients. One of which may be Jonas.
Our Chief Medical Officer shared this prayer with us related to the surgical screening and I wish to share it with you. “That He (Father God) would bring to us all the people He has purposes for with us and that He would keep away those He doesn’t have purposes for with us.”
Serving Together, Keith Email: [email protected] www.KeithBrinkman.com Mail: Keith R. Brinkman, Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 2020, Lindale, TX 75771 USA
KRB Update – 1st White Man to Visit Their Village
$3.97 – Can of Deluxe Nuts – Walmart
138,000 leones – transportation – shared taxi, motorbikeSeeing Kalimu running towards me after I entered his village … priceless
138,000 leones – transportation – shared taxi, motorbikeSeeing Kalimu running towards me after I entered his village … priceless
Many of you will remember reading my KRB Update #2169 – entitled Kalimu – one of our cleft lip patients. I shared his story and that of his granny. She brought him for registration for surgery while our Screening Team visited Kenema in January of this year. Once she got the surgery appointment, she brought the boy to Freetown for his surgery.
I wanted to stay in touch with them, but she didn’t have a mobile phone number, but another patient named Sylvester said he knew where they lived in town and would check on them. I called and called and always got the message ‘out of network area or turned off’. I wasn’t worried about his recovery, but really wanted to know how he was doing. Our days in Sierra Leone were limited, so I decided I would go and visit them. I understood they lived in the town of Kenema as she gave me a street and house number. When I got to the area, I met many from the family, but they shared the news that granny and Kalimu lived in the village. When I asked how long it would take to get to the village, the aunt thought it would be one hour by motorbike. She shared that her brother, Ibrahim, has a motorbike and so we got him on the phone and asked for a price quote. So off we went, after about 45 minutes, we arrived in Gbado and his elder brother joined us as he knew where the village was located. Ibrahim had never been to the village and I wondered as he said they were all family, but I learned later that their father had 70 children from 3 legal wives and 7 other women. When we were leaving Gbado, a man came running calling my name. His name is Amadu and he was with his son Abdul in our hospital for his son’s surgery. I never knew where they lived.
We continued down the road/path and I had no clue how long it would take. As the path got narrower, there were many times we had to get off the motorbike and hike ourselves as it was too rough and steep for all three of us on the motorbike. After an hour from Gbado and through the community of Dodo, we finally made it to a village where we left the motorbike and started the hike to the village, crossing many ant trails, a bamboo bridge and trying not to step again in mud as I did that earlier. No one could spell the name of the village – though they shared that the village name means ‘Under the Palm Tree’. When we got to the village, they offered us a stool to sit down on, no sooner had a sat down, when out of the corner on my eye, I saw this boy running full speed towards me, it was Kalimu. It was so great to see the boy again, soon his granny followed. They couldn’t believe I came to visit. He looked so good and his lip was completed healed.
While they were with us on the ship, another fact was lost in translation: the boy is not in a Christian school, though he is attending the government village school. Thankfully I brought a can of deluxe nuts from Walmart and was able to present that to the village elders as that is an African custom of bringing nuts. Plus I had candy which I gave granny to share with all the children. I let Kalimu use my camera to take photos (or ‘snaps’ as they call it) – they loved taking snaps and looking at them on the display on the back. I walked around and got to see their village, the population of about 80 people. He lives with his granny, which is somewhat the custom also as his parents live in another village about seven mile walk from their village, so we were not able to visit them.
I learned from the village elders that they were pleased with my visit and shared that I was the first white man to ever come to their village. Wow!!! I am so thankful for the hour I got to spend together with them. I spoke words of life and encouragement over his life and believe that some things/seeds of ‘Papa God’ were planted in his and granny’s lives. About twenty of them walked with us to the next village where we left the motorbike, I said my goodbyes for now and started the long journey back. I was away from the ship for 17 hours – spent one hour in town with his extended family and one hour in the village, but it was worth it all. I shared with them that “my heart is gladi gladi”
Serving Together, Keith
Email: [email protected] https://keithbrinkman.com/ Mail: Keith R. Brinkman, Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 2020, Lindale, TX 75771 USA
Email: [email protected] https://keithbrinkman.com/ Mail: Keith R. Brinkman, Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 2020, Lindale, TX 75771 USA
Godwin & Elizabeth’s Wedding
At my church here in Ghana (Ashaiman) this morning at the Christmas service, my friend Godwin married Elizabeth. Godwin was a day worker who served with us on the Anastasis. It was great to be there to celebrate with them.
Save Them Young Visit 24Dec2011
Group photo from this morning’s visit to Save Them Young – one of our mercy ministries site in Ghana from 2006-07 with the Anastasis.
David Comes Back for Visit to Orphanage
While visiting Save Them Young this morning – I was not the only visitor – David who grew up in the orphanage, but is now working in Kumasi came by also.