Sometimes a look back helps you move forward...

A look back...

Hey everyone, so I've been back home in Aus for a while now and I’ve had some time to think about this roller coaster ride that I call my life. Sometimes I need to pinch myself when I think about where I have been and what I've been up to. God really is good and He reminds me every day. So this was the second time I’ve volunteered with Mercy ships and I kind of thought I knew what to expect… well this year God definitely proved me wrong (as He quite often has a way of doing) J Time after time God really did break my heart with those he put in my path….

I don’t think I’ll ever get use to seeing the kinds of patients I treat when in West Africa… My heart goes out to all of my patients but here are a special few that stand out in my mind…

The baby that paints the West African picture…

One of the tragic things about a lot of the countries we go to in West Africa is that a lot of the physical deformities are seen as curses. As a result a lot of these people are treated as outcasts, rejects and are forced to beg for a living. This being said one of the greatest things I love about my job is that I get to break a lot of these misconceptions and show that a lot of these deformities are very correctable.

So one of the programs I help run is the Ponseti program which treats kids with club feet. Now I don’t know why this little baby stands out but she does… She would have been no more than two weeks old and was abandoned by her mother. Anyways an orphanage took her in and brought her to us to see if we could help, and fortunately we were. So a couple of weeks pass by and before you know it her feet have completely turned around and now she is well on the road to recovery.

I guess when I think about this little baby it really illustrates what we are able to achieve. It brings me so much joy to know that this little girl now has a chance of a brighter future, that is not going to be affected in any way by the way she looks or her ability to walk….

Wow… It’s remembering things like this that make me miss that big white ship I’ve called home for the last couple of years….

Fannie – the boy that broke my heart…

So Fannie is one of those kids who instantly wins you over with his warm personality and infectious smile… When he smiles it’s impossible to not smile back at him… He is so kind and so gentle. Anyways along with many of my patients, Fannie had quite a significant orthopaedic deformity and has never been able to walk more than a couple of metres by himself and has always needed his trusty walking stick.

So this is what broke my heart and made me tear up a little (and yes manly men do tear up every once and a while)… Ok so a few months after his surgery he came in for a rehab session and as always he had the biggest smile on his face and so did his mum… you could see the joy in her eyes… She came up and thanked us for everything and then began to say… all of Fannie’s life someone has had to help take him to the toilet and now for the first time he's able to do it by himself.

Sometimes I get caught up with things like measuring how straight someone’s legs are or the fact that they’re now able to walk without crutches…. this for me was a great reminder of what we really are achieving… it’s really special to be part of a team that not only mends patients physically but also helps restore their dignity, independence and sense of self worth.

Nfalie – the adult that took his first steps…

Nfalie is a miracle. The fact that he is defying all the odds is a miracle. The fact that he is even alive today is a miracle.  Now to give you a bit of background Nfalie grew up in the middle of Sierra Leone’s darkest days. He was caught in the middle of a war that wasn’t his own. He told me that when the war was at its worst, his days would consist of hiding from all the gun fire and the sounds of people getting killed…

As a little boy who couldn’t walk due to his deformity, when he needed to run from the dangers of war, his family would have to literally carry him while they fled. This is why I think it’s a miracle that he’s still alive. It must have been so hard, wanting to run but not being able to and even tougher to have your life in someone else’s hands.

So the other amazing thing about Nfalie is the fact that he’s never been able to walk by himself without holding onto someone or a walking aid, until now... Just the other day he came into the physio tent with an excited look on his face and wanted to tell me something… He said “Nick I can walk” he then proceeded to put his crutches to one side and walk across the room… Now its times like these that give me a little glimpse of what a proud parent feels like when their little kid takes their first steps. I tell you what I felt so proud of Nfalie when he strutted across the room and took his first unaided steps as an adult.

You know, God’s Word says that we need to count the cost when we lay down our life for Him… What I’ve found by way of experience is that when you do such a thing, God makes it worth it…

Thank you to everyone who has kept me in their prayers and encouraged me along the way... It really does make the world of difference.

And as for what’s next, I’m not really sure….

But the one thing I am sure of
is that I really don’t want to waste this life God has given me…

God is good, all the time,

and all the time, God is good