G’day
G’day,
So after ortho comes plastics. And just like ortho, you have those plastics patients that capture your
heart. For me Jaka is one such little girl...
Here is
her story captured by our talented writer Catherine Murphy…
There
is a universal principle of childhood physics that we all remember well: the
joy of spinning in circles. Perhaps it was spinning while locking hands with a
playmate, in a teacup at Disney World, dancing in pirouettes, or simply turning
in place – it was a thrill to send our surroundings into a kaleidoscopic blur. This
was followed by a dizzy fit of giggles – at least until our internal compasses
caught up, and the world came back into focus. Do you remember?
Four
years ago, a little girl named Jaka was spinning around in circles with some
other children while her mother was at the market. Around and around, arms out,
chin up, her face full of smiles. Tragically, when Jaka lost her balance, she
plummeted into her aunt’s cooking fire. Jaka landed in the burning coals on her
left side with her arm up. The pot of boiling water her aunt had prepared for
rice spilled over the little girl’s shoulders, arms and back.
Fanta,
Jaka’s mother, ran home from the market and took her daughter to a local
hospital in Conakry.
In order to be seen by doctors, the hospital required a payment of 1.5 million
Guinea Francs at the gate – just over $200. The family could not afford
admission. Fanta returned home with Jaka,
unable to ease her daughter’s agony. For the next eight months, Jaka laid on
her little stomach, tethered to the ground by unimaginable pain. Each day, her
mother fanned her, trying to offer Jaka whatever relief she could from the
inescapable African heat.
As
Jaka’s burns healed without medical care or rehabilitation, her left shoulder
and arm contracted. Jaka’s skin began to grow back in such a way that her arm
became stuck to her side from her armpit to elbow. Fanta feared that Jaka would lose the ability
to move her arm. Still unable to afford any medical treatment, Fanta tried to
treat the problem herself.
Fanta
forced Jaka’s arm away from her side three times, trying to prevent the
contracture. Fanta described each attempt, saying that she and Jaka both cried
themselves to exhaustion. On the fourth try, Jaka begged her mother to stop
because the pain was so unbearable. “If you try to pull it open again, I will
die. The pain will kill me,” Jaka said to her mother. With that, Fanta resigned
herself to allowing Jaka’s arm to heal on its own, stuck to her side.
Today, 9-year-old Jaka is a patient
on the Africa Mercy hospital ship,
recovering from a free plastic surgery that released her arm and grafted skin.
Deep burn marks cover her entire upper body – her head, neck, shoulders, back
and arms – but no one notices because they are entranced by the little girl’s
adorable gap-toothed smile.
 |
Dr. Guido Kohler (Germany) and OR Nurse Allison
Green (Texas) operate to release Jaka’s burn contracture.
|
Sweeping,
washing and fighting – these are the activities Jaka says she will get to do
with her restored arm. Laundry might not be appealing to many, but
participating in household chores is a normalcy Jaka has never known. “I am so
happy,” Jaka says. “When I go home, I will work all the time because I can.” (Fanta
admits she is glad for this enthusiasm.) Free of her deformity, Jaka will also
now be able to go to school for the first time.
As
for fighting, Jaka is one of ten children, and she happens to be very ticklish.
With her new arm, she will be able to hold her own the next time she is picked
on by one of her older brothers or sisters. She was ashamed to go among her
siblings and friends when her arm was stuck to her side because they would
tease her. “Now they will see me and say, ‘Jaka has become well!’” she
declares. Then they will invite her to sit with them and
watch the cars go by their house.
From
her hospital bed, Jaka is all giggles – she can hardly contain her excitement
for her now-bright future of playing, going to school and watching cars. But
Jaka’s favorite part about her restorative surgery and rehabilitation is even
simpler than that: “Clapping!” she exclaims. With her arm free, Jaka can
finally clap with both hands.
 |
| The
thing Jaka is most excited about? Her ability to clap |
Now
there’s a happy ending worthy of applause.
Written by Catherine Clarke Murphy
Jaka
really does have a joy and whenever she comes down to the tent the whole
atmosphere changes. Her smile and laughter make all the hard work worth it.
Jaka really has reminded me to always be thankful for the small things.
God
is Good
and He reminds me daily :)
