Claudia Juarez is onboard the Africa Mercy headed to Madagascar

As of this writing over 5,000 people are known to have contracted the deadly Ebola virus, and about half of them have died.  This is the worst outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EBV) on record with more victims already than the 26 recorded outbreaks since the disease was first noted in 1976 combined. And it is still progressing.  Estimates are than over 20,000 will be affected before the outbreak is contained.

Related cases have now been documented in five W. African countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and Senegal.  Medical teams from around the world have mobilized to help treat those infected and stop the spread of the infection.  Many healthcare workers are among the victims of the virus.

This EBV outbreak will have far-reaching effects, even beyond its victims and their families.  The medical care, already sparse, is even less available now as the medical resources are focused on ebola.  Finances are stretched to and beyond the limits as geographic areas and borders are closed off and food and other resources become more scarce and prices for what is available escalates.

Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was also reported last month.  This outbreak is not related to that in W. Africa and is caused by a different strain of the virus.  The DRC has acted quickly to isolate the affected area of the country in order to prevent its spread.  DRC has experienced several outbreaks of ebola and is experienced in dealing with it and so this outbreak is not considered to be a threat to other areas of the country or to surrounding countries.  

Please PRAY for all those touched directly and indirectly by this unprecedented outbreak of Ebola!
 

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Change as a Constant!

 

In April, the planned field service to Guinea was cancelled due to reports of Ebola in that country.  We were reschedule to go to Benin.  However the rapid spread of the virus from Guinea to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia began to raise concerns.  Then there were suspected cases in Benin (which turned out to not be ebola) and in Nigeria (which were confirmed as ebola and traced to a man who traveled there from Liberia).  The distance between Cotonou, Benin where the ship was scheduled to be and Lagos, Nigeria where the ebola outbreak occurred is less than 100 miles.  So it is with sadness that we have had to postpone our field service in Benin as well.

 

In addition, some problems with the ship’s propeller/propulsion system have also necessitated delays as well as a return to the shipyard at Las Palmas on Gran Canaria after we had initially left there and moved to Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

So, our departure date from the Canary Islands has been delayed from the original date of August 15 – several times – so that we could take care of the mechanical issues and watch the situation in Africa to determine the best course of action.

Now we are scheduled to go to the African island nation of Madagascar, and are currently in route there!  We will have a layover in Cape Town, South Africa to take on fuel, additional supplies, and crew members who will be serving onboard as we begin our operations in Madagascar.  The last time Mercy Ships served in Madagascar was the Anastasis in 1996, so there’s a lot of preparation work for the arrival of the Africa Mercy to be done in a very short time.  What would normally take many months, especially in an area not recently visited by Mercy Ships, it being compressed into a matter of weeks.

They had no way of knowing that a staple in their diet, cassava, was a goitrogen, a class of food substances that cause goiter growth. Mercy Ships volunteer Endocrine Surgeon A.J. Collins explains, “In Africa, eating cassava is a well-established cause for promoting the growth of large goiters. It contains a compound called thiocyanates, and this is a powerful blocker of iodine uptake into the thyroid gland,” said Dr. Collins. Lack of iodine is one of the factors that contribute to enlarged goiter growth, which is all too commonly seen in the African population. Simply providing iodine supplementation does not cure the problem.

In August last summer, a local pastor made an announcement on a loud speaker that a hospital ship was coming to provide free surgeries. The pastor showed Claire “before” and “after” pictures of another person with a goiter who’d had a free surgery onboard the Africa Mercy. She was shocked to see someone else with the same huge mass bulging from their neck. And she realized that maybe she could be healed! She became giddy with excitement, laughed out loud, and jumped up and down with joy!

Claire and Olga attended Patient Selection Day for Mercy Ships with over 7000 other people. Finally, it was Claire’s turn to be examined by the Mercy Ships volunteer medical team. She was thrilled when she received an appointment for a free surgery.

Following her mother’s surgery, Olga asked how she felt about seeing her mother. She said “I’m so overwhelmed with joy.  Right now, I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to Mercy Ships and all the doctors and nurses who changed my mother’s life. I never thought my mother would have this surgery. I’m very, very happy.”

Now, Claire will be able to walk down the street and shop in the local market without the fear of being mocked. At her post-operative checkup, Claire greeted her surgeon Dr. A.J. Collins with a big smile and two thumbs up. “Before surgery, I was sick and very sad. But, now, I feel alive!”

PRAY that other patients in Madagascar who could be benefited by the surgical procedures we offer on the ship will be willing and able to come for the help they need.

On the Way!

So, after a very enjoyable time at home with family and friends, and an amazing week traveling with friends in Ireland, followed by a month of hurry up and wait in the Canary Islands, I am finally on my way to our next field service in Madagascar!  During the sail I am temporarily serving as a Receptionist (photo to follow!), but am looking forward to getting back into the Laboratory full-time for the final few weeks of my service with Mercy Ships.

Please PRAY for our safe travels (over 7,000 nautical miles from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to Tamatave in Madagascar).  

PRAY for my transition from my service with Mercy Ships back to the USA.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support.