The first surgeries on board the Global Mercy hospital ship in Tema, Ghana were to begin September 8th in the early morning. Before getting straight to work, the entire Mercy Ships crew joined together to pray over the surgeons. Captain Taylor Perez led that ship wide prayer from the ICU:
Captain Taylor’s prayer brought a moment of peace for the crew before it was time for the crew to bring peace themselves to the Ghanaian patients waiting outside at the dock. 59-year-old cataracts patient Samuel was the first to come aboard and receive it.
Samuel is a mechanic fitter from Kumasi, a city in the Ashanti region of central Ghana. He is a loving father to five children, the youngest of whom is just seven years old, and has been raising them alone since his wife passed away. A year ago, Samuel suffered another travesty when he lost his vision to cataracts. “Now I’m unable to do anything,” he lamented. “Not even work, see at night, or see properly during the day.”
As he waited for the surgeons to lead him into theater, Samuel expressed his excitement for the restoration that cataract surgery will bring to his life: “I will be happy to be the first person to receive the surgery and see properly! I will be able to testify of the works of Mercy Ships—they’ve done well!”
Pediatric orthopaedic surgeries were proceeding as well. Volunteer Ward Nurse Educator Sandra-Abigail Adzayi enjoyed welcoming some of the ship’s youngest patients on board for their life-changing operations. “Honestly, it’s a very special moment for me,” she shared. “Coming back to my own country after I’ve been living for the past 20 years plus in Switzerland, it’s just a privilege. I’m very, very excited to be able to contribute and be working with Mercy Ships’ mission for my own people!”
One of the first orthopaedic surgeries to take place was for five-year-old Joseph, who was born with knock knees. His family first noticed his legs were different when he was starting to walk at age 18-months. “When my son turned three, I suggested he started schooling,” recounted his mother, Gloria. “But my husband’s response was, ‘he will be mocked and laughed at because, even in the community we live in, he is being laughed at by both adults and kids and always comes crying to me.’”
“[The surgery] is good for him,” she rejoiced. “Being here gives him hope that his legs will be fixed and he can finally go to school!”
Joseph and Samuel are just the beginning. During the Ghana field service, Mercy Ships expects to provide more than 2,000 life-changing surgeries at no cost to patients. The team of medical professionals on board the Global Mercy is confident that they can deliver safe, free surgeries to the best of their God-gifted abilities.
Together, with the help of partners and donors, they will help this dream of a life forever changed become reality for many Ghanaians.
You too can get involved and help make more life-changing surgeries possible.
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