We’ve just arrived in Lome, Togo two days ago. We are about to begin setting up for our next field service, which will last the next 6 months. I haven’t blogged in over a month now as I’ve been pretty consumed with the sail down from Freetown and trying to get a little R&R during our stop in Ghana.

I thought this would be a good time to review what we accomplished this last year in Freetown. The following are photos and statistics taken from the presentations we made to the government officials and our partners in Sierra Leone. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, but you’ll get a good idea of what we accomplished in the last year with the help of our partners in Freetown and around the world.

MERCY SHIPS

SIERRA LEONE 2011

Ophthalmic Surgeries & Training
1,242 Cataract Surgeries
179 Pterygium Surgeries
8,502 Eye Evaluations
Trained 22 Sierra Leoneans

Maxillofacial Surgeries & Training
111 Cleft Lip & Palate Surgeries
516 Maxillofacial Surgeries – Head & Neck Tumors
Training for Chief Dental Officer

Cleft lip and palate before:

After:

Facial tumor patient before surgery:

After:

A facial tumor patient before surgery on the AFM:

After:

Plastic Reconstructive Surgeries
159 Released Burn Contractures, Combined Fingers (Syndactyly) & Other Procedures
1,211 Occupational Therapy Services

A burn contracture victim before surgery:

Range of motion returns after her burn contracture is released:

Another victim of burns is unable to use their hand:

After the burn contracture is released the hand regains its ability to function:

General Surgeries
728 Surgeries including:
Hernia & Hydrocele Repairs
Tumor/Lesion/Lipoma Excision

Orthopaedic Surgeries & Training
185 Surgeries including:
Club Foot Corrections
Tendon Lengthening
Osteotomy

After surgery he’s able to stand on straight legs:

This guy had an amazing attitude despite his health, I got to visit him in physical therapy a few times. He came to us relying on his staff to stand upright:

After surgery, his life has changed forever:

1,742 Physical Therapy Services
Trained 3 in the Operating Room
Trained 40 Sierra Leonean Health Care Workers in Ponseti
Ponseti Casting – 103 Corrections for 66 Patients
84 Braces Fabricated

HOPE Center (Hospital Out Patient Extension)
10,495 Patient Bed Nights over 35 weeks
67 Community Health Education Sessions

Dental Clinic & Training
34,251 Procedures
10,489 Patient Encounters
933 Dental Hygiene Patients
531 Dentures
Oral Health Education 8,984 Patients & 1,025 Students
Dental Practicum – 4 weeks

Mental Health
Trained 16 Staff from City of Rest
Trained 163 Primary Health Care Workers
Trained 68 Church Leaders
Conducted Children’s Camp for 30
More Training Scheduled for February & March 2012

Palliative Care
Provided Homecare for 26 Terminally Ill
Trained 26 & Assisted Families in Wound Care
5 Income Generation Projects

Burkitt’s Lymphoma
13 Patients in Partnership with Ola During Children’s Hospital

Church Leaders’ Conferences
Facilitated training for 580 church leaders in Freetown, Bo & Makeni
In partnership with Samaritan’s Strategy & Community Health Evangelism (CHE)

Anesthesiology Conference & Midwifery Conference
79 Anesthesiology Conference Participants
28 Midwifery Conference Participants

Agriculture Program

Holistic Agriculture Concepts
4 Organizations
Trained 16 to be Trainers
Trainers Continue to Train Others

Mercy Ministries
Crew Visited 10 Sites Working with National Partners

Donations
Modular Buildings
Medical Supplies/Equipment
Pharmaceutical Supplies
Computers
Well Drilling Equipment
School Supplies

Thank you for hosting us, Sierra Leone! We’ll miss you!

Filed under: Patient Stories, Reflecting by Jay