right before i left the anastasis i saved a bunch (like 300) of the professional photos that mercy ships took while i was in ghana, with the intention of posting some of them on this site when i got home. however, in my typical somewhat scatterbrained fashion, i forgot to pack the CD...luckily, my astute cabinmate rachel found it and is mailing it back to me. i was really excited about posting some of those photos because many of them are of screening day, where i wasn't allowed to take my camera. so, keep checking in because i'll definitely post them once i receive the CD.
in the meantime, these are the two patients who i got to know the most: peace and vincent. peace had a mandibular myxofibroma (see june/july blog entries) and vincent had a large parotid adenoma. both vincent and peace were amazing people...it was an honor to get to know them and help them during my stay.
vincent before his surgery...vincent actually travelled all the way from nigeria, leaving his wife and three children behind, with the hope of getting help from mercy ships.
vincent, 3 days post-op. he begged me to take pictures of him because he was so proud of his new look! the swelling on the left side of his face is just the result of the surgery and will go down over the next month.
peace, pre-op. by the time she came to mercy ships, she was barely able to swallow liquids and had been losing 20 lbs/month for several months straight (you can see how skinny she is).
peace, about ten days post-op and already gaining weight. peace was probably the most inspiring person i met...her joy and enthusiasm were contagious...she was always kind and gracious, even in when she was in a lot of pain. she will be returning to mercy ships in november for a reconstructive jaw procedure.
finally, the dental clinic location before and after we set up our equipment.
# posted by Jenn @ 10:18 PM