In June, I went to Guinea. It was a bit of an unexpected trip. A week earlier I had sent Osman on a mission to take a patient to the neurosurgeons at the hospital there. 8-year old Sulaiman came to us with hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and needed more help than we could give him. Within the next week 2 more patients showed up needing to see a neurosurgeon - 7 year old Mamadu and 8 month old Sheik. We decided to take them to Guinea as well. So, at 6am on a Sunday morning Osman and I took two families to Guinea.
I have to say the set up was pretty good - with a house for all of the patients and parents to stay at. It did take us a long time to get from there to the hospital due to Conakry traffic. At the hospital they had designated rooms for hydrocephalus patients. Overall I was impressed by the organization and what they could offer. Sadly, both Sulaiman and Mamadu had brain tumors and both have since passed away. They did have shunts placed, but removing the tumor proved too difficult, especially since no other treatment was available (like radiotherapy). Sheik is still there. He had a shunt placed about 6 weeks ago but had a few problems recently and is still at the hospital. Please pray for his recovery and safe arrival back in Freetown.
Osman and I had a bit of time on Monday afternoon to meet up with his brother and uncle which was fun. We then heard there was a naming ceremony taking place the next day at his aunt's house...so we ended up going there. It was an easy way for Osman and his brother to meet up with family. I'll just say it was an interesting experience! We had a special treat - a type of gari with a yoghurt like sauce - it was quite nice. After being social for a few hours we decided it was time to hit the road and get back to Freetown. We knew we had various checkpoints to battle and didn't want to delay our trip too much longer. Thankfully Osman dealt with all of the police officers on the way! Some were quite thoughtful and caring when they saw the patients on the back seat, but most didn't care and only wanted a bribe. Typical. Anyway, all in all it was a good trip.
Osman and I had a bit of time on Monday afternoon to meet up with his brother and uncle which was fun. We then heard there was a naming ceremony taking place the next day at his aunt's house...so we ended up going there. It was an easy way for Osman and his brother to meet up with family. I'll just say it was an interesting experience! We had a special treat - a type of gari with a yoghurt like sauce - it was quite nice. After being social for a few hours we decided it was time to hit the road and get back to Freetown. We knew we had various checkpoints to battle and didn't want to delay our trip too much longer. Thankfully Osman dealt with all of the police officers on the way! Some were quite thoughtful and caring when they saw the patients on the back seat, but most didn't care and only wanted a bribe. Typical. Anyway, all in all it was a good trip.
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