A 3 day journey by canoe to receive life-saving treatment from Mercy Ships

Medical charity Mercy Ships has told the extraordinary story of a lady in Madagascar who travelled for 3 days by canoe and ferry to receive life-saving surgery.

Theogette, 40, developed a tumour round her mouth and jaw a decade ago. Over time the tumour grew and started to affect her ability to eat and commenced to inhibit her respiratory.

Theogette suffered socially in addition to physically: “People said I used to be sick and contagious … They influenced my husband and he left me.” 

She added, “They [community] don’t like me; they don’t want me to return near them.”

It is estimated that only 20 per cent of Madagascans have access to surgical services and that for 95 per cent of Madagascans even when such services are possible, they’re prohibitively expensive.

Things modified for Theogette when her nephew, a medical student, called her to let her know in regards to the opening of a Mercy Ships Hospital Outpatient Extension (HOPE) Centre near his university.

Theogette embarked upon her three day journey to succeed in the medical centre. When she arrived medical staff saw that she was undernourished and underweight. She was capable of undergo the operation, nevertheless, and the next recovery process.

The surgery was performed by Leo Cheng, Royal London Hospital’s Maxillofacial Head and Neck Surgeon. Cheng said, “If it weren’t for Mercy Ships, Theogette could have died by slow suffocation as her oxygen supply would have slowly turned off – an awful solution to die. Theogette’s tumour not only affected her appearance, but her function of speech, communication, chewing, swallowing and respiratory were all affected.”

Ali Herbert, the Operating Room Clinical Supervisor, described the moment Theogette realised the surgery had been successful: “There was this incredible moment when Theogette looked within the mirror and put her hand as much as her face. Then she realised that the tumour wasn’t there anymore and her hand could move much closer to her face again. 

“It’s amazing teamwork that goes into each of those complicated surgeries, however it’s a precious time seeing the patient afterwards, capable of gain weight again and return to their families.”