Just a thought...

Today is the last day of surgeries, we have a couple hundred arrivals and departures in the next two weeks, drills, briefings, events, and lots of goodbyes. 

So please forgive me for the lack of blogging, I hope to find time to write some more this weekend.  But in the meantime I was presented a thought yesterday that has just stuck with me...

Our ward and one of the operating rooms are full of babies this week.  This is a big week of cleft lip repairs, as the recovery time and risk of complications for these little ones after surgery is minimal. But the majority of these babies weren't even born when we arrived here in Guinea.  They weren't in the massive screening line that stretched down the beach road, and their mamas may or may not have ever heard of Mercy Ships until their birth a few months later. 

In this culture a cleft lip is usually viewed as a curse, and these babies are often abandoned shortly after birth.  How many of the little cherubs contributing to the chaos on the wards this week would have been abandoned? Someone knew that the people on that big white ship in the port of Conakry believe these babies aren't cursed, and that they can help your baby.  And we get to be a part of their story.  I'm so honored.

One of our cleft lip babies, Alseny, who was here earlier this year, has a special story. Read it here: Alseny -  the top photo is before and after he was cared for by our infant feeding program, and the other photo highlights the incredible job our surgeons can do - changing this little one's life forever.

Krissy