The team met Gifty in our first village. She came through the clinic and saw the doctors. She was there for a basic checkup and didn’t give much history. As she was passing through the pharmacy, our lab tech, Collins, noticed she looked pale. Yes you can tell when the Ghanaians are pale. So I checked her hemoglobin. For those who aren’t a medical nerd, hemoglobin is in your blood and carries oxygen throughout your body. When the hemoglobin is low, you become anemic, or low on blood. Gifty’s hemoglobin was dangerously low. We knew right away she needed attention. Dr. Curt saw her again and tried to speak with her about her condition, but Gifty seemed uninterested in what we had to say about it. We offered to send her to the hospital, but she declined and walked away from the clinic. She was unable to be found by anyone for the rest of the day.
Fast forward to Wednesday, guess who showed back up to our clinic? Gifty! We quickly gathered the doctors and spoke with her, informing her of her condition and that if she didn’t seek treatment, she would die. We rallied and decided to send her to the Ankaase hospital. You see, Gifty had no insurance and no money to pay for anything. Even for a simple blood transfusion. Thankfully, we have really great friends that we have gained over the years. Collins spoke with some of the staff at the hospital and arranged for a few units of blood for free. So we sent her on her way.
I kept in contact with Collins as we ended our time in Kumasi and moved to the Central Region. He updated me frequently on her case. We soon found out she had uterine fibroids, which are hard fibrous tissue that grows and attaches itself to the uterine wall. These fibroids use the blood supply as their own and they don’t share at all. Gifty needed surgery and needed it soon, or she would die. The surgery to fix this was going to be expensive. Where would she ever get a few thousand dollars to pay for it. She doesn’t work, because she is tired all the time from the anemia.
After speaking with the team, we decided that leftover money at the end of the trip should go to help her. I mean, that’s why we go right? To find those who really need medical attention and help them with the resources that we have. We collected the money so Ruthie and I could deliver it the Methodist Faith Healing Hospital where we were headed next week.
The following week, one of the first things we did when we arrived at the hospital was to find Gifty in the surgical ward. She would be having her surgery later that day. We spoke with her and asked her if she remembered us, of course she did. We took the time to pray for her and her surgery later in the day.
Ruthie and I met with some of the nurses from the surgical ward, including Rachel, who was one of the charge nurses. We were invited to watch the surgery. We changed into our lovely salmon colored dresses, scrub caps and masks, and headed into the theater.
I won’t go into the details of the surgery, I wouldn’t want you all to get sick. The fibroids were large and there were a lot of them. But Gifty made it through the surgery and headed into recovery!
On Thursday, we were able to see her again and check on her. She did well over the night and her hemoglobin had nearly tripled from her original number. Praise the lord!
Friday was our last day at the hospital and we were able to say our goodbye’s to Gifty. Ruthie and I presented her and Mr. Amankwaa with a donation from our team to help with her medical expenses. Although the money wouldn’t cover the entire stay with the surgery, it will ease her burden. However, after speaking to Mr. Amankwaa, the CEO of the hospital, we learned that one of the greatest things for the patients at the Ankaasee Methodist Faith Health Hospital is that they never burden their patients with a bill. What Gifty and her mother won’t be able to afford, the hospital has funds available to help cover the rest so she will not owe them.
Very simply - your contribution to this trip helped save this young woman’s life. She is 34, unmarried, and no children. This surgery has changed her life. She will get energy back and be able to search for a husband. She won’t look as sick as she did. And the surgery helped clear out her uterus so that she may bear children one day. You helped do this for her. I pray that the next trip, we are able to find her and hear some good news!
Thanks to making some good friends at the hospital, we will be able to continue to hear how her recovery is going once we are back in the states. Gifty was discharged this week and will have a follow up soon. Her hemoglobin has improved back to a normal level.
We are the hands and feet of God when we step out of our comfort zone and heed His call. Her blessing was meeting us because God sent us to her. He goes ahead of us and picks those whom we are meant to encounter and change their lives. We thank Him for that.
It is amazing that we could follow this case all the way through. We don’t always get to do that. - Cathy
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