On July 13, 2008, a team of 70 doctors, general surgeons, gynaecologists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, dentists, counsellors, and logistical staff converged in Erema, Rivers State from Lagos, Port Harcourt, Benin, Enugu, Abuja, Ibadan, and Abakaliki in Nigeria, as well as Ghana and South Africa, to begin a week-long free health care programme for the indigenes of Erema and the surrounding communities. Each volunteer gave of his or her time and skills to make a lasting impact on the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of all they came in contact with.
The team took over the operation of the Erema General Hospital and on Sunday set up the medical sections so that early Monday morning the free treatment could commence.
A walking tour of the hospital would look something like this: Outside the gates a crowd of several thousand would be waiting, each person hoping to receive a treatment card which would entitle him or her to the treatment specific to their need. The crowd control team and card dispensers sorted the crowd into rows of men, women with children, the elderly, etc., and would hand out cards to those desperate for medical intervention.
As we leave the crowds behind and enter the hospital gates, we join the queues waiting for their blood pressure check, which is the first step to receiving consultation.
Those in need of eye treatment, glasses, or eye operations head to the eye section or the operating theatre for diagnoses and treatment. The eye section is always one of the most crowded, as many of these rural dwellers (who work under the hot sun in the fields each day and have inadequate lighting in their houses at night) are in need of eye glasses, suffer from eye infections, and have developed cataracts from their living and working environment.
Anyone suffering from poor dental health, missing teeth, and more serious mouth conditions such as mouth tumours, are directed to the team of dentists and dental surgeons who spend their days filling cavities, extracting teeth, scaling and polishing, and for those in need of a dazzling new smile, splendid sets of shiny new teeth.
Those suffering from general ailments and sicknesses join the queues for the consulting doctors who diagnose anything from malaria to life-threatening cases in need of immediate surgery.
The sufferers of more complex surgical problems ranging from hernias to VVF (Vesicovaginal Fistula) are screened by the surgical team and booked for surgery. This section is the most emotionally charged, as some people have had tumours or other problems for many years, but have no way of paying the huge fees for surgeries. Receiving this free surgery is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them and will save or prolong their lives.
While all these sections are busy diagnosing and treating the patients, a team runs the counselling department, which is available to listen to, comfort, and pray for people who have non-medical problems or who are unable to receive medical intervention. Many people find great comfort in the prayers received and leave with renewed faith that they are in God’s hands and are under His never-ending care. This team also visits the wards daily to pray for those recovering from surgeries or serious illnesses, as well as passing out leaflets proclaiming God’s comfort and care to the crowds gathered, and praying for those who ask for it.
The final stop for the diagnosed patients is the busiest spot on the hospital grounds: the pharmacy. Here, the tireless pharmacy team dispense free medication and fill hundreds of prescriptions each day.
The hospital visit ends once again by the gate as people file out, no longer sick, disheartened, and hopeless. Some leave walking when they had to be carried in by concerned relatives. Mothers leave with babies and children, grasping the medication that will make their child well. The elderly leave without the aches and pains with which they entered. Beaming new smiles greet family and friends, as they have been relieved of their agonising dental pain. Those who have received surgeries leave with a new unfettered life, and those who walked through the gates in darkness led by small boys, leave alone, head held high, as they see for the first time in many years the tearful faces of their grateful families.
At the close of the week the medical team pack up, exhausted but satisfied that they have done their best and treated all they can. Remaining cases are directed to other hospitals for follow-up care and treatment and the hospital is left with a stock of medicine to continue to treat those still recovering in the wards.
This was a difficult project to execute, with many car problems, transportation difficulties, a plane crash which one of our team was on, several doctors and staff getting sick, and many other challenges along the way. But through all of this, the team achieved their goal and thousands of lives received not only medical intervention, but the knowledge that they are loved by their fellow man and by God, who brought us to them.
MEDICAL PROJECT STATISTICS
- Doctors consultation and Pharmacy: 2,685
- Optometrist examinations: 527
- Glasses given: 265
- Eye Surgeries: 31
- Dental Treatment Total: 206
- Dental Surgeries: 10
- Scaling and polishing: 32
- Crown: 1
- Routine extractions: 81
- Other procedures: 82
- Total Surgical Consultation: 284
- Total Surgeries: 56
- General Surgeries: 52
- Caesarean: 1
- VVF: 3
TOTAL: 3,702