This past week was a roller coaster ride, ups and downs and more ups. The week was full to the brim as our time in the hospital came to a close. It has been so amazing seeing this whole service start to finish. When I came to the ship we were unpacking things, putting together charts, praying over the beds that would soon be filled. And now, we do the exact opposite, breaking down charts and taking beds down one by one as their occupants return back to their families and villages, stashing things away until we will need them again in the next country. The patients were condensed down into D ward on Wednesday and the other three wards were broken down and packed away. The majority of our patients left Thursday...... all but one actually.There was one lone patient on the ward Thursday evening, and guess who that man was-- My “T”. He is hands down my very favorite patient of this whole outreach, and he pretty much has been a constant in the ever changing wards. It was really nice to have him around until the very last day--sort of incredible actually. We took him out to dinner Thursday night as a special treat, and on our way back something happened that I want to share with you all.
As we were walking back, T said that maybe we should walk down this side street instead of the main road. I replied, “It’s okay T, we are champions of this town, we know where we are going”, he laughed and shook his head, but since we were looking for a pair of sunglasses to protect his eye, we ended up walking down a side road after all. As we got closer to the ship, T slowed down near a corner. He began talking to Sam, one of our chaplains who had come to dinner with us. As the two men were talking Sam simply stopped walking, and was just look intently at T as he listened closely, hanging on to every word. Sam then relayed this story to us, it warmed my heart and I think it will touch yours too.
After we first met T at the big screening day in September, he came to the ship and stayed overnight for a biopsy. The next day he was driven back to the assembly point in the city, and dropped off with all other patients. It was a rainy day, and there were few taxis running. T was feeling weak and pretty empty, it was yet another tough day with a nearly 12 pound tumor crushing his face and airway. As they sat on the curb trying to catch a taxi, not a single one would stop and the ones that slowed would keep going when they saw him. They sat there for quite some time in the rain, and T was feeling pretty low. While they were waiting, a man happened to look out of his home and could tell that T was suffering. He came out and spoke to them, and then promptly stopped the next taxi that drove by. He asked them where they were going, and then asked the taxi driver how much that would cost to rent the car as “private” for their voyage. 50,000 GNF, nearly 8 USD, the driver replied quickly, knowing full and well that it was an unfair price. Without hesitation the man handed over the money without even trying to bargain for a fair rate. He put T and his Mom in the car, wished them well, and sent them on their way. That day he did something that he could have possibly never known the outcome of. He did not know that T would fight the biggest battle of his life and win, he simply saw T and made the conscious decision to better him, without asking for anything in return. In a country where most believe those with tumors to be cursed, this gesture is unheard of. This stranger stepped out of his comfort, looked past his disfiguring tumor, and provided for another human being who was in a desperate place. He gave what he could, very possibly using his own food or rent money to bestow a blessing on a complete stranger. Watching T’s face as he told this story, I know that it was a moment he will never ever forget, a bright spot in his many years of darkness. Every time he comes to the ship, he stops by this corner and shakes the man’s hand who made it possible for him to keep going that day.....As we walked by he was sitting outside, and we were able to shake his hand and thank him for what he did for our friend, our fighter, our beloved T. This is just one of the many things that I have learned here. That you don’t have to be a millionaire, or even have much, but you will always have something, no matter how small, that can change someones life.
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