From heartache to hope…

This is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had…

No where else have I ever felt more fulfilled and more full of joy than I do in this place..Every single day.

Zafiline is one of the reasons for that joy…

Zafiline is 26 years old. When she was 20, a small tooth abscess, left untreated, lead to the growth of a tumor that quickly reached the size of two softballs. As the tumor grew, Zafiline’s hope of ever living a normal life, ever falling in love, ever having a job to support herself dwindled.

Near the end of last year Zafiline heard on the local radio about Mercy Ships and her and her mother made the 4 hour trip to Tamatave. There were moments in the trip when she tried to turn around and go back home, out of fear, but her mother pushed her on. She was very malnourished when she arrived to the ship and was admitted to the ward 10 days before surgery to gain weight. That’s when I first met her..

She’s lived her life under these cloths to hide her tumor, yet her eyes were not covered, and from the moment I met her I knew she different. She had not let this life rob her of her joy. She was spunky and you could see her smile in her eyes even though you couldn’t see it on her mouth.

She laughed at me as she tried to teach me how to braid extensions into her mother’s hair. I loved listening to her laugh and was reminded of the simplicity of life.

Before Christmas, Zafiline had her first of at least 2 surgeries. It was a 4 hour procedure that removed her tumor as well as her entire jaw bone. In place of the mandible that was removed, a titanium plate was screwed in in its place. Zafiline spent Christmas on the ward and I had the joy of working that morning. If she was spunky before her tumor was removed. She was 10 times more spunky without it!

Once the tumor was removed and the plate installed, Zafiline was sent home for 3 months to continue to allow the wound to heal. Two weeks ago she returned to the ward for her second surgery. Much to my excitement I was scheduled to observe her surgery and I couldn’t have been happier. Dr. Gary, our amazing maxilla-facial surgeon has done these procedures time and time again. He loves to teach and I enjoyed watching him work and listening to him explain what he was doing. During this procedure, her entire jaw was re-opened, and the titanium plate, that now acted as her jaw bone was exposed. While he opened up her jaw, Dr. Chandi worked at removing a large piece of bone from her hip with the help of power tools, a chisel and a hammer. Once the 2″x3″ piece of bone was harvested from the hip it was then put through a grinder where it was ground into small particles, then mixed with bone putty. I felt like I was watching a boy in woodshop class as I watched Dr. Gary grind up the bone and stir in the putty with a smile on his face, and making jokes about how this was his favorite part!

When the right concoction of bone particles and bone putty was mixed, Dr. Gary placed the bone mixture into the jaw. Titanium has been found to be the only substance that bone will actually adhere to. With this in place, the bone will attach to the plate and continue to grow and cover the exposed titanium, creating a new jaw bone.

Amidst the sounds of the power tools, the bright lights, the beeps of the ventilator and the quiet conversations of the surgeons, I thought of how amazing the human body is. How a tumor can grow rapidly out of control. How hope can be torn away by appearances when you’re left disfigured. How your entire jaw bone can be removed and a small titanium plate can act in its place. How the body can heal in three months time only to undergo an additional surgery. How bone from the hip can be chipped out and placed in the jaw. How bone can grow in a place that it didn’t originate from and attach to a substance that it’s never been exposed to before…I was in amazement as I considered all these things and I was led to pray over this woman before me, whose face was covered with a drape, and jaw and hip were opened as I peered inside. I was watching a miracle with my eyes as I  asked the Lord to work a miracle in her heart. That she would know the one who created her intricate body.

Zafiline is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met. She is full of life and hope despite living through more pain than I will ever know. She now has a new life ahead of her. Over time, her scars will continue to heal. I am so thankful for her joy and her perspective on life. Never will I take life for granted, or let trivial things rob me of my joy. Thank you, Zafiline for reminding me of this.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”- Psalm 139:13-14