Right Place, Right Time for Alfred

Mercy Ships there for Alfred again

In 2005, Alfred made his first journey with his father to the Mercy Ships docked in the port of Cotonou, Benin. A two-kilo benign tumour enveloped his lower jaw and teeth, disfiguring his face and preventing him from eating properly. He was slowly starving to death.

His eyes revealed the most unbearable suffering. “He was such a small person with the largest tumor I’d ever seen,” recalls  Operating Theatre nurse Alison Brieseman.
 
Believing the tumor resulted from witchcraft, Alfred's father took him to more than a dozen traditional healers who poked holes in Alfred’s skin, applied pastes, and prescribed animal sacrifices. A local doctor also examined him, but could do nothing.

"In my heart," his father said. "I had given up.” A local pastor told the family about Mercy Ships being in port and offering free surgeries. Disillusioned by failure after failure, they reluctantly made the journey to the ship.
 
Alfred underwent complex surgery onboard, where ship's doctors removed the tumor and inserted a titanium plate and bone graft to fashion a new jaw.

"Before the surgery, people ran away from me," Alfred said. “I didn’t go to school for four years. When I went back to school, all my friends couldn't believe it. My family and my close relatives would just say, ‘Yes, it’s a miracle.’”
 
So when Alfred returned to the Africa Mercy this year, the memories flooded back for Mercy Ships doctors and nurses who had been involved in his surgery and recovery. Now they delighted in seeing a healthy young man.
 
Earlier in the year, Alfred, now 19-years-old, noticed swelling in his jaw. He knew Mercy Ships had just returned to Cotonou, Benin, so he journeyed to the ship; this time full of faith. The medical team scheduled Alfred for a follow-up surgery to remove the small tumor beginning to form.
 
The surgical team had the rare privilege of seeing this young man years after his initial life-saving surgery -- his life turned around and his future full of hope. The emotional reward for Alison and the entire crew was immeasurable.
 
In spite of the passage of time and the wonderful outcome, Alfred and his father both still feel the past acutely. Alfred can’t bear to look at his "before" pictures. “It makes me want to cry”, he said.
 
"When I saw the doctor who did the surgery, I remembered it was through this man I was healed,” Alfred said. “If it was not for this man, I would have been dead.”
 
X-rays showed the metal plate in his mouth holding firm over the years. But a small tumour poked up where Alfred had noticed swelling. The medical team easily removed the benign tumour and Alfred’s recovery required only a few days.  Now he is home again, back at school and playing football with his friends.