News Updates - Press Release

[Home] [Main] [News Letters / Events ] [2006 Annual Report] 

Cases, Faces and Babies - by Samson Otuwa, M.D., FAAP, Filed from May - June, 2007

Short-term Mission with Long-Term Impacts - touching lives, changing families through the field of Medicine & Surgery

She was crying like a baby. She had every reason to mount an objection to the many probing eyes around her. At her tender age all civil lips would call her cute. And cute she was even with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Baby, what bringeth thou here?” “The woman that giveth me food”, was her answer. Our communication was ethereal. Not with words but with eyes that pierced through the minds.

On a mission that covered four communities and two states in southeastern Nigeria, a trip that was wrought with the frustration and thievery of the Nigerian law enforcement agents, this little baby encounter fueled my desire to touch as many lives as possible. The faces were many, the cases were diverse and the babies were charming. Armed with drugs and diagnostic tools, I was totally disarmed by the charm of the little ones in the crowd. [Download & Read full story in PDF format here]

 

Photo Top Left: Dr. Samson Otuwa seeing patients - lots of women and children Top Right: A cross-section of women wait their turns to be seen by doctors at Ogberuru Outreach clinics

 

Cases, Faces, and Babies...

The cute little baby would be treated for gastroenteritis, a disease that has family ties with poor sanitation and water contamination.  Those huge tears of hers were very reassuring to me. I could say, for certain, that her state of hydration was not severely compromised.  She could produce tears to fill a bucket. Her tank was full. This one time, crying was a good thing. For the doctor in me.

I gave the mother instructions for the baby and asked her to see the pharmacist for medications. She did not bulge. In a calm voice, she requested medications for herself. I asked her what was wrong with her.  She said she had no complaint but I should examine her to be sure. I examined her and found nothing wrong with her and was happy to relate the good news to her. 

Photo above: Mission Volunteer Nurses at work - pre-screen patients before consultations with the doctors

Suddenly, she looked dejected and disappointed. She made a fervent plea for some kind of treatment; she said I should give her some American medicine for her health maintenance.

At this point, I told her that the almighty America has not yet found a cure for good health. But, I wasn’t going anywhere with her so I gave her a pack of multivitamins and Tylenol and admonished her to take these ‘secret’ pills of perpetual health as prescribed.

You should have seen the radiance on her face. That is to say, every case has a face (or rather, every face has a case). And when the case is properly resolved, it shows on the face.

There were some memorable cases. We had a woman walk in with complaints of insomnia and lethargy. Her blood pressure was 260/150. The more we checked it the higher it read.  She had been living with this condition for years, undiagnosed and untreated. Her body has learnt to cope with this high degree of stress and strain on her circulatory system. Management could be an enigma. How aggressive could one be in lowering the blood pressure? How long has she had this problem? What was normal for her at that stage would be abnormal for you and me. How would you manage this patient?

When you are in the mission field, you become the primary and tertiary centers all by yourself.  You are the jack of all specialties to all people. After all, you are the MD (Make Decisions). You have to do what you can with what you have and hope for the best. When faced with difficult situations, don’t speak French, pray. Humble yourself and pray to the Almighty for guidance. He will always answer your prayers.

In the village of Amaba-Ime in Abia State, a physician is not allowed to rest in his own house. It did not matter that there were scheduled medical outreaches for the community; they still came to the house as early as 6am. What reason would you give your great grandmother’s second cousin not to see her that morning? You didn’t even have an argument. No, not with those pleading eyes and wrinkled face. Not with the obvious pain she encountered in an attempt to walk towards you as you tried to dash out of the house. You had to attend to her and to the one next to her and the next. You had to see as many as you can before your scheduled meeting. You would only be two hours late. That was good timing by “African Time”.  We treated about fifteen people that came without appointments everyday in my father’s house. 

I fled from the village unannounced. The next morning my mother called me to ask me what to do with the patients that had traveled long distance to see me that morning. I told her to feed them and tell them I would return next year. God would sustain them by his grace. She said their wail of disappointment was making its way towards the city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where I sought refuge. I could only do so much….

Above center - Dr. Samson, Stuart and medical team at work performing a surgery at ICH (International Christian Hospital) in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria

Above: Giant Uterine Fibroids removed by Dr. Quartemont from a patient

Below: Patient surgery in progress at the ICH, Owerri.

Rural Community Clinics / Outreaches

Two of the three major medical outreaches were in Ikwuano LGA, Abia State. The third was in Ogberuru village, Imo State.

Ikwuano LGA Outreaches:

In our first outreach in Ikwuano, we saw over three hundred and fifty patients.

Dr Mbata of Total Care Hospital, Owerri, was at hand to help. He brought two of his nursing staff to the outreach.

Prof Onuba of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital provided us with a pharmacist and a nurse.  These two also helped in our second mission. Spiritual ministration was provided by Rev U.K. Affigbo from Lagos. He was with me for the duration of my visit and his prayers were invaluable to our success.

Our second outreach in Ikwuano drew a crowd of over five hundred patients.  We were blessed with four doctors and three nurses from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Umuahia, Abia State, as well as Dr Mbata and his two nurses. Prof Onuba’s staff was also there, as mentioned earlier. It was an all day outreach that started at 8am and lasted till 6pm.

We provided water and snacks for all the patients. Some of them walked three to four miles to see us. It was so touching to hear some of their stories and what they had to overcome to make the trip to receive free medical care.

We had other non-medical volunteers that helped with patients’ registration, crowd control and distribution of drinks and snacks to the medical volunteers and the patients. The volunteers were an integral part of our success and we thank God for them.

Medical Equipment and Supplies Shipped By RNM, Inc.

In Nov. 2005 / early 2006, Relief Network Ministries, Inc. shipped / cleared a 40-foot container load of donated medical equipment, supplies, books and computers, etc.

Our mission was not just to treat the sick but also to distribute these donated materials. We took time to evaluate needs and donate necessary medical equipment and supplies to local hospitals.

We donated medical and surgical supplies to:

  • The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital,
  • The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and
  • The International Christian Hospital.

 

Photo above: A cross-section of the Medical Mission 2007 Team - photo taken at the ICH compound in Owerri. L-R: Dr. John, Dr. Stuart & Velvet Quartemont, Oge' F. Ochi-Okorie, Stephan & brother (Dr. Stuart's kids), Dr. Ben Mbata, Evangelist - U.K. Affigbo, Dr. Samson Otuwa, and Dr. A. Sunny Okorie; (Photographer: Pyppa Johnson)

Ogberuru – Orlu Outreach:

The last medical outreach was in the village of Ogberuru, Imo State. This was a joint mission with Dr Quartemont who spent two weeks in Nigeria performing surgery at the Owerri Christian Hospital. Dr Mbata also volunteered at this outreach. I was delighted to meet another volunteer at Ogberuru, Dr Ibenye, who was a friend from medical school. We also had volunteer nurses from the Imo Teaching Hospital, Orlu. We treated over two hundred patients in Ogberuru.\

Surgeries at the International Christian Hospital (ICH), Owerri:

We also spent a week in surgery with Dr Stuart Quartemont from College Station, Texas. Dr. Stuart & Velvet Quartemont lead a sister ministry called Medical Missions International, Inc. with web link at: www.solidrockinternational.com/mmi.

All surgeries were performed at the ICH, Owerri, Imo State. Dr Quartemont performed incredible surgeries, the story of which is best told by the attached pictures shown here, and more to be posted at the MMI website above.

In all, 30 surgeries were performed within the two weeks, some of which were major – including the removal of the giant uterine fibroids from a woman; and a full-grown breast from a man.

Photo above: Man being pre-screened / vital signs taken by nurse before consultations with Doctor at an Outreach in Ikwuano LGA

Above: At final stage - woman waits to receive her free medications from Pharmacist / Volunteers at the Pharmacy

Value, Acknowledgements & Appreciations:

These supplies were obtained from several institutions in the USA, and were worth over $100,000 USD inclusive of custom duty / port clearing charges and delivery expenses.

The Ocean Freight of the 40-foot container of donated medical equipment, & supplies was provided free-of-charge by a Houston-based Shipping Agency called Consolidated Steamship Agency. It was made possible by their Houston Manager, Mr. John Bomer (a Relief Ambassador) speaking on our behalf to the vessel owners with logistics and facilitation done by Mr. Barry Irish, another great Relief Ambassador.

Two weeks went faster than one day, in my reckoning. There was something going on every minute we were there, to fill our time and to make it vanish. The only thing that gave time meaning was fatigue. Without fatigue, we could go on and on like in a REM sleep; where the vivid dream streams endlessly until you wake up.

The grateful attitude of the people makes this mission worth doing again and again.

RNM gratefully acknowledges the support and assistance of all doctors, & ministers mentioned above and their various collaborating organizations. RNM also appreciates our big Sister Ministry – Living Water International (www.water.cc) for helping us provide access to clean water wells for many schools, communities / villages, and churches in Nigeria.

We are indeed co-laborers in Christ!

Matthew 23:35-36: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

- Edited: Dr. A. Sunny Okorie (RNM President)

 

Confessions of Faith

Exact tallies were not taken by the ministers who worked side by side with the medical team. However it was reported that the good news was preached in all 3 major rural clinic outreaches and that several expressed interest in knowing more about Christ, and went forward for counseling and prayers to be born again or healed from their sicknesses.

Challenges - Finding a way to collaborate with local churches and training local workers at beneficiary communities to follow-up with new converts or those that express interest in learning more about the love of Christ as demonstrated by the medical teams in taking time to treat and care for them.
  • Few local evangelists available to assist are often after working to see that mostly the people they know or invite sees doctors on day of event than spend enough time working with patients spiritually, especially during the captive waiting periods in lines before screening or to see a doctor.
  • Medicines or drugs for local sicknesses and diseases are often not among the donated drugs we take overseas. Resorting to purchasing drugs in Africa often exposes us to risk of buying adulterated or fake medicines that may not be potent or become dangerously counter productive.
  • Water borne diseases continue to be major cause of most illnesses in the tropics. Need to provide access to clean drinking water for communities continue to be a priority for us.
  • Presently - we are working hard to provide enough water wells in communities with low water tables and easier drilling formations in Abia, Rivers, parts of Imo, and parts of Southern Nigeria that have easier drilling conditions. 
  • We are just now beginning to address some deep wells (400 feet and above) in certain areas of critical need.

 

 

Additional photos under Mission #1 of 2007 (this trip - Dr. A. Sunny & Oge' Florence Ochi-Okorie's trip); Mission #1 (Dr. Samson Otuwa's Medical Outreach), and Mission #2 of 2007 for us: (Dr. Stuart Quartemont's Medical Mission) or find it from: www.relief-networks.org . Praise the Lord!

Providing water wells & skills to re-energize and empower the rural poor