Children's Hospital Boston in Ghana

Challenges, successes mark second Ghana trip

(Children's surgeon Francis Fynn-Thompson wrote the following entry on March 17, on the plane on the way home from Ghana)

We are now 30,000 feet above the Atlantic and on our way back to New York from Accra. Another mission is behind us and I now have the next 11 hours to reflect on the events of the past week. It is a safe bet that I will not be able to truly put into words how proud I am of the work that we did screening over 100 children and then caring for the 11 children that we operated on this past week. There was an increased complexity of operative cases, many more difficult decisions to be made and new, unanticipated challenges to overcome. But despite all of that, the last of our patients will be discharged tomorrow and I expect them all to go on to lead healthy, productive lives. While that may seem like an obvious expectation that any of us would have for our children, it is certainly not one that any Ghanaian parent takes for granted, especially if their children have heart disease.

But this mission is also about much more that just taking care of individual patients. Along the way, we shared the collective wisdom and experience of our entire team with our Ghanaian colleagues and I think we all feel that they have continued to demonstrate a great enthusiasm as well as some appreciable progress toward being able to provide this type of care themselves. That is ultimately what I hope will be the legacy of our missions and what will make all the hard work and personal sacrifice absolutely worth it. In return, I think I speak for our entire team when I say that our experiences in Ghana continue to invigorate our spirits and make us appreciate even more the environment that we are so fortunate to work in.

As I was last October after the first trip, I feel so fortunate to be part of this incredible team of professionals who again represented the very best that Children’s and the MGH have to offer. Our preparedness and ability to overcome obstacles in an unfamiliar environment is a credit to the expertise and experience of our entire team. In particular I would like to again thank Bev, Judy and Christine, whose attention to detail really made all of this possible. THANK YOU…..

Finally, thank you Matt for creating and maintaining this remarkable web site. I think it has allowed our coworkers, families and friends to have a window into our mission and share this journey with us through words and pictures. I know it has been great gift to them all.

Francis Fynn-Thompson, MD 

Back home

It's definitely weird to be back. We got back to the Boston at around midnight on Monday going into Tuesday and are all trying to get back into the flow of life at Children's. I visited some of the team members up on the Cardiac ICU yesterday and was immediately struck by the technology that surrounds our patients and staff at every turn. In some cases, tiny babies are supported by machines dozens of times their size.

It was all such a change from Komfo Anokye, where the equipment is dwarfed by the size, scope and reality of the clinical decisions that need to made given the limitations of the medical system in Ghana.

There's a huge amount of work to be done in Kumsai, but there's a commitment from all involved to make it successful, to someday make it possible for a child born in Ghana with a heart condition to be operated on by Ghanaian surgeons and cared for by Ghanaian doctors and nurses in a Ghanaian hospital equipped to fully support them.

Thanks to all who followed our progress while we were in Ghana and wrote comments. It was an absolutely amazing experience - one I'll never forget and one that has changed forever how I think of medical missions and the poeple who undertake them.

- Matt Cyr

New photos

I finally had a chance to post some new photos. Check out galleries for our audience with the King, a trip to the Anikroma School, the farewell party, the faces of Ghana and, of course, the patients themselves. I also added several photos to the Day 1: Clinic and Set-up gallery from early in the trip.

As Americans, we live comfortable, if not privileged, lives compared to many of the people in Ghana. When we turn on the faucet, water comes out at any temperature we desire. When we flip the switch, the light goes on as bright or as dim as we please. High speed Internet, high definition TV, surround sound stereo. We have it all. In Ghana, one is never sure if water will flow from the faucet or if the lights will stay on.

This being my first experience in a third world country, I see now that the things we take for granted are almost luxuries in Ghana. The contrasts in our health care systems became apparent as well. We are used to a system with unlimited resources and an abundance of staff. No costs are spared in the treatment of a patient. It's a system that continuously strives to improve upon what it already excels at doing.

The people of Ghana want to improve themselves as well. The desire is there, even if the resources are lacking. We came here to help them expand upon what they already have. Our efforts here demonstrated that not only can heart defects be repaired, but the Ghanaians can and should do it by themselves in the not-too-distant future. Like the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

We operated on 11 children on this trip. Their lives will be better for it. But we've also opened the minds of the people to what is possible if one continuously strives to improve.

I'm grateful to have had this opportunity to help some children and touch some lives in a small way. This experience has given me a new perspective on life and made me realize how very fortunate I am.

- John Flaherty

Families Never Say Goodbye

It is Saturday morning and we are packed and heading to Accra. We have had some bumps along the way, some bigger than others, similar to the ones that we are experiencing right now on this bus ride! Christine and I are trying to nap in the back of the bus because we worked Friday night. We are having a hard time sleeping--thinking about Lisa and Jessica (the children that we were taking care of Friday night). As we passed through the little villages, taking in all of the sites along the way, we found ourselves reflecting on our past week's events.

At one point, I must have dozed off while listening to my music. I awoke only to hear the song 'We Are A Family' playing. As I refocused on the sites, still listening to this song, I realized that for me---this song summed it up. We are a family! Starting with our immediate families of whose love and support made it all possible for me to fulfill my dream. Our branches extending to each other, forming our Boston team. From there, our branches extended even further to our counterparts here in Kumasi, who welcome us with their warm and friendly embrace. And now after two missions, our branches are continuing to extend to our African families, our patients and their relatives, all of whom captured our hearts while we worked to fix theirs. We are a family, like a giant tree with branches reaching up to the sky!

On behalf of Christine, Bev and myself, we want to thank each and every one of you for making this all possible----you are truly our family!                                       

- Judy

What a long strange trip it's been

I am at a loss for words to describe the experiences I have had this week. Anyone who knows me understands this is a statement in itself. This week has been a roller coaster of emotions. We touched many lives this week, both in and out of the operating room, but I hope that we can make even bigger changes in the future.

We have been embraced wholeheartedly by the hospital staff and much of the community as friends and colleagues. One thing I am sure of is that the 28 of us who took this journey together will forever be connected to each other. I am honored to be part of this team.

Thank you all.

Karen Hinsley

Things are a bit different in Accra

Our bus ride to Accra was nearly eight hours, but wound through the beautiful mountains of Ghana, so it was an enjoyable ride. I can already tell that Accra is a very different city than Kumasi. The streets look more like you'd see in a U.S. city, with beautiful buildings and seemingly fewer cars than filled the roads of Kumasi.

Our hotel is also different. It's the Novotel Accor Hotel and feels just like something you'd find in the States. There's also (joy!) high-speed wireless Internet! I don't think we'll know what to do with all the free time we'll have now that we won't have to bang our heads against the desk while we wait for the Internet to work.

If you have a minute, check out the small gallery I put together using said wireless Internet. It shows, appropriately enough, my fruitless journey to find Internet access in Kumasi (I wrote briefly about in "Technical difficulties" on March 11).

Now that I have more reliable access, I hope to post several messages from others on the team as well as a number of new photo galleries from this week, including the going away party that we had with the patients yesterday.

- Matt Cyr

The King approves

We had our audience with the King of the Ashanti Tribe yesterday morning, and it was absolutley incredible. No one could speak to him directly. They had to speak to his linguist, who then relayed the message to the King. In talking about this mission to Francis and Bev, he said he would do anything in his power to make it a success. That's saying a lot because he's the King of the largest tribe in Ghana and his followers listen to him closely. I'll post photos as soon as I have the chance and the technical capability.

On that note, we're making the long bus trip to Accra this morning, so I doubt I'll be posting before this evening, if at all again today. I'll check back in as soon as we sort out the Internet situation.

We're looking forward to getting back to the States. I think everyone's ready to be home.

- Matt Cyr

A trip to the Anikroma Primary School

Amazed! Grateful! Blessed! There are so many words I could use to express how I felt yesterday after our visit to the Anikroma Primary School. A group of us took a long, bumpy bus ride to deliver various donated school supplies to this small, poor village school. The morning began as we watched and cheered on the preschoolers as they got up one at a time and said their A,B,C's.

Then we were greeted by several of the tribal leaders of the Anikroma village. The interpreter thanked and blessed us several times for all of the wonderful donations we gave to their children’s school.

For me, the true celebration began when the children left their classrooms and came over to us singing and dancing to African nursery rhymes. Of course, we joined right in and began clapping and dancing with them.

Some of the children then began opening boxes and looking through the different school supplies we donated. The teenagers were excited to find a big bin filled with various American magazines for kids their age and the little ones liked the pencil sharpeners we brought.

It was another wonderful day here in Ghana and another experience that I'll never forget.

- Karen Horn

Our last day in Kumasi

The team had their last day of surgery yesterday and all seems to have gone well. I'll check in later with more detail, but they operated on 12 children this week. There were some hiccups, but nothing they couldn't handle.

Last night we had dinner at the Mayor of Kumasi's house and this morning we have an audience with the King. Something tells me they appreciate the work this team is doing here in Ghana.

I've been having problems uploading photos, but was able to add a gallery this morning of our trip to the Kente Village, which is known for its hand-weaved cloth.

While the Internet is playing along, here are 10 interesting things that I've learned about Ghana:

1. No one smokes here. I've seen exactly two cigarettes being smoked and that wasn't until Wednesday.
2. They have a lot of respect for the dead. The roadside is filled with billboards showing the faces and names of people who died recently.
3. There are a million places for women to get their hair done.
4. There aren't many trashcans in the buildings and what they do have are tiny.
5. They're very religious. One example is that cars everywhere have window stickers saying things like "Rejoice in the Lord" and "Thank U Jesus."
6. The women have names like Patience, Charity and Favour.
7. Soccer is on TV everywhere. It's like Red Sox season in Boston.
8. Celine Dion is on the radio everywhere. And I don't mean that in a good way.
9. They LOVE candy. The team hands it out to adults and kids and both groups seem equally crazy for the stuff.
10. An animal called a grasscuter, which is a large rodent like a mole, is considered a delicacy here.

- Matt Cyr