by Brenda van Straten | Jul 2, 2024 | Patient Stories
Naserry was always a happy child, the kind of girl who brings joy to a room just by entering it. To describe her personality, her aunt, Salamatu, simply laughed and responded: “She likes to talk!” Salamatu has held onto high hopes for her niece, who dreams of becoming...
by Brenda van Straten | Jun 13, 2024 | Patient Stories
In a coastal city in eastern Madagascar lives a 12-year-old boy named Romino. A decade ago, Romino received orthopedic surgery on board a floating hospital ship, the Africa Mercy®, which corrected his bowed legs at the age of just 3 years old. Today, Tilos, as he is...
by Brenda van Straten | Jun 13, 2024 | Patient Stories
Nestled atop a hill with breathtaking views and strong gusts of wind is a village in the heart of Madagascar. Just a six-hour drive from the capital of Antananarivo or Tana, where most of the island’s population live, the village is a sharp contrast to Tana – with...
by Brenda van Straten | Jan 22, 2024 | Patient Stories
In 2015, in an operating room on board the floating hospital of the Africa Mercy®, the course of Vanya’s life changed. Until then, the 11-year-old had spent her childhood challenged by windswept legs that curved sideways. The condition – often caused by a combination...
by Brenda van Straten | Sep 7, 2023 | News, Patient Stories
There was much excitement on board the Global Mercy™ recently as a young woman named Hawa climbed up the gangway. Hawa, an aspiring nurse from Sierra Leone, had never set foot on this brand-new hospital ship. But she has walked this swaying path over the water before....
by Brenda van Straten | Jun 14, 2023 | Patient Stories
The patient’s blood was A+, and she was going to need a lot more of it. Mercy Ships volunteer anesthesiologist Dr. Brian Barki and his team knew this for certain. As they gathered for a morning huddle on board the Global Mercy®, docked in Dakar, Senegal, they began to...
