The episode shares Ishmael's inspiring journey from pain to healing through the compassionate care provided by Mercy UMC Hospital. Listeners learn how community support and dedicated healthcare professionals can create incredible transformations in children's lives.
• Ishmael's broken body and his mother's desperate journey for help
• Dr. Morie Vandi’s commitment to serving underserved communities
• Mercy's outreach program and how important it is in providing medical care to rural areas where poverty is extreme
• The successful surgical intervention for Ishmael's hernia
• The fusion of medical care and emotional support during recovery
• Ishmael’s joyful transformation post-surgery and his aspirations for the future
• Our young Co-host's perspective and her uplifting message about kindness and community impact
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, share it with your friends and leave a review. Together, we can bring more stories of hope to life.
More about our guest: https://www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org/latestnews/introducing-dr-morie-vandi-mercy-hospitals-newest-physician
More about Mercy Hospital:
https://www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org/mercy-hospital.html
How you can support crucial health services for children like Ishmael.
https://www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org/give-998668.html
________
Travel on International Mission, meet local leadership and work alongside them. Exchange knowledge, learn from one another and be open to personal transformation. Step into a 25 year long story of change for children in some of the poorest regions on Earth.
https://www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org/mission-trips.html
******
_____
A bible study for groups and individuals, One Twenty-Seven: The Widow and the Orphan by Dr Andrea Siegel explores the themes of the first chapter of James, and in particular, 1:27. In James, we learn of our duty to the vulnerable in the historical context of the author. Order here or digital download
Shout out to our newest sponsor: The Resilience Institute
Helpingchildrenworldwide.org
Episode Transcript
Welcome to Optimistic Voices, A Child's View, where
we share incredible stories ofresilience and hope through the
eyes of children.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm Natalie Turner, and this is my co-host, melody
Curtis.
Together, we'll talk about realkids who face tough challenges
and the amazing people who helpthem find a brighter future.
We'll talk about real kids whoface tough challenges and the
amazing people who help themfind a brighter future.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Each episode features a special guest who will take
us on a journey, one filled withadversity, compassion and hope.
Today's story is about Ishmael,a young boy whose life was
transformed by the dedicationand compassion of the Mercy
Hospital team.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
A five-year-old boy whose life took a dramatic turn
after Mercy UMC Hospital'soutreach team visited his remote
village.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Let's welcome today's guest, Dr Maury Vandy.
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
We can't wait to hear this story of hope.
Thank you for having me.
We can't wait to hear thisstory of hope.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Before we dive in, tell us a little bit about
yourself and your connection toIshmael's story.
Of course, nalee, of course.
My name is Moivandi and I havea background in medicine, and I
trained in tropical medicine andinternational Health.
I am the medical doctor incharge of Mars UMC Hospital,
which is a 50-bed 50-basedfacility serving the world
population of Bodie Street inSierra Leone.
I oversee the hospitals ofpatients, including its clinical
(01:35):
services and outreach programs.
Our mission is to bringaccessible and quality
healthcare to underservedcommunities, and this includes
addressing challenges likematernal health, child health,
infectious diseases and chronicillnesses.
One of our flagship initiativesis our outreach program, where
(01:56):
we take basic healthcareservices to remote villages.
This is critical because manyof these communities have little
or no access to healthcare, andthat is exactly how I met
Ishmael.
It was during one of our outingvisits that I met Ishmael, a
very young boy who lives in aremote village in Bo district.
While in this village, toprovide medical care to the
(02:21):
people, his mother had broughthim to a clinic.
To provide medical care to thepeople, his mother had brought
him to our clinic.
She heard about our visit fromanother village, by the way, and
traveled quite a distance toreach us.
When she arrived, it was clearthat Ishmael was in pain.
His condition wasn't somethingwe typically handle during our
(02:41):
outreach visits, you know,because what we focus is on
screening, treating commonconditions like malaria and
minor infections.
But Ishmael, according to hismother, has been unaware for
some time and his condition wasseverely affecting his daily
life.
He couldn't attend schoolregularly or play with his
friends.
His mother shared that they hadvisited nearby health
(03:02):
facilities but none could reallyprovide the care that was
needed.
The look of worry on herFacebook volumes about how
desperate she was for help.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
That sounds so difficult.
How old was Ishmael at the time?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well, Ishmael was just five years old when we
first saw him, and it was clearthat the situation was
overwhelming, especially for hismother.
You know, imagine leaving yourvillage and traveling to the
city, relying on the promise ofhelp from a group of
kind-hearted strangers.
Ishmael, however, embodied purehope.
He just wanted to feel better.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
It's hard to imagine going through something like
that.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Let me just paint you a picture.
This is a village where we haveno motorways and you have to
walk by foot from one village toanother, and I'm sure they must
have walked like tens of milesto get to where we were, because
that was a village that wasaccessible through the
hospital's ambulance.
(04:05):
So we had to hop on theambulance together with Ishmael
and his mother, and then we hadto drive all the way to the
hospital in Bo City and when wearrived it seemed to fall into
action to attend to Ishmael.
We then conducted a fullevaluation and developed a
(04:27):
treatment plan for him.
So Ishmael had a hernia whichwas unlike what we usually see.
So a hernia, what he had was aninguinal hernia, which is like
a protrusion in the abdominalwall.
So when Ishmael arrived at thehospital, the team sprang into
action and we conducted a fullevaluation and developed a
(04:49):
treatment plan for him tailoredto his needs.
Evaluation and developed atreatment plan for him tailored
to his needs.
Ishmael had a hannya.
So a hannya is a swelling inthe scrotal region of usually
men, where he had an inguinalhannya in his case.
So he had a swelling in thescrotum, which was one scrotum,
(05:10):
so it is basically yourintestine descending to your
scrotum, which was one scrotum,so it is basically your
intestine descending to yourscrotum because of a defect in
the abdominal wall, in the wallof the tummy.
So he needed surgery for that,and in less than one hour his
troubles were over.
The staff at Massey Hospitalare very skilled and they work
together to ensure that Ishmaelreceives the best possible care.
(05:33):
It wasn't just medicaltreatment that they received,
though.
Our team also providedemotional support to Ishmael and
his mother.
Being away from home andsurrounded by strangers can be
overwhelming, especially for achild, but our nurses went out
of their way to make him feelsafe and cared for.
But our nurses went out oftheir way to make him feel safe
and cared for.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
How did Ishmael feel when they started to see things
change?
Initially, Ishmael was veryquiet and meek, but as his
condition improved, we began tosee a different side of him.
He started smiling, chatting tohis mother and even playing
with the balloon puppet one ofthe nurses made while he was
(06:18):
recovering from his bed.
His transformation was trulyheartwarming.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Let's take a moment to celebrate the people who made
a difference here the outreachteam, the staff at Mercy UMC
Hospital and Ishmael's family.
Their collective effort madethis incredible outcome possible
.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Where is Ishmael now?
Speaker 3 (06:41):
So Ishmael is back home healthy and happy.
He has returned to school andis going to get in with his
friends.
His mother told us that he'sgiven up two years in energetic
reform.
She's incredibly grateful forthe care he received and hopes
he will one day grow up to helpothers, just like the master
team helped him.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
What a transformation .
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Did he share any dreams for the future?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Yes, his mother told us that Ishmael's dream was to
become a teacher one day.
She said he's already helpinghis younger sibling learn how to
read alphabets.
It's incredible to see how farhe's come.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Before we wrap up, what's one note of optimism
you'd like our listeners to takeaway from this story, Dr Vandy?
Speaker 3 (07:33):
For Ishmael.
The story reminds us that evensmall acts of care can lead to
life-changing transformations.
You know, when communities orhospitals like in our case and
individuals come together, theycan totally make a difference in
the lives of children likeIshmael.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
My note of optimism from Ishmael's story is that it
shows that people can cometogether and truly have an
impact on the life of a child ora community.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
We hope today's story has inspired our listeners to
look around and see how they canbe a part of someone's journey,
whether it's through kindness,volunteering or simply listening
, like the nurses at MercyHospital.
Small actions make a bigdifference.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Thank you, dr Vandy, for sharing this incredible
story and thank you, listeners,for joining us today on
Optimistic Voices A Child's View.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to
subscribe, share it with yourfriends and leave a review.
Together, we can bring morestories of hope to life.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Until next time, remember there's always hope in
every voice matters.
Bye for now bye, dr vandy.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Thank you so much for being with us thank you thanks,
natalie.
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