One of these ladies I’ve known my whole life, in fact since my first breath. She was born in England but immigrated to Australia with her family as a young girl. Tricia is a devoted wife and loving mother to five children. A few years ago, she noticed a small lump growing on her nose. She tried to ignore it for a while, but eventually went to a doctor and had it checked out. It was a BCC (basal cell carcinoma), a common skin cancer that can become disfiguring if left untreated. She has private health insurance which means extra luxuries like choosing your own surgeon, less waiting periods and having a private hospital room. So she was quickly scheduled for surgery and part of her nose was excised and a flap placed to cover the deficit. It healed beautifully and is not even noticeable today. Without insurance, she would have still received the same world-class surgery and hospital care, but would not have needed to pay a cent. Through taxes, the Australian Government provides free treatment at public hospitals for all Australian citizens. Every patient that I cared for at the Royal Brisbane Hospital did not have to pay for their surgery, food, medicine or hospital costs. (Ok they did have to pay the excessive $10 a day to turn their TV on – but it went to the Hospital Foundation).
A few weeks ago I met the second lady. Patricia is from Manakara, a small town on the east coast of Madagascar. Fifteen years ago a tumor began to grow from her parotid gland. Over the years, she watched the tumor grow bigger and bigger from the side of her face. Access to health care is minimal and limited in her town and the cost of surgery is far beyond her reach. Some of Patricia’s friends and neighbors told her that her tumor was the result of a curse. So she lived ashamed, trying to style her hair in such a way to cover the tumor, but it was impossible to hide. Patricia came to screening in Manakara and then travelled to the ship to be assessed by the lovely ENT surgeon, Dr. Mark. He requested a scan and decided he could operate. I first spoke to Patricia when I gave her the date for her surgery.
The conversation was standard and went something like “So its great news, the surgeon can operate! This is your admission date. All meals/surgery/medicine/everything is provided for free so please don’t bring rice/bedding/mosquito nets/chickens/children with you. Unfortunately there’s no room for a caregiver but don’t worry the nurses will never leave you and will take good care of you”. She was nodding along, taking it all in. Then I asked if she had any questions. She said yes – could she please use a phone to call her pastor. Sure thing, I dialed the number and passed her the phone.
Her face was ecstatic, she was pointing at the ship and yelling down the phone something like Zava-misy marina! Zava-misy marina! The tears were welling in her eyes as she continued to talk with her pastor. I asked the translator what she was saying. Maria had a big smile and tears also running down her face as she told me what she was saying. “It’s real! I’m really here in Tamatave and there’s a big ship with a hospital and I’ve been inside and I’ve seen it. I’m sitting right next to the ship, it’s right here! They’re going to help me; I’m going to have surgery tomorrow! Please tell everyone to pray for me.” She hung up the phone and we all rejoiced with happy tears. I’m continually amazed by the courage it takes for the patients to come to come to the ship. They have to bravely ignore all the rumors that are rampant; such as Mercy Ships will take out your tongue, sell your bones and organs or sail away with you. Patricia must have had doubts and fears, but she trusted God and came anyway. She’s now had surgery to remove her benign tumor and has returned to her village a changed woman. Thanks to donors around the world, people who cannot ignore the cries of the poor, Patricia no longer has the burden of her tumor.
I don’t know the answers to this nor do I know the solutions to this gross inequality in access to health care.
But for us as individuals, these simple God-breathed words hold so much truth..
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”
Proverbs 3:27
[1] Xenia Scheil-Adlung, (Ed.) International Labour Office. (2015). Global evidence on inequities in rural health protection: new data on rural deficits in health coverage for 174 countries. Geneva: Social Protection Department.