a coming and a going...: A Mother Never Stops Loving

The patients that I care for have fascinating stories, as does every person we meet, if we would only slow down to listen. I still remember the first day Sory entered the ward, his face was completely hidden by a cloth with only one eye peering out. Over time I witnessed an amazing transformation not only with the physical removal of the tumor but watching Sory enteract with others with his face now uncovered! I would like to share this story written by Joanne Thibault, a writer aboard the Africa Mercy.

Peering through the world while hiding away underneath,
this is exactly how I remember meeting Sory for the first time
when he walked onto the ward to be admitted for surgery.

"A Mother Never Stops Loving"

A distressing number of children in West Africa suffer from horribly large and life- threatening facial tumors. There are no maxillofacial surgeons in the region with the training or experience to remove these growths. That is why Mercy Ships is so important. This global humanitarian organization brings hope and healing through its hospital ship, specializing in a number of life-changing surgeries, including benign tumor removals.

This year, Mercy Ships is providing free medical care to the people of Guinea. The Africa Mercy hospital ship is docked in the Port of Conakry. Each weekday scores of Guineans with conditions that Mercy Ships medical volunteers can treat arrive to be admitted into the 78- bed, state-of-the-art hospital.

Sory, a frightened, cowering seventeen-year-old boy with a large benign facial tumor, waited for what no one had ever thought was possible . . . a surgery that would remove the growth. Sory shrouded himself completely, leaving only a small gap for one eye to continually survey his surroundings.

His mother, Saran, sat close to him, holding his left hand firmly to her knee. Her gesture – so quiet, yet so enormously significant in a superstitious culture – indicated clearly that she would never stop loving him. As Sory’s tumor had grown and ballooned its way out of his mouth, his mother had drawn closer to her son. If he was to live a nightmare, then she would live that nightmare too. That is what a mother does for her children.

Before Sory’s tumor started growing from his cheekbone, he and his farming family lived a happy, simple life. Sory’s father and older brother gave him the oxen to care for and work with when he was nine years old. Sory had a special gift with the oxen, naming them Keoulan and Lonni. He expertly guided them through their many farm chores. Sory’s mother also worked the farm field, keeping a proud eye on her younger son as he coaxed steady effort out of Keoulan and Lonni. Saran liked to watch Sory play football, thinking to herself what a fine young man he was becoming.

When Sory complained about the lump that was growing, Saran was immediately worried. “Sory was always such a happy and healthy boy. I knew that something must be very wrong for him to say something.” Over the next two years, Sory experienced regular dizzy spells, but no pain, as the tumor continued to push its way forward. He could no longer hide the now gaping distortion in his face. Saran’s eyes fill with deep sorrow as she recounts how her son’s once promising life crumbled. “I learned quickly how cruel people can be. No one in our small village ever had a condition like this before, so they believed that Sory was cursed. People were so frightened of Sory that they would yell and throw sticks at him. Saran and her husband Balla made a painful decision to keep Sory hidden at home or on the farm field. Saran recalls how her heart shattered as she saw the deep confusion and agony in her son’s eyes. “The more he was consumed by pain and fear, the more love I needed to pour into him,” she explained.

While Saran prayed continually for her son, she started to feel her own crushing despair. Sory’s struggles with eating and his difficulty breathing were all signs that more growth in his tumor would surely bring an end to his life. Saran never let Sory see her sorrow or fear. Instead, as Sory recalls, “My mother gave me hope. I cried so many times because I could not attend celebrations or play outside, and she would always comfort me. We would pray together, and she would tell me over and
over how there would be healing for me.”

Sory believes his mother’s steadfast love, support and encouragement bought him the precious time he needed until the healing they prayed for arrived. Saran recalls that day with great emotion. “The tumor had taken over Sory’s entire life. He could only swallow a little meat broth, and he was desperately weak. He lost all consciousness of the world around him. Then, when I felt he was close to his last breath, my husband’s brother, Moussa, called us. He said, ‘Balla, bring Sory to Conakry right away. There is a ship here that does operations.’ Within two weeks Sory was admitted into the Mercy Ships hospital.”

During the hours that Sory was in surgery, Saran found herself seized by a flood of memories. She explains, “I recalled every moment of pain Sory had suffered – especially the rejection, the insults and the whispers that it would be better if he died. And now, my boy was being healed. God heard our prayers, and He gave Sory his life back.”

According to Sory, God heard the infinite faithfulness of his mother. “God knows my mother never gave up on me. God knows that when no one else could love me, she loved me. God knows that when no one else would eat with me, she ate with me. God knows that my mother would have given her own life for me to be healed. God knows it, and I know it too.”

Following two months of recovery, there are only a few reminders of the voracious tumor that threatened to consume Sory’s young life. The smile he shares with his mother reveals some missing upper teeth. While his nose is a bit askew, every day his facial features take on more of their original contours. Sory’s most important thoughts these days center on returning to the farm and the future he wants to fill with friends, a wife and some grandchildren for his mother.

Before making their way home to Northern Guinea, a very special moment occurred between Sory and his mother. A few days earlier Sory confided to a Mercy Ships volunteer that if he could give his mother anything in the world it would be a dress as beautiful as she was. Jillian, the volunteer, found a lovely dress at the Guinean Women’s Co-operative for Sory to give to his mother. Sory’s eyes danced with delight as he gently put the dress in his mother’s lap. Saran gazed up at her son’s face – the face she had never stopped loving – and her heart was once again whole. She hugged Sory, murmuring softly, “Thank you, God, for the miracle of my son’s continuing life and love.”

Written by Joanne Thibault
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Debra Bell, Michelle Murrey