I Hope My Skin Remembers

We attended a medical lecture about surgery to removed facial tumors.
Large facial tumors are a problem in much of West Africa.  Dr Gary Parker has dedicated his life to serving the people of West Africa, and is a pioneer in developing the procedures that give life to people by removing facial tumors.

Dr Gary (as he is called on board) likes to quote " For Hope to be credible in the future, it must be tangible in the present."  What right do we have to say to people in West Africa, that tomorrow will be a better day?  They have no basis to believe that.   Life has never been better, and they don't have any evidence that it will ever change.  That's why providing this type of surgery is so significant.

Without treatment, these large facial tumors eventually block off the airway and people die the horrible death of suffocation.
Not having any medical training, I heard a lot of medical jargon, learned about how many bones are in the human head, and saw some graphic pictures of the surgeries taking place on the Africa Mercy to remove these tumors.  I also have a new appreciation for titanium - a material that fuses with bone. (yes - chemistry and metallurgy do matter!)

One of the interesting things about these tumors, is that as they grow, the skin stretches.  Often the face distorts because of where the tumor is located.  What Dr Parker has found, is that after the tumor is removed, the skin does shrink back to its original size.  It does have memory.  It takes several months, but time will bring the skin back to what it was like before the tumor started growing.  That's why the skin is not removed.

So people's lives are saved.  They may loose all their teeth and lose some feeling, but they can go back to their villages and live again.  They may only be able to each soft foods like soup or couscous, but they can eat, work and live again. They will experience that life is better.  Their villagers will see that life has changed.  They will have real tangible hope in the present.  That can lead to credible hope for the future.

Every day I see people with massive tumors.  they may be getting an xray, or be waiting for surgery.  they might be in the recovery ward with a heavily bandaged face.  I see fear replaced with hope.  And I see thankfulness and appreciation as they are given a chance to live again.


The human body is a wonderful, complex design.  The psalmist wrote "I praise you because  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  (Psalm 139:14).

Chuck

Dr Gary Parker on the Africa Mercy

Click on this link to learn more about Dr Gary Parker