Africa Surgery, Inc., Update, July, 2008 Dear Friends,

John Thullah reminded me over the phone from Accra, Ghana, that there was a time when he too could not walk. John had spinal surgery by the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS) in November, 2005. He now rides a bicycle. John is currently in Ghana looking after the five most recent cases that Africa Surgery, Inc. (ASI) sent from Sierra Leone for emergency spinal surgery by FOCOS in June. Three of the cases are recovering and are doing very well. We thank God, our donors, and the volunteer surgeons at FOCOS for this. Two of these three are young ladies who have been waiting since 2004 and 2005. One had been in chronic pain which we were trying to treat with aspirin and ibuprofen. The third patient is a ten-year-old boy whose spine had already been severely twisted with a debilitating scoliosis. These three have had their lives restored due to your generosity.

Twelve-year-old Margaret Gbassay has shown no sign yet of recovering the use of her paralyzed legs. However, John Thullah has not given up hope. An MRI was done on Margaret in Accra with newly installed FOCOS equipment. The FOCOS and Ghanaian doctors believe that she will make a gradual recovery. We are praying that Margaret, like the 32 other cases we have had treated by FOCOS so far, will regain complete mobility.

The fifth patient, an eight-year-old girl with a severe spinal deformity, was deemed not fit for surgery at this time because her lung function is too poor to tolerate the anesthesia. We are hoping that Umu Sesay’s health can be built up in time for her to be surgically treated by FOCOS, possibly as early as this November.

Since the time I left Sierra Leone on February first, Foday has been doing a remarkable job of filling in for his brother, Ahmed, who passed away in November. Foday has stayed in touch with me, using his mobile phone. A young man in our village, Moses Tarawallie, was shown to me in January lying on a dirt floor, unable to move about because of a terribly prolapsed rectum. It was one of the worst and most painful things I have ever seen firsthand. In my absence, Foday has overseen the logistics and finances of getting Moses to the capital, Freetown, where a Sierra Leonean surgeon was available to perform the two surgeries needed to secure Moses’ colon back inside his rectum. Moses is now back in the village. He is drinking only safe water that our Sierra Leonean team has purified so as to avoid becoming re-infected with the dysentery that had been a contributing factor to his former prolapse. I was surprised to learn that Moses speaks no English, as he thanked me over Foday’s cell phone in his native tongue of Timne.

Another young man with a huge “elephantiasis scrotum” has also been taken to Freetown from his village far out in the bush. Thanks to the diligence of Foday and another of my counterparts, Mohamed B. Mansaray, this young man has been medically cured of the parasitic-microscopic worms that have clogged his lymph system. He received a surgical treatment and a second surgical reconstruction. He should be back in his village and fully functional by the time you get this mailing.

When I return to Sierra Leone the first week in November, I will be faced with scores of people who are waiting for our help to get them surgically treated for various types of hernias. This includes a woman whose entire waist area above her naval seems to be involved. The organization which had been funding these locally-provided hernia surgeries is no longer able to help us. During my last visit to Sierra Leone $6,000 of ASI funds were used to repair hernias on 36 persons. This number included a blind and deaf beggar. At this point ASI has no funds available to keep this important program going.

Funds will also be needed to get Mary Kalokoh back to the German orthopedic surgeons when they visit in November. The Germans corrected Mary’s right club foot last year. Mary now needs to have her left club foot corrected as well. I have meanwhile found a boy who also must walk painfully on the tops of his two club feet as well as a teenage boy with one severe club foot plus a hernia. Because the German surgeons operate for free, this should only cost about $300 per patient for hospital, feeding, and transport. To repair the boy’s hernia will cost another $150.

Thank you for your past support. You have done wonders that seem miraculous, especially by West African standards. Please keep our patients and our work in your prayers. If you can help us now with any financial support, it will be most welcome. You can make your check out to: Africa Surgery, Inc., and mail it to: