If At First You Don't Succeed.....

In 2005, the Mercy Ship Anastasis docked in the port of Cotonou, Benin, to provide free operations. For 14-year-old Alfred, it was just in time. For four years, a rare facial tumor had been growing, disfiguring his face. The five-pound-tumor enveloped his lower jaw and teeth and hung down like a large melon. The pink mass protruded from his mouth, preventing him from eating. Alfred’s weight dropped to 44 pounds – five of which were the tumor. His eyes revealed the agonizing suffering.





Alfred’s father, Bessan, was a fisherman in their small village and had little money for medical treatments – but he tried to find help for his son. According to their traditional voodoo religion, Alfred's tumor was the result of witchcraft, so they visited over a dozen traditional healers. They poked holes in Alfred’s skin, applied pastes, and prescribed animal sacrifices and prayers to their ancestors. A medical doctor also examined Alfred but said he could do nothing. After all the time and money wasted on unsuccessful treatments, Alfred’s family despaired.

People in the community avoided Alfred, thinking his “sickness” was contagious or that he was cursed. Some people avoided him because seeing his condition and being unable to help was too much to stomach. Because of humiliation, the family hid Alfred away in the innermost room of their small house. Then a Christian pastor told the family about Mercy Ships, where Alfred could receive free medical treatment. Bessan, disillusioned by failure after failure, reluctantly agreed to take his son to the ship. Alfred’s tumor was removed, and doctors inserted a titanium plate and pieces of his rib to fashion a new jaw to replace the one destroyed by the tumor.



Then in January of 2009, Alfred – now 19 years old – began noticing a swelling in his upper jaw, just beside his nose. Alfred and his family knew that the new Mercy Ship, the Africa Mercy, had returned to Cotonou. They journeyed to the ship and saw Dr. Gary Parker and other long-term crew members who had treated Alfred in 2005.



This time, Alfred had no apprehension about the outcome of his visit. X-rays showed the metal plate in his mouth, the structure that had held firm over the years – allowing Alfred to eat, smile, and grow into a healthy young man with a quiet disposition and a love of mathematics.



However, the x-ray also showed a small tumor forming where Alfred had noticed swelling, and Dr. Parker scheduled surgery for the next day. The tumor was removed quickly, and Alfred’s recovery required only a few days. Now he is home again, going back to school and playing football with his friends.



In spite of the passage of time and the happy outcome, Bessan and Alfred both still feel the past acutely. Alfred can’t bear to see the pictures of how he looked before – “It makes me want to cry,” he says. Bessan just shakes his head, saying, “People would stare and think it’s horrible. All he had was a cloth around his neck to cover it so people wouldn’t see it. Now I can go out with him proudly. ‘Let’s go out fishing,’ I’ll say. And he will do it with all joy.”