Ganiyou's Burns Finally Heal

Though he was born and raised in Benin, 26-year-old Ganiyou traveled to Europe to pursue entrepreneurial interests. Six years later, an established and relatively successful Ganiyou was working as a salesman in an English shoe store. After some time, he decided it was time to return to Benin to visit his mother.

Two weeks after returning, Ganiyou was attending to some much needed maintenance around his mother’s house. After removing a metal obstruction, he accidentally made contact with a high voltage power cable. He was electrocuted and thrown to the ground.

Ganiyou’s mother ran out of the house to find her son unconscious and without breath, burnt black from his face to his belly, some areas bleeding and exposed. A few seconds later he regained consciousness, shouting, “Save me, save me!” before passing out again.

Four days later he was lying in an ICU in Cotonou, facing a dramatic decision. The most brutal burns were to his arms. The doctor told Ganiyou that his left arm would need to be removed because it was completely dead. He refused, saying that he would rather die than have his arm cut off. Ganiyou’s mother managed to convince him to receive the amputation, telling him that she would take care of him for as long as necessary, even if it meant his entire life. Finally he relented. Sadly, four days later he parted with his right arm for the same reasons.

The burns to his chest and abdomen were severe. The pain medication seemed ineffective as his body continually surged with a piercing pain. Dressings and ointment were applied and changed weekly – an unbearably painful process. But after five months of agony, his burns had made almost no improvement, and most of his savings had been consumed by medical bills.



“I regret coming back to Benin,” said Ganiyou. “In the hospital, people were telling me that God had a reason for allowing this to happen. But I could not believe that it was God that would allow something like this.” One night, after nearly a year in hospital, confused and without hope, Ganiyou lay in his hospital bed unable to sleep. Then something on the flickering television screen caught his attention. It was an advertisement for Mercy Ships.

A few days later, Ganiyou found himself at a screening with Mercy Ships plastics specialist, Dr. Tertius Venter of South Africa. Dr. Venter determined that his burns would need to be treated before surgery could be attempted to apply skin grafts. Ganiyou was handed over to the full-time care of the Africa Mercy nursing staff.



A daily routine of dressing changes began. The process of removing old dressings, washing him under a shower, and the application of antibiotic cream and fresh dressings took up to two hours at a time. Though Ganiyou had been through this all before, he was far from used to it. For both him and the nurses, it was a traumatic and emotional experience. As weeks passed, the dressing changes gradually became less painful. Eventually Ganiyou no longer required pain medication. It became evident that his burns were finally healing.

“I am surprised at how quickly I am healing here,” he said. “My chest is almost completely healed. For over a year at the other hospitals it did not heal. They used everything, but here – for some reason – it works. I think it is because I am smiling more and am happy here,” Ganiyou concluded.

After six weeks, Ganiyou was reassessed by Dr. Venter. The prognosis was extremely positive. The burns had healed so well that Ganiyou required no skin graft surgery. Another encouraging outcome was that no contractures had developed – a restrictive tightening of the skin which often occurs as a burn heals.



For an entire year Ganiyou struggled with burns that refused to heal, yet in a matter of weeks onboard the Africa Mercy, he experienced a nearly complete recovery. His life has been changed. “Before I knew about God, but I did not practice my beliefs. I did things to please myself.” But he has since changed his mind and now believes God has a plan for him. “Sometimes bad can be for good. In life, one must accept what happens and keep moving forward because you do not know the future. Only God knows,” Ganiyou said.

Ganiyou’s recovery is a testament to the very love in action that Mercy Ships endeavours to achieve – as demonstrated by the nurses, doctors, and crew onboard the Africa Mercy. His mother has also been a huge support to him, constantly encouraging and helping him to adjust to a new lifestyle.



Though it will take some time for him to adjust to living without arms, he is overjoyed that his damaged skin has finally healed. Mercy Ships is currently helping Ganiyou find some prosthetic arms that will enable him to have some independence again. “I hope that one day I can start doing things normally again,” he said.

Thanks to Mercy Ships, hope and healing have been brought to a man who has experienced tremendous pain and suffering.