Outcast

Outcasts are people that are not allowed to even think they are a part of a community. Yeme was the definition of an outcast. She had this monstrous growth overtaking her petite 14-year-old body. Yeme believed the lie that she is unworthy of love and could not make eye contact when she first entered the ward. I can not express to you how much admiration I have for this little one. She was dropped off (from Guinea) at the gate by herself, does not speak English, and has been treated like a monster most of her life, but she came in took her place in the ward, and began her journey towards healing.

To say this tumor was huge is an understatement. I was in the OR as they were cutting away at this 7.5-kilo mass. Dr. Bruce took it off in parts and each part filled these huge metal bowls. Yeme now has an incision line from her ankle up to her bum where it overtakes all of the left side and some of the right side. She will need skin grafting on her bum and she also has a growth over her left eye that needs to be taken off as well so she will be here for a while, lucky for us.

I get a bit overwhelmed when I really think about what it was like for her living with that huge smelly growth. No one touched her, played with her, educated her, or loved her. Yeme looks like a different person now not only because of her surgery but because the nurses, translators, and disciplers have lavished love on this child that she could only have dreamt of. She has visitors constantly. I love her not only because she needs it but because I feel this pull towards her. She has such a sweet, gentle, and helpful spirit. When I did her GINORMOUS dressing yesterday she laid still on her tummy and lifted up when I needed her to and was incredibly patient. I have never met anyone so brave in all my life