1st ever complex spine surgery in Tanzania
Read the journey of how the 1st ever spine surgery was performed in Tanzania.
I just wanted to share a little about what the process looks like to get ready to do the FIRST complex spine surgery in Tanzania. For the past 5 years, we have been working closely with Dr. Honest Massawe to train, support, and empower a Tanzanian doctor to have the knowledge, skills, and technology to care for Tanzanian children. I knew, the first time I met him, that he was going to be the doctor that could do it! And boy was I right. In order for this to happen, for 3 years, he regularly left his family and traveled to Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and more, to become an amazingly skilled spinal surgeon.
BBBBUUUUTTTT, just because the doctor is ready, doesn’t mean the country is actually ready. The hospital is excited and willing, but they don’t have all the equipment we need. Thank goodness for strong relationships. First, something called neuromonitoring and the person who operates it was borrowed from Kenya. Second, is finding a company that can supply the hardware that will go in her spine.
To be honest, the entire process of getting everything together took about weeks of planning, then postponing, then canceling and then planning again. Thank goodness Oliva is a strong, resilient young woman who stayed positive and patient through it all. Below is the actual timeline of how the surgery finally happened to give you an idea of what working in East Africa looks like.
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A week after our first surgery attempt:
Well…what to say…..I was so excited to announce that Oliva was going to go into the hospital on Friday, and have her surgery on Monday. But it is postponed. This is the challenge of being the first. We can’t find the actual hardware that they need for the surgery. Specifically, the rods, screws, and connectors that will be used to correct Oliva’s spine. There is not one company in Tanzania that makes all the hardware. Back to the drawing board. I hope we can find the supplies that we need soon.
10 days later:
Great news, we have the supplies and surgery is scheduled for one week from today. Woo hoo!!
6 days later:
Wait false alarm, canceled again. We had problems getting the equipment from Kenya. This time I feel really badly. Oliva was already in the hospital and was preparing for surgery when we got the call. She is such a strong young woman. She went home and simply said that I know this is going to happen very soon and I can wait. (even though she has been waiting for years already). I am in awe of her strength and positivity even with such huge challenges.
1 week later:
Here it is, third time is a charm. I truly feel like nothing else can go wrong and Oliva will finally be admitted to the hospital on Friday and have surgery on Monday. I can feel it. This is it! I can’t believe after all these years; she’s finally getting the help she needs.
Post-surgery:
I am so excited to report that Oliva had a successful surgery. She is in the ICU and is recovering nicely. If everything goes well, she will spend approximately one month in the hospital recovering and doing physical therapy before she is discharged and will return home. I will periodically send updates as she continues her journey towards a full recovery.
IF YOU WANT TO HELP US PERFORM MORE SURGERIES AND SAVE MORE LIVES, PLEASE CONSIDERING DONATING HERE
$10,000 Save-A-Life Pyramid
It’s a pretty simple, really. Below you will see a graphic with 150 envelopes. Each envelope has a number. That number represents a dollar amount. Once the dollar value has been donated, the envelope gets crossed out. The fundraiser continues until all envelopes are crossed out.
Sounds simple right?
It’s a pretty simple, really. Below you will see a graphic with 150 envelopes. Each envelope has a number. That number represents a dollar amount. Once the dollar value has been donated, the envelope gets crossed out. The fundraiser continues until all envelopes are crossed out.
Sounds simple right?
As you can see, we also have a physical wall of envelopes in our office as well. But since we interact with the majority of you online, we needed to come up with a digital solution.
So here’s how it’ll work:
Step 1: Join our Facebook Page, here.
This way, you can follow the progress and see which envelopes are available!
Step 2: Choose an envelope that has the cash value you want to give or raise.
– Make sure the envelope you want is not crossed out.
– If the envelope is crossed out, chose multiple envelopes that equal the amount you feel led to give or raise. Example: If you know you want to give or raise $100, you could choose many different envelope combinations to equal the sum of 100.
*Note: Your envelope will not be held or “claimed” while you are raising the money for your envelope. Our aim is to raise money fast, so the faster you raise your donation, better are the chances that you will meet your donation goal. Your money will not be counted until it has been received, posted, processed, paid, etc…
Step 3: Give or raise cash fast.
– Start your fundraising! We are excited to have you involved in this journey with us. By extending this fundraiser to your co-workers, extended family, roommates, hall-mates, school friends, Sunday school class, Mops group, and everyone you know, you give them the opportunity to participate in this beautiful journey of hope for a child living in Tanzania. So, get creative. Host a bake sale. Skip on eating out for two weeks. Get all your co-workers to give you $10. There are lots of ways to raise these amounts of money fast!
– Donate the cash value of your envelope by:
- using the DONATE button below
- using the “send money” feature on PayPal (use email masha@standtallinternational.org)
- sending a CHECK to Stand Tall International, 1733 S Mansfield Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Step 4: Give yourself a high five and dance around the room because YOU ARE AWESOME!!
Right now, we have 4 children that have all been on the waiting list for one year. If we fill all the envelopes, one of the them will be able to receive surgery in early 2018.