Mary

          I would like to introduce you to Mary and her daughter, Faith, who came my first week here.  Mary, a 53 year old widow with 3 daughters (Faith is the oldest) is very sweet.  She is HIV+ and for the past 2 years has had an enlarging growth on the left side of her face.  The growth began in her eye and grew until it obliterated her left eye, nasal passage and most of the left side of her face.  Mary has few remaining family members and they don’t offer to help much, so she has been moving her family around northern Zimbabwe over the last couple of years.  She hasn’t seen a doctor before because as Faith said: "we didn’t have any money.”  

         When Mary is finally able to be evaluated at the hospital it is clear that she has advanced cancer, likely squamous cell carcinoma (which she is at high risk for given her immunosuppression & sun exposure).  Radiation is the best treatment, but is usually cost-prohibitive for our patients (like Mary).  She is offered surgery to determine the extent of invasion and remove as much as possible, hopefully all of it.  Mary decided to have surgery.

Mary before surgery

Mary after removal of as much of the cancer as possible

          The good news is that Mary survived the operation.  The bad news is that the cancer has not only spread through her eye & cheek, but also into her brain.  We removed as much as possible, almost the entire left side of her face, but were unable resect all of it.  And because the remaining hole is so large, a skin flap was  needed--meaning she will need a skin graft later.  

          Mary is a fighter and exceeded all my hopes by not only making it through surgery, but regaining her spirit shortly post-op.  She still has a tough, tenuous road ahead, but for now we rejoice in the small successes and mercies granted, grateful the Lord has given us more time to spend with one of His precious children.

Mary and her daughter Faith