Medical/Surgical Mission Nigeria December 2023
Greetings Family & Friends,
I am honored to report the successful completion of yet another medical and surgical mission by Chima Medical Mission International, CMMI (www.chimamedicalmission.com), in collaboration with Amafor Progressive Association, USA (APAUSA), on December 27-31, 2023. The main medical mission was on December 27 at the Public Health Center, Amafor, Imerienwe, Imo State, Nigeria. On the same day the center was officially commissioned as a Federal University Teaching Hospital Owerri (FUTHO Annex) by Dr. Kingsley Achigbu, CMD of FUTHO.
Pre mission planning involved several Zoom meetings WhatsApp correspondences by the multidisciplinary team of healthcare volunteers in the USA and Nigeria under the leadership of myself and Dr. Austan Nkwocha. Medications and other medical supplies were purchased from CMMI partners, Blessings International and Kingsway Charities, who also donated some medicines, as did some volunteers and members of APAUSA.
Needs assessment at the local hospital was undertaken and an obvious finding was that the physical condition was suboptimal. So members of our organization, APAUSA, contributed funds to rehabilitate the hospital and its grounds under the leadership of the President, TPM Sabastine Ejim and his EXCO. This action, along with the help of Barrister Casmir Igwe, facilitated the designation of the hospital as a FUTHO Annex. Such designation of this hospital in our village paves the way for future support by the Federal Government in providing equipment and staff for continuous care in our absence.
On December 23 some of us volunteers met and sorted out the medications then packaged them in medicine dispensing bags labeled with name, dose, and direction. This was done to minimize the Pharmacist work burden (usually a bottleneck) on the day of the mission. We also bought malaria and liquid medications not readily available in the US. Our local healthcare team was assembled and reminded of the task ahead.
On the December 27 free medical mission we attended to almost 1,000 people including about 200 children. Over 300 reading glasses were dispensed.
The workflow involved prior announcements in all the local churches and by the Town-crier, registration by each person (some arrived by 5 AM from afar to assure they would be seen early), numbers given, opening praise and worship plus prayer led by a female Chaplain, vital signs and triage by our Nurse team, patient evaluation by appropriate medical provider (our team included Internal & Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, Infectious Disease Specialist, Endocrinologist, and General/Thoracic Surgeon), patient sees Pharmacy team to fill prescriptions, get directions and exit. We incorporated education and counseling as much as possible during the encounters. Complex cases were referred to FUTHO to be followed by our colleagues from that institution who were volunteering with us.
Most common ailments seen were hypertension, malaria, depression, anxiety, malnutrition, cough and cold, diabetes, lumps and bumps, visual complaints, and hernias.
Interesting cases included a 40 year old man who had head trauma 6 months prior and sees only shadows daytime but sees perfectly well at night (I never heard or seen such phenomena before), newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism, burns, seizures, syndactyly in a newborn, symptomatic bilateral inguinal hernias in a 7 year old girl, and left inguinal hernia in an 11 year old boy.
On December 28 my friend and colleague, Dr. Chikwendu Ejike, freely allowed me to use his Galaxy British Hospital in Owerri to operate on the girl with bilateral inguinal hernias and the boy with left inguinal hernia. He helped me get the anesthesiologist, Dr. Grant Madubuko, whom I paid discounted fees to provide anesthesia for the children. These were special cases, especially because each child had their painful hernias for over three years and the family could not afford to pay for the surgery. The morning of the procedures I picked up the children and their parents from the village in my car and took them to the hospital in Owerri, where I performed the successful surgeries under spinal anesthesia. They’re both home and doing well to God’s glory. Thank you Dr. & Mrs. Ejike for your unwavering support!
See attached pictures/video for more documentation.
After the medical mission on December 27, word went out to more people who did not attend the free care, thus they were coming to my house (and I suspect other providers) in the village daily starting early in the morning. So I was attending to patients daily in my house despite my desire to have some break and “vacation” with my family that went to Nigeria with me. This was the most exhausting trip to Nigeria so far for me! But thank God it was very productive. The festive Christmas season was fun and I was the keynote speaker for the 40th reunion of my high school, Government Secondary School, Owerri. It was great seeing old classmates.
The healthcare need in our country is enormous and I dream of a day when medical/surgical missions like this will be rare events. However, given the current state of health in Nigeria and other developing countries, it would be a very long time for such dream to come to fruition. Prevention is our best bet (more on that another time).
I thank you all for your generous support and prayers that make it possible for us to touch lives with our God given talents, to His glory. Each of us can do something to help and as a TEAM = Together Each Achieves More!
Please allow me to acknowledge our team members that I have not already mentioned (please forgive me if I omit someone): Security and Logistics personnel, Students, Residents, Assistants (Oly, Gabby, Chioma and Chimaobi Eke), Dr. Mbata, Dr. Ngozi Ekeigwe, Dr. Achonwa, Dr. Omeje Chukwuebuka, Dr. Chinonye Chima, Kelechi Nwaorgu(NP), Dr Esther Eke- Huber, Dr. Uche Osuji, Ada Eke, Chioma Chima, Nzeabibe Kelechi, Ngozi Eke, Igbokwe Ifeoma, Okere Rejoice Chimuanya, Amarachi Blessing Nwosu, Ikechukwu Ruth, Okere Ozioma,Sybil Samuel, Iwe Sop, Franklin, Eke Patience, and Carmelita Onuador. Thank you all and may God bless you!
Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year 2024 🎊.
Sincerely,
Cliff Eke, MD, FACS, FICS
Founder/CEO, CMMI
