An 11-year-old boy from Sierra Leone has regained the use of his right arm after undergoing surgery by the international health charity, Mercy Ships.
Without the free surgical intervention, Yusif’s right hand and arm would have remained severely contracted, leaving him unable to use them.
Yusif was five years old when a venomous snake bit him while he was playing football with his friends. The snake left fang marks on his hand, and a sharp pain spread from his hand to his elbow. Within minutes, his whole arm was bruised and blistered.
His mother, Mariama, sought medical help, but there was no ambulance available from their rural village near Mariba Town in the Southern District. A traditional healer provided herbs for Yusif to swallow.
Mercy Ships volunteer surgeon, Tertius Venter, who operated on Yusif, explained the effects of the bite. “Different snake bites cause different reactions. This type is local, so it doesn’t spread into the rest of the body, but it causes all the tissue in the area to die.
“With appropriate, early treatment, and antibiotics to stop infection, the limb could have been saved. But in Yusif’s case, he did not have access to proper treatment, so it caused widespread tissue death and infection. His body then shed the dead tissue, and the healthy tissue from the sides grew together to close the wound. During that process, the joints were pulled in opposite directions, causing a severely deformed limb.”
Mariama eventually saved enough money to take Yusif to a hospital in Sierra Leone. The doctors examined his arm, which was bent and blistered, and said it had to be amputated.
“The doctor saw Yusif’s hand and said that the hand must be cut off,” Mariama said. “I refused not to cut Yusif’s hand.”
As Yusif grew, his arm remained painful and unusable. Mariama said that she often cried watching her son struggle.
“Yusif felt ashamed and became very shy,” she said. “He would hide his arm inside his shirt all the time, so it started to bend that way.”
Read also: How we have reduced deaths arising from snake bites in my local government – Manship
In 2023, Mariama learned that the Mercy Ship, the Global Mercy, would be arriving in Sierra Leone to provide free surgical procedures to people unable to access healthcare.
The Global Mercy is a 174-metre, 37,000 GT hospital ship equipped with operating theatres, recovery wards, intensive care, a pharmacy, and low-dependency wards. Since September 2023, the volunteer medical crew has performed more than 4,000 surgical procedures. The surgeries have included life-threatening tumour removals and cleft lip repairs.
On 18 October 2023, Yusif underwent a complex three-hour operation on board the Global Mercy to release the contracture on his elbow and wrist. A follow-up surgery on 8 November completed the procedure.
Mariama described her reaction when she saw the improvement in her son’s condition.
“Mercy Ships has done a great job for our family,” she said. “God made it possible through them, so we are grateful. When I saw Yusif’s hand straight, I was so happy seeing my son. We both hugged ourselves with beautiful smiles. Then Yusif said, ‘Mummy, see my hand.’”
After the surgeries, Yusif began a three-month rehabilitation process on board the Global Mercy. Volunteer hand therapists worked with him to help him gain control of his elbow, wrist, and fingers.
“I feel good now,” Yusif said. “I was not able to do anything before with my hand, but now I can do everything. I can help my mum, I can play football, and go to school without feeling ashamed.”
With his right arm restored, Yusif can return to school and look ahead to his future.
“I want to become a doctor,” he said. “Because I want to help people like how Mercy Ships helped me.”
