Ghana – Najla was weary. For 10 years she had battled chronic thyroid nodules, and at this point they had enlarged so much that she had a baseball-sized lump in her neck. The problem not only made Najla feel self-conscious about the way she looked, but it was also causing severe swallowing difficulties – the basic tasks of eating and drinking had become nearly impossible for her.
She began to lose weight as each meal was left unfinished, and before long, she began to lose hope too. In Ghana, where Najla lives, there simply is no access to specialists who could adequately treat her thyroid problem. She had been to countless doctors, but none of them had the resources to help her.
Finally, when Najla had all but given up hoping for a miracle, she heard about a visiting team of ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) doctors who were seeing patients at a local hospital. Najla went to be evaluated, and sat nervously as the doctors examined her thyroid and ran some tests.
Najla could hardly believe it when the team told her there was a surgery they could do that would help. Could this really be the end of her years of suffering?
Thankfully, it was the end. And with the end of her suffering, the beginning of a new life full of hope. The surgeons, armed with surgical supplies and medicines from MAP, performed the needed operation for Najla that removed the nodules from her thyroid.
When Najla was recovering from the surgery, she looked in the mirror and was overjoyed to see that the lump in her neck was completely gone.
As soon as she was released from the hospital, she made her first trip out to the market – head held high, no longer embarrassed about her appearance. And that first meal back at home with her family – no food had ever tasted so delicious, and for the first time in years, she was able to eat every bite.
Trips to the market and eating a simple meal may sound like small things to most people, but to Najla, they were extravagant gifts of hope. Thanks to you, our faithful supporters, Najla is once again active in her community and living the life she had for so long been afraid to hope for.
