Challenging Emergency Surgery Saves Dying Man
“The distance between me and death was just milliseconds.” – Lodu
When 70 year-old Lodu first felt pain in his abdomen, he thought it was just one of those aches and pains of growing old.
But when the pain became excruciating, it was clear this was something more. Fortunately for Lodu and his family, they lived within reach of St. Theresa Mission Hospital Nzara, a Sudan Relief Fund partner facility. By the time he and his son reached the hospital, Lodu was already delirious and nearly unconscious.
St. Theresa Mission Hospital Nzara is the only place to find critical medical care for literally hundreds of miles across a vast and remote region of Western Equatoria, a state located in the southwestern region of South Sudan. People in need of medical care come all the way from the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo to find help here.
Lodu was feverish and slipping in and out of consciousness. Doctors suspected an infection. He was ushered quickly into the operating room where medical officers performed an exploratory laparotomy to determine the cause. They found a life-threatening infection in his intestines. It was advanced to such an intense level that if immediate intervention weren’t performed, they knew death was imminent.
The problem was the only surgeon immediately available was Sudan Relief Fund partner, Dr. Taban, an OB and gynecologist who also serves as the hospital’s director. The next nearest facility equipped to treat Lodu was all the way in Juba, some 280 miles away. It was not an option. “I was certain that without surgery, death was just next door. And with the surgery, there could be a window and a ray of hope for success,” Dr. Taban said.
As an obstetrician, he had never performed this particular surgery. “I knew they would not have blamed me if I declined to operate. But I knew there was no other surgeon available in this vast area to refer him to.” Dr. Taban knew what he had to do. So he prayed. “With the trust bestowed and my previous surgical experience, I invoked God to operate through my hands.”
Dr. Taban responded swiftly and together with the medical officers, they performed the surgery to remove the deadly infected area and reconnect his intestine to healthy tissues. It was a success. Lodu came through the surgery well and experienced no complications. Within two weeks, he was recuperated and ready to safely go home.
When Lodu’s son came to the hospital to bring his father home, he expressed his amazement at what had happened. “My father was closer to death than life,” he described when he had brought him in. “I came to the hospital expecting to have to bury my father. But instead, Glory to God and the entire team of St. Theresa Hospital!”
Dr. Taban also gave the glory to God for Lodu’s successful outcome, but admitted we have to be willing to be God’s tools. “I never envisioned that I would perform this type of surgery one day,” he said. “God indeed works through His people and only He knows the hour when He will do it.”
The hospital staff has been calling Lodu “Patient of the Year” for his remarkable turn of events. “With all the odds favoring imminent mortality, we continue to reminisce over how mysteriously God can perform miracles,” they said.
Lodu was more than grateful for the level of care provided to him by the staff of St. Theresa Mission Hospital Nzara. He says he prays for the hospital’s “great role in caring for the people of this community.”
These stories of Lives Saved are made possible by compassionate donors who support Sudan Relief Fund facilities that bring medical care to remote places. Thank you for saving lives like Lodu’s and countless others for nearly three decades.
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