From the Intern: Alberta

Last week James, Pastor Roberts and I went to our program in Harbel to take some photos. As usual, I had an awesome time hanging out with the L.A.C.E.S. kids, as well as a little girl named Alberta who I’d never met before.

Alberta and her older sister live with their grandmother, who is also a L.A.C.E.S. coach in Harbel. I noticed the scars on five-year-old Alberta's forehead and asked her grandmother what happened.

Two years ago Alberta accidentally fell into hot frying oil,

which left her arm, back, chest, and part of her scalp badly burned.

Miraculously, she survived. But when her arm healed, it became attached to her side and is now severely deformed.

In addition to the disfigurement, Alberta also suffers from reoccurring blisters/cuts under and around her arm.

My heart broke for her, knowing that if she simply had access to decent medical care she wouldn’t have to lead a life of disfigurement and pain. As soon as I got home I emailed Alberta’s photos to Keith, a missionary here in Liberia who opened a dental clinic and is very knowledgeable of Liberia’s medical system. I asked him if/how Alberta could be helped. As fate would have it, Keith and his family are currently out of town in Sierra Leone on a Mercy Ship, which is essentially a floating hospital that travels to countries along the coast of West Africa and provides first world care to developing countries. Keith showed Alberta’s photos to the plastic surgeon on the ship, asking him if Alberta would be a good candidate for surgery and if they had room in their schedule. In the days I awaited a response from the ship, all I could think about was Alberta. I pulled up her photos at least a dozen times, half of those times crying silently in front of my computer screen, wondering why the world is so unfair. I had my email open 24/7, refreshing the page over and over, waiting for Keith to reply with news from the ship. After what seemed like forever (48 hours), Keith sent me an email with some VERY good news… Alberta was going to get surgery! I was so excited when I read the email. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. Today I am going back to Harbel to tell Alberta and her family the news, and I can’t wait!