VGH surgical team: Dr. Mark Hill, Dr. Peter Gropper, Dr. Raymond Tang, Dr. Erin Brown, Dr. Cindy Henderson, and Dr. Cindy Vercherre of BC’s Children’s Hospital.
Adam, a 12-year-old boy from Tanzania and a person with Albinism, can fulfill his dream of going to school, thanks to the humanitarian efforts of physicians from Vancouver General Hospital who repaired the child’s right hand after a vicious machete attack rendered it useless.
The 10-hour hand reconstruction and micro-surgery was performed on compassionate grounds on Sunday, September 9, by the VGH surgical team of Dr. Mark Hill, Dr. Peter Gropper, Dr. Erin Brown, Dr. Cindy Henderson, and Dr. Cindy Vercherre of BC’s Children’s Hospital.
So that Adam can hold a pencil and write, the surgical team gave him a thumb – created from a toe — and a new chance at life.
“Once we heard the story w all felt that this truly unfortunate incident needed to be corrected as best as possible,” said Dr. Hill. “With the help of everyone at VGH we were able to put together a great team to help Adam. I think this shows the great compassion that our society has for those less fortunate and I congratulate the hospital for helping this wonderful boy.”
The surgery also had the full support of VGH administration. “Supporting the request to help this boy was one of the easiest decisions I have ever made,” said Mary Ackenhusen, Chief Operating Officer, VCH-Vancouver. “We are extremely fortunate to have the ability to do so.”
Such attacks on persons with Albinism (formerly know as Albinos) are common in Tanzania where their light skin and body parts are thought to hold mystical powers. It was Adam’s own family, in fact, that sold him to his attackers.
Adam’s situation was brought to the attention of VGH doctors through Peter Ash, a Langley-based businessman, philanthropist, and founder of Under the Same Sun. The charitable foundation comes to the aid of people with Albinism in Africa.
Through his foundation, Ash, also a person with Albinism, is covering the costs associated with Adam’s stay in Vancouver, rehabilitation and future schooling back in Tanzania. He has been involved with Adam since the attack occurred last October.
“All Adam really wants is to succeed in school,” said Ash. “I’m hopeful for him. The doctors and medical staff here at VGH have helped to make a huge difference in his life.”
See photos: VCH Flickr Photostream
Watch a video: Global BC News at 6 or click on the player below.
Sony Gawley
WOW. Great work. Not sure about sending him back to tanzania though. If severing hands is truly a concern for children with albanism, and his family sold him, what kind of life is he going to have when he goes home. How can we asusre him a life without mulilation. There are many people who would love a child and wiling to offer him a safe healthy life, including myself.
Jamie O'Krane
Truely amazing! An enormous amount of respect and praise goes out to all involved. What a special boy and so brave to travel to Canada and have this surgery completed. If only he could stay in Canada and have the life that he deserves.
Margaret Deachman
I’m always impressed by the dedication of teams like this. The sad part of the story is after this very expensive surgical intervention we’ll return this poor kid to his perilous environment, where he’s extremely likely to be assaulted again and has a high probability of being killed.
I have nothing but love and respect for everyone involved in restoring this child to health and supporting him. However, the child clearly qualifies for refuge status and should not be returned to Tanzania. Remaining in Canada would be the final limb-saving intervention for Adam.
Refuge Claims in Canada:
“A person in need of protection is a person in Canada whose removal to their home country or country where they normally live would subject them personally to:
a danger of torture;
a risk to their life; or
a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.”
Eleanor Weiler
Wonderful story but why are the nursing staff not mentioned in this article??
This sort of procedure is a team effort that involves nurses,( both in BPTU and the OR) physiotherapists, hand therapists, social workers and many more. Too often these other people are overlooked when thanks are given and acknowlegment of an amazing effort.
Editor
Thank you Eleanor, for your comment. You are right that while the names of the physicians who donated their time for the procedure were included in the article, there is of course a larger network of professionals who were (and will continue to be) involved in Adam’s surgery and recovery. If you happen to have the names of any individuals that you know were involved and you would like to recognize them, I’d be happy to revise the article to include the names. Also, note that Dr. Raymond Tang appears in the photo, but his name was not on the original list of names provided to the writer and so was not included in the photo caption that appeared in the e-News edition. The most current version of the article is online, here.
Linda
What a heart warming story. Thank you also for letting those of us who were not aware of this crime being committed far from us. We are so lucky to be living in our society. Thanks to all on the medical team who support such generosity.
Robyn
Congratulations to the team and VCH and the generous donation of their time, knowledge and resources. What an incredibly generous and admirable donation from all and especially to Mr. Ash for the gift of his financial resources and exposing an atrocity that many of us were not aware of previously.