Send The Love

Another on-time arrival! I'm home after eight days on the road with a warm bed waiting for me. But while my body may be in Seattle, my heart and prayers are in Ghana with a special young lady: Lydia Westi.

Today Lydia needs strength, hope, encouragement and prayers. Please take the time to read the email that Jonathan Porter sent to me. Please comment and leave Lydia a message. He will read them to her, and your words will help to get her through this frightening and painful journey in her life.

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"Hi there 'friends of Lydia - the disabled young lady working towards becoming a health education pilot'!

Lydia Westi is in the hospital for her surgery on the 16th June.  She will be in hospital for three weeks.'  She will be admitted to Korle Bu for surgery by Dr Ampomah who received specialist training in Glasgow via Resurg Africa. Click HERE to see more.  

Many of you know Lydia personally, Just over a year ago we found Lydia, then 14 years old, working in the market, her right arm suffering from a severe contracture, still bleeding and covered in thick yellow pussy crusts - over 10 years since the incident started and having less than 2 years in any school.  We took her into the MoM/WAASPS family and today, her arm is clean, infection free and covered in fresh skin, she has put on weight, started using a computer, reading and writing to her age group level, has started learning to fly a plane, is capable of running the tower-radio at the airfield on her own (with a great radio voice) and still owns the smile that warms the heart of all that meet her.  We are all proud of her and wish her well in her surgery.  Lydia was one of the key catalysts in the creation of the AvTech Academy, and is the youngest student in our special Vocademic training school.

This will be the first of three or four surgeries that will take place over the next 18months to two years.  We are all excited and also a little scared, as always with somebody who is about to have a slice of flesh, skin and muscle removed from their back, then have a large amount of the skin around their arm peeled back, vessels and tendons carefully released and some repositioning made before grafting the skin and muscle flap (they call it flap surgery) and then fix the arm in position whilst it all starts to heal.  BUT it is a start - and we want to thank all of you for being a part of getting Lydia to the point she is at today, physically, mentally and emotionally.

We are told that the initial cost of the first surgery will be $4,000, which will be paid to Korle Bu on the morning of 12th June, plus we will be looking for volunteers to take food to her every day (we cannot be there everyday with the airfield, school, MoM and the operations), provide visits of encouragement and post-op support of the kind that we all need - happy smiling, friendly faces - can you help? There will be other costs associated, as always, dressings, post-op stuff, etc.  So the challenge list is high.

Preparing for surgery Lydia went to the airport to say good-bye to the planes and the people she works with. She took a flight, kissed the planes good-bye, and told everyone she will be back soon. 

We are hoping that when Lydia comes out from surgery, about five weeks from now, she will move into the new accommodation unit at the airfield - a clean fresh environment that will further reduce the risks of post-operative challenges.  We are close to achieving that too... Nonetheless, this is going to be a challenging time.

Please, if you would like to help, either towards the surgery and care costs, completion of the girls hostel, daily prayers for her surgery and recovery, or with visits, physio, send a letter or a photo of encouragement, a small you-tube (low res please) get well message... we can even arrange a skype call for her - all of these things are part of her recovery.

For this little young lady, who is a real demonstration of rural Ghanaian resiliency and response to being given the opportunity to do something amazing, we look to you all to work together as a team with us - as she goes on to get her pilots license, probably to become the first disabled pilot to be issued a license from ab-initio, and reaches out to her fellow Ghanaians, changing lives one flight at a time.... we need to work now to change her life, one surgery at a time, one physio session at a time and, I have no doubts, several days of tears at a time.  

You can see Lydia flying at and you can read about her here:

More about Lydia Here  

Lydia Flying

If you have not met her.... well, you need to, because this is one special young lady with a real heart, as you can read in her essay that won a prize in an international competition -

Lydia's Essay Click Here 

When you read that... you will understand!!!

Thank you those who have already supported this, and in advance for those who will be on hand in body, mind and spirit in the coming weeks.

Thank you all."

Jonathan Porter / Capt. Yaw

 +233 28 5018028
 +233 20 9610074

http://www.medicineonthemove.org 

http://www.waasps.com 

We Love you Lydia! Soon you'll spread those wings and fly!

Enjoy the Journey!

~ Karlene