Toddler gifted lifechanging surgery to remove grapefruit-sized tumor | Health

Little Armella, two, was born with a tangerine-sized lump behind her ear, which continued to grow steadily.

It didn’t cause her pain, but it got so heavy that the tot struggled to keep her head upright, and it caused her ear to be deformed.

But Armella and her family, from Toamasina, Madagascar, couldn’t afford to see a doctor – let alone pay for surgery.

The tumor weighed almost 280g, and the family could do nothing more than pray.

But they learned that a Christian international healthcare charity, Mercy Ships, sailed to Toamasina offering free surgeries.

Equipped with five operating theatres, the floating hospital has state-of-the-art medical facilities and a team of specialist volunteer crew, who were happy to book Armella in for free surgery.

On July 11, 2024, Armella had a surgery that took several hours to remove the growth, which was a total success.

Now back home, Armella can play happily with other children, looking forward to years of healthy life ahead and the freedom to go to school.

Armella’s mother, Caessah, said: “Mercy Ships is a blessing, a light and a rescue for me and my child.

“When she had that condition, I suffered with her.

“When she recovered, I recovered too.”

Madagascar has a population of more than 28 million people, yet 75 percent live below the poverty line.

With a limited surgical workforce, only 20 percent of the population can access surgical services within two hours, and 95 percent of patients would face financial ruin if they required surgery.

Armella and her family were in this situation, so despite Caessah’s fears that she’d be ostracised by peers, there was no treatment available to Armella.

Caessah said, “When people met her, they stared at her.

“Children also stared at her. She might get rejected a lot when she grew up.”

Without timely surgery, the tumour would have continued to grow.

Mercy Ships volunteer surgeon, Manjit Dhillon, a consultant surgeon in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Scotland, said: “The mass was causing her ear to be deformed.

“It was quite a weight so she would posture her head to the left side and over time, as the mass would have grown, she would have struggled to keep her head upright because of the weight.

“After surgery, I remember seeing her on the ward rounds.

“She was happily sitting on the floor playing and colouring in.

“We had to interrupt her to check her wound, and I remember her not being happy about that, because her colouring was very important.”

After making a full recovery and leaving the hospital ship, Armella and Caessah returned home.

They were welcomed back by their community with surprise and delight as they saw that her tumor had been removed.

Over 7,500 life-changing surgical procedures have taken place on the Africa Mercy during its time in Madagascar, restoring hope and a future for women, men and children who have been robbed of years of healthy life for conditions that are easily treatable.

Caessah added, “I just wanted my child to be OK. This was the only thing that mattered.”