Surgery for John Baptiste

Last week I added yet another amazing experience to my list of amazing experiences in Rwanda. I was privileged to take a 12 year-old Rwandan boy from a remote village to have a life-changing surgery in the big city hospital. John Baptiste, an energetic, brilliant, and wide-eyed boy from my favorite village, stole my heart about a year ago. He showed me his hand when I met him, which had a large and slowly growing “lump” on his right metacarpal. It appeared to be a cyst, and I made sure that his family was seeing a doctor at the local hospital in Musanze. A couple of months ago, we had a visiting veterinarian who looked at the supposed cyst and informed us that it was definitely not a cyst but probably a growing bone tumor, one which was too serious for local doctors to treat. We also found out that John Baptiste had lost most function of his right hand, including the inability to write or take notes in school. In a culture where note-taking is the fundamental skill in the educational system, this also greatly affected his performance in school. I just happened to have the perfect connection at the best hospital in Rwanda (which just happens to be my new employer…I’ll write about that next!).

I met Dr. Alex Butera when I first arrived in Rwanda at visiting day at Sonrise High School where I teach his oldest son. I became friends with this brilliant doctor, as he welcomed me into his family and helped get me connected for a Speech Pathology job at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali. Dr. Butera is the Medical Director of the hospital and is considered one of the best orthopedic surgeons in East Africa. So, I knew just who to contact when I found out that John Baptiste had a bone tumor and needed surgery quickly before the tumor could completely eat away at his hand. Within a couple of weeks, Dr. Butera worked John Baptiste into his overbooked schedule for a surgical removal of the tumor.
Here comes the fun part….along with Tom Allen (B2R Country Director and my dear friend), I got to be right alongside John Baptiste through the whole experience. We asked for permission from his parents, who gladly granted, to take him to the big city of Kigali and care for him while he had the procedure. John Baptiste lives in a very remote village on the top of a mountain and has never been outside of the small local town of Musanze. So the journey began as I drove him on the two hour trip from Musanze to Kigali….definitely the longest car ride he has ever been on, as proved by the sudden carsickness that fell upon him. He could not quite understand why the car was making him sick. Every ten minutes he asked “Are we there yet?” and every small town we passed through he asked “Is this Kigali?”, as he had no concept of a long car ride and definitely no concept of a big city. When we finally arrived in Kigali, his eyes widened and jaw dropped at the towering buildings, honking cars, and sights of a modern, busy African city. He marveled at the shooting water fountain in the town center as he questioned: “What is THAT?”…”But where does the water come from?” The only water source he is familiar with is the large lake that surrounds his village. More “novelties” came as we explained to him how to use a toilet, the purpose of ice, and the comfort of a real bed. Tom and I laughed and cried as we experienced all of these painfully familiar things with John Baptiste for the first time.
We checked him in to the pediatric ward of the hospital, where he met several new friends and played in a playroom with real toys for the first time in his life (and watched movies for the first time!). Two special friends…Imable and Marie…had both been in and out of the hospital for years with chronic heart conditions. They all took great joy in trying to teach the muzungu girl Kinyarwanda!














Tom, Blayne, and I hanging out with John Baptiste and his new friends at the hospital.

Early the next morning we wheeled him into surgery. Since Dr. Butera is a friend, he allowed Tom and me to scrub in and observe the surgery. Dr. Butera worked carefully and precisely to remove the tumor (which is most likely benign), protect the muscles and nerves, and restore the use of John Baptiste’s hand….all while explaining every detail to the onlookers peering over his shoulder. The surgery was a great success, and John Baptiste woke up in high spirits, greeting and thanking every nurse, doctor, and passerby as the anesthesia wore off. There is one particular thing that I love about John Baptiste….he has the most expressive face I have ever seen. Many Rwandans hide expression and emotion well behind serious faces. Not John Baptiste. His eyes and facial expressions say it all. And when he woke up from surgery, his face was full of pure joy. At several points during this whole process there were tears of gratitude in this young boy’s eyes, as he knew that this surgery would allow him to continue to succeed in school (by being able to write again) and gave him hope for his future once more.




Getting ready for the surgery.














Wheeling off to surgery in the elevator...another novelty!
The tumor exposed...I know this is a gross picture, but kind of cool!

Dr. Butera and I after surgery.

Waking up after surgery.

John Baptiste spent a total of three days in the big city of Kigali. He experienced many things for the first time and probably ate better than he ever had in his life. Now, he will go back to life in his village. He will probably continue to live in complete poverty for a while. But, now he will have a little of something that we call hope. He has seen a whole new world and the possibilities that are out there. He knows that education and hard work are his opportunities to that outside world. He promised us that one day in the future, when he has completed college and has a good job, that he, too, will reach out and help a child in need.

One happy boy!
Many thanks to Dr. Butera for his kindness and medical expertise in treating John Baptiste and to Tom’s friend who helped to cover the cost of the surgery.