Diacko was a handsome baby. In fact, the other villagers used to stop his mother, Youma, on their way out to tell her how handsome her little boy was. Then, when he was about 3 years old, his legs began to bow outwards and, little by little, the admiring glances were filled with pity and contempt. Soon, the compliments Diacko once received turned into repeated pressure to find a doctor to fix his son’s legs.
“We didn’t have money for that,” Youma said. “So, I stayed home, waiting for something to come from God.”
As he grew older, Diacko stopped venturing far from home for fear of being teased. Even his friends teased him and called him, “Diacko, the bow-legged boy!”
Often, at night, his limbs ached and his mother had to massage the sore muscles in his legs to relieve the pain. Winter affected him quite badly, and Youma had to encourage him to get out of bed on cold mornings. Due to the lack of medical care in his area, it appeared that Diacko would spend his life in continuous pain until hope was found. One day, Youma saw a TV commercial about Mercy Ships.
“At first, I couldn’t understand what it was all about,” Youma said. “But when someone explained to me that a hospital ship was coming to Senegal and could operate on my son, I decided to find out more.”
When they found out that Mercy Ships could help Diacko, his family decided to do everything they could to get him on the ship.
“If Diacko hadn’t had this surgery, he would have been stuck,” Youma said. “And as I got older, I experienced more and more pain.”
Mother and son traveled more than 300 miles from their village to where Mercy Ships was located. Soon, Diacko was aboard the hospital shipAfrica Mercy and meeting other children suffering from similar conditions for the first time. I was not alone!
After the operation, which straightened her legs, she underwent physiotherapy to heal and strengthen her legs. Many weeks passed and at times the healing process was difficult for this brave boy, but he was surrounded by love and support from the community aboard the ship.
Diacko approached the rehabilitation and exercises given to him by the physiotherapists with great determination. It wasn’t easy, but he would keep going and every day he would improve his strength and movement. Youma watched her son’s progress and thanked the rehabilitation teams on board the ship for their diligence with Diacko.
Diacko approached the rehabilitation and exercises given to him by the physiotherapists with great determination. It wasn’t easy, but he would keep going and every day he would improve his strength and movement. Youma watched her son’s progress and thanked the rehabilitation teams on board the ship for their diligence with Diacko.
“We achieved this dream together,” Youma said. “I was dreaming that I would be healed!”