In a life defined by hopelessness and misery, one man eventually found salvation that can only happen with God's blessings and mercy.
For 36 years, Sambany, a 56-year-old man from an impoverished family in Madagascar in Africa, had been wanting to die for the literally heavy load he was carrying. He had been carrying a gigantic tumour on his face, weighing 16.45 lbs. and the size of two heads, disfiguring his face.
Sometimes it felt "hot like fire," Sambany said. "When walking, it's too heavy. I have to hold it," he was quoted as saying in a report on the website of the Christian charity organisation Mercy Ships.
The tumour not only caused him tremendous discomfort; it also made him a pariah in their community to his utter dismay. The people in the neighbourhood, even some of his friends and family members, rejected and mocked him. They would tell him, "Why are you still alive? No one can help you!"
As much as he wanted to seek medical help, he and his family could not afford the cost of surgery and treatment. "Every day, I was just waiting to die," Sambany said.
Then one day hope suddenly emerged from out of the blue. He learned that a hospital ship that could treat tumours for free was coming to Madagascar.
Despite his extreme difficulty in walking because of the extra load he was carrying, Sambany told his family, "Die or survive, I want to go to that ship!"
Realising that this was the only opportunity for Sambany to find treatment, his family sold a rice field to pay for the journey. Five people took turns carrying him on their backs for two days on their way to the port where the floating hospital from Mercy Ships was docked.
They eventually reached the ship, Africa Mercy, one of four hospital ships run by Mercy Ships. The Christian organisation uses retired ocean liners and ferries that have been transformed into floating hospitals.
Mercy Ships is an international charity that was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens. The organisation operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, providing free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programmes, agriculture projects, and palliative care for terminally ill patients.
The doctors at Mercy Ships were stunned by the size of the tumour on Sambany's face. They told him that the maxillofacial surgery they would perform on him would be extremely high-risk.
Sambany acknowledged the doctors' concern but gave them his consent. "I know I might die in surgery," he said. "But I already feel dead inside from the way I'm treated."
With God's grace and mercy, the surgery turned out to be a success. Sambany was finally freed from the burden he had been saddled with for 36 long years.
With his head still wrapped in bandages, he looked into the mirror and said, "I am happy...I've got a new face. I am saved!"
