WARNING: Graphic content!
Meet a 17-year-old girl, who was at risk of dying from an enormous tumour in her mouth who has had life-saving surgery.
Grace, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, would have eventually died from suffocation if the aggressive bone tumour had continued to grow.
The unneccesary tissue, which was larger than the young girl’s head, started growing in the centre of the jaw bone that could lead to the girl’s suffocation if not removed.
Grace had been suffering with the disease for ten years as it gradually increased in size. Together with her mother she went to the local hospital to get help – but doctors failed to help.
Luckily for Grace, charity hospital Mercy Ships admitted the teen for a four-hour operation to remove the debilitating tumour, as well as her lower jaw and teeth.
It started from a little swelling inside and the gums started growing little by little. Miraculously Grace was still able to speak and eat but was so self-conscious that she stopped going to school.
Grace’s mother Christine was left to watch her daughter suffer until she was discovered by a Christian pastor who campaigned to get her medical help.
Grace was scanned to allow the surgeons to see the tumour and plan the surgery necessary to remove it. The bottom of Grace’s jaw and her teeth had to be removed along with the tumour during the risky surgery.
After cutting away the lump the removed jaw was replaced with metal plates made of titanium. And in six months the girl can have artificial teeth to start a normal life.
Grace’s life has been completely transformed by the surgery. She is hoping to study medicine and pursue a career in nursing so that she can help others with complicated medical conditions in the future.
Grace said: “I was sick, I was always indoors, I was not happy anymore, I worried all the time. They made me happy – now I want to study and help other people.
I would like to work on the Mercy Ship to help people for free, like they have done for me. It made a really big change because of the way my face was. It changed my life – now my face is good.”
