Mission Story and Video:

This weekend I was able to make a mission video and story. Here they are! Here is the link to the mission video. It is on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDSvPvBFLg8

Mission Story:

Imagine a skinny, gaunt man holding onto his son, protecting him from the outside world of mockery while hoping, wishing for the chance for his son to be chosen to be one of the 115 patients to have surgery. The power of love that is expressed between this father and son is undeniably the most powerful thing on the earth. This father only hopes that he can look at his son one day and see that he is not ashamed of his gorgeous smile. This is Wilber Massaby, a soft spoken man with an incredible love for his son that was clear to everyone around.

Now look to through my eyes to a bench outside the post-op wing and see a young woman with light in her eyes as she talks adoringly of her eight month year old son and the new hope she has for his life. Then suddenly her emotions turn to anguish and tears well in her eyes as she recounts the action of his father who left them upon seeing his son's cleft lip. Watch the tears stream down her face as she recounts this emotional wound. This is Graciela Vargas, the mother of a baby with a cleft lip who was abandoned by her husband.

Step in my shoes and witness a grandmother who dotes on her grandson. Her joy for him is translated on his happy face that never ceased to smile. This amazing woman took on the responsibility of raising her grandson when his father walked out on him and as his mother struggles to connect with her son due to his cleft lip. Watch both laugh as bubbles blow by their faces and watch as this little boy waves goodbye as he leaves the hospital. This is Rosa Carreña, a grandmother who stepped - in to take care of her grandson and teaches him to enjoy life and smile big.  

On my mission it was heartbreaking to realize that many fathers weren't present in their child's life. Wilber's love for his son was opposite to that of the many fathers who abandon their children upon birth like Graciela Vargas' husband. When Wilber saw his son, Jose Maria had a cleft lip he accepted it. Instead of disappointment, he was filled with an insurmountable love for his child.  Just because his son had a cleft palate, he was still his son. Jose was not abandoned or denied by his father, he was accepted, loved, and cared for by him. When Wilber spoke of his son, he spoke quietly, and when he talked about his love for his son he was matter-of-fact. The bottom line for Wilber is that Jose is his son and he has to take care of him. There was no debate about whether to come to Santa Cruz for the Massaby’s.  It was a stepping stone for Jose’s future and the opportunity to change the life of a family and of a child.  I visited the Massaby’s by the post-op crib where Jose slept. It was stiflingly hot in the room; about six children were laying in their cribs and parents watched on. Wilber was one of two dads I saw in the room. I observed all of this as I stood in the doorway, but what touched my heart was the way Wilber gazed lovingly down at his sleeping son. He did not need to tell us he was happy. It was written all over his face.

Operation Smile gave the Massaby’s the chance to give their son a normal life. Although only two, Wilber relayed that people stare at his son and judge him. On the exterior they see a deformity but the beautiful interior is what they failed to notice.  Jose is a sweet, fun loving child and Operation Smile gave him the opportunity to go in public without scorn, to begin to talk, and to start living life normally without worrying about mundane occurrences such as eating. As I sat by Wilber, I watched Jose grab a cup of Jello and take a big gulp, something he could not do previously. The effect: a huge grin on Mom, Dad, and Baby’s face. 

Hi,

I just arrived home from Bolivia! The mission was awesome. I thought a way to share my mission experience would be to give you a brief overview of the logistics of a mission in the entry and then begin sharing stories rather than go through each day. I am going to upload my photos tomorrow but I have some from our awesome photographer Steph to show you today.

Wednesday:

We arrived in Bolivia and began to plan out our activities and toys for the mission. Here is a video link form Ross, a guest on the mission. He wrote some of the information on screening below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0VJAq7mPnA

Patient Screening Thursday and Friday:

Here is the basic order of a child’s screening process:

Station 1: Child Life – fun stuff, stress reducing stuff, crayons, coloring, toys, student volunteers and child life professionals all creating a pleasing atmosphere for the children.

 

Station 2: Basic Patient History and creation of patient file-addresses, dates of birth, history of illness – all that stuff you fill out at the doctor’s office.

Station 3: Photos – These will be used to help identify the patient and becomes a part of the patient file. These people are called “PIT” for Patient Imaging Technician. They also take the shots before surgery begins and after surgery ends.

Station 4: Vitals – height, weight, blood pressure, respiration, temperature, and heart rate.

Station 5: Surgery Consult – the plastic surgeons decide if what they see is operable or not. Some cases were too intensive to be seen at this location and needed to be referred to local specialists.

For instance, one little girl came in with two marble-sized bumps on either side of her nose. Didn’t appear like too big a deal until the CT imagery revealed an out pouching of the dura (a tissue covering the brain that holds in cerebral spinal fluid) into the maxillary sinus. That’s a big deal and requires a neurosurgeon and an altogether different team than is assembled for an Operation Smile mission.

Operation Smile is doing such great work on so many levels. They set up working relationships with the local medical community and patients that cannot be seen are referred to the right people.

Station 6a: Pediatric and Anesthesiologist Consult – This stations decides if the patient is healthy enough for surgery. Things like a high fever or airway obstructions (like a stuffy nose, for instance) can remove a child as a candidate for surgery.

Station 6b: Blood Work – looking for anemia (lack of oxygen in the blood), diseases, etc.

Station 7: Dental Exam – dental exam. Cavities, teeth that need pulling and can be done while the patient is already sedated for surgery.

Station 8: Speech Therapist – evaluates speech difficulties and gives parents exercises to help their children speak without hindrance. A beautiful soul needs to communicate! A smile is the fastest form of communication I know of, but close on its heels are words.

“Station 9”: Medical Records – The patient’s medical file follows them from station to station. Each station records data in the chart for the other stations to consider. At the end of the day the medical records are recorded into an electronic format by the appropriately named Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) personnel. Before any surgery can begin, the medical records have to be in order.

Saturday: Patient Lists posted and Hospital Decoration

There were over 200 children screened but there’s only enough room to fit in about 125 surgeries: 25 per day over five days. And that’s running with six plastic surgeons (one of them is on rotation) out of two rooms, one room has three operating tables in it and the other has two.

All the people that have been screened show up to learn if they’ll get the surgery that will change their lives. Susana, the speech therapist stood on a chair and began to read names, one at a time. This was a joyful and also heartbreaking day to witness.

Sunday: Team Day

We played the name game and got to know everyone better before surgery week began. A big part of what makes missions happen is teamwork and communication so we used this day to get to know everyone.

Surgery Week: Monday through Friday

We woke up early and five operating tables operated at a time. Screening was still going on and it was a busy week. Patients came in the night before and then waited for surgery the next day. Around 25 patients were operated on each day.

·         This is just a brief overview of the logistics of the mission I have tons of photos and stories to share as soon as I upload my photos.

·         Thank you for all of your support and donations. The toys were awesome and the monetary donations allowed me to buy a ton of supplies to bring with me.

·         I learned a ton of cute Spanish phrases. For example Chow Chow means bye bye.

·         The kids and families were awesome. I cannot wait to share their stories and their pictures. 

 Thank You to everyone who supported me and gave donations. We were able to operate on around 120 patients and screen over 250 which was awesome. The blog domain is not allowing me to upload videos and some pictures but there will be more to come. Also the blog is putting white background on text and I have not figured out the cause and how to remove it so sorry about that.

-Rachael

Back from Bolivia!

Hi,

I got home form Bolivia Sunday morning! It was an awesome experience and I cannot wait to tell you more. I will be updating my blog with stories as soon as the website repairs are done. Unfortunately blogspot is doing a repair untill Thursday. Look forward to stories from my mission to Bolivia with video and photos. sorry about the delay. I want to saythank you to everyone for your suport and donations. It was awesome to leave knowing I had a ton of people praying for me and supporting me. I cannot wait to share all of the details from my trip!

Rachael