And on the third day....There was order at our surgical mission camp. The day began as others; in the darkness that comes before dawn. Yawning team members climbed aboard our shuttle cars and headed for a quick breakfast at the hospital before beginning a day filled with surgeries.
The best news of all was received early on, one of our patients who was very sick following their procedure had turned the corner and everyone was thrilled by the news!
It was such a smooth day with the usual improvisation for supplies, a few rolling power outages - you know, just another day at the office. I did however get to observe a most remarkable surgery in the plastics room where Dr. Leber took cartilage from a 19 year old young man's rib cage (near the sternum) and proceeded to carve it with the aid of a self-made template into an ear. The patient had only a floppy mass of poorly developed tissue and within 2 hours, he had what should heal into a normal shaped exterior ear. Truly remarkable.
In a nearby room Dr. Alvear performed a pull though procedure creating a rectum and an anus for a young 11 year old child girl who had a colostomy from birth due to an imperforate anus. The lives of these two patients are forever changed for the better, as are the hearts of those who where privileged to be a part of the healing.
To night, the local Rotary Club honored the team with some speeches and rose bouquets for each WSF member, along with another amazing Indian meal. We were short stay dinner guests and departed for the guest house to seek rest in our beds. Tomorrow promises to be a busy day.
So far away,
- Cheryl
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