It has been a LONG but wonderful day...we arrived at the hospital, had our mtg then our mock code & got started. We ended up reorganizing the Recovery room a bit for better access to our 4 gurneys & got our 1st patient about 9 a.m. Our 1st patient was Cristian a 10 mos old little boy with a cleft lip that I remembered from screening - he did great! Our set up is similar to Mexico - the parents pass their children over a half wall to go to surgery & when they are stable in the recovery room we either invite the moms in to hold them (especially if they are fussy) or if we expect it to be a quick lip recovery & they are resting well for the 30 min-1 hour they are there we just wait til they are ready to go to the post op ward & carry them out to their mom who sits in a wheelchair & hold them as they are wheeled up to the ward. Cristian was the first baby I carried out & when I handed him to his mom & she saw his repaired lip for the 1st time she burst into tears of joy...which of course caused me to get teary...it was a tender start to this 1st day :)
My next memorable patient was Adrian an 11 mos old boy from an Orphanage who weighed barely 11 lbs - the "matron" of the Orphanage brought him here & we all fell in love with him...he was "Everybodies Baby" & we showered him with clothes I brought a beanie & a blanket - it was hard to let him leave the recovery room & just broke my heart thinking of how he might grow up here - something that I am sure we never even think of in the States...
There were 2 Bolivian Nurses in the recovery room with the other 2 Op Smile Nurses (Erika Linda) & me
we are "credentialing them" - 3 missions are required so they be full volunteers - they were only with us from 7 am-1 pm but did great.
Another cutie was Luz - which translated means "Light" and you could see the light in her eyes when she smiled - we got her all "outfitted up" with a dress from my Friend Cheri in Boise & added a hair bow to - some of the surgeons accused us of "playing dress up" with the babies - we were just updating their wardrobe! Sebastian was another lover boy...& I remember him from screening too :) & got some photos of him.
We did 27 surgeries - they all went really well - no complications &as a team everyone worked really well together. One of the girls who is from the Op Smile office is sick so we treated her in the recovery Room with IV Fluids & 3 doses of IV Antibiotics & she is feeling a little better & hopefully is even better tomorrow.
My day ended much like it started - I am on call tonight so I got to leave at 8 in case I get called out (fairly rare) but the last patient I took care of before I left was Kristel a little 8 mos old cleft lip baby & when I took her out to her young mom she looked at her face - smiled, kissed Kristels forehead & started crying...and so did I....it is such a blessing to be able to have these experiences & be a tiny part of changing lives...I will never see these people again & most don't even know my name but I hope they feel the love & compassion I have for them. They are touching my heart & changing my spirit when I am in their presence
Good Night - cross your fingers I don't get called out - its 11 pm - so far so good!
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