I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Op Smile missions but I have decided they are alot like Childbirth you sort of forget how hard it is until once again you are in the thick of it...like on day 4 of 5 surgery days...
The night nurse (who is from CHLA) has the absolute hardest job of everyone - she was supposed to have another international team member who cancelled last minute so it has been her & a Bolivian volunteer who works a full time job then comes to volunteer at night. As you can imagine the volunteer needs a few hour nap in the night leaving Lorena with about 50 patients - the 25 from one day & 25 or so pre ops & a few hold overs...so Linda from the recovery room went to nights with her leaving Erika & I in the recovery room - but since Linda & I did it with 2 yesterday we figured we would be fine with 2 today & tomorrow.
The morning excitement (for some) or interruption (for others) was that "Miss Bolivia" came to visit & do a photo shoot...she was very nice but at the time she came in the PACU we had 4 "screamers" & it wasn't a pretty sight - oh well....it was a steady flow of patients today & less chaotic that yesterday - probably because we didn't lose a single IV :) HOORAY!!! I did however hang abut 30 new IV bottles - that was part of today's theme for me...not sure why but everytime I looked up an IV bottle was empty...we had some wild patients but typically not all at once.
The definite story of the day & perhaps the mission was Juan Jose - the little patient from La Paz with the low hemoglobin that Gayle got the team to add on. He was supposed to have surgery on Tues then got sick so we started him on antibiotics & weren't sure if he'd get better for surgery by Friday or not but he did & today was his day!!! A few more details to the story of mom's 30+ hours of travel...on that bus ride the reason it took so long was there were 2 roadblocks on their journey. At the first one many on the bus persuaded the driver to try a new route which would add time but they were all willing - so the driver complied. The 2nd roadblock however was later in the trip when many were tired or hungry & I think she said it was in the middle of the night & many were sleeping. The driver was going to turn around & Juan Jose's mom & I think a few other women were awake & asked the driver to let them try to clear the road. They spent several hours in the dark removing whatever it was blocking the road so they could continue their journey...talk about doing whatever it takes to remove the obstacles in our paths to achieve a goal...WOW!!! and they weren't even guaranteed that there wouldn't be another roadblock ahead....all I could think of was would I do that...do whatever it takes to get to my destination or would I be deterred??? What is my level of commitment to my ultimate goals??? what am I willing to do to make sure I achieve them & who else do I get to help me??? when I get past one roadblock do I muster up even more resolve to get past the next one or do I get discouraged???
When Juan Jose was passed "over the wall & into surgery" today we were all there taking pictures & she told us that she wanted to save her money so that he could become a Doctor & help people like we were doing...another tearful moment...when he came off the table about 90 min later the transformation was AMAZING!!! we knew his mom would be so happy with his new smile & couldn't wait to bring her in the recovery room - as expected she got very teary when she saw him & said - that is my baby? & she thanked & hugged everyone...that was one of my defining moments this mission. She also said "everyone in my town told me when he was born that I had an ugly baby but he was never ugly to me and now they will see he has always been beautiful" - another life lesson... It was a neighbor who told her about Op Smile & told her to come to Santa Cruz - her husband told her she was crazy & no one would give them surgery for free - that she was going on a crazy trip...we think that was why she couldn't have returned without the surgery or she would have been shunned & scorned even more....I am fairly certain I will never forget Juan Jose & his mom...before leaving tonight I had to take some supplies up to Post Op & saw her again - & he looked SO SO CUTE...I hope she & her son have a bright future the best they can in their world - some friends from church had give me $$$ to use as I thought best & I gave her somethings to help them on their journey.
I will share before & after pictures when I get home!
There were many other memorable patients today...a darling 1 year old boy with a sweet 18 year old mom & very sweet grandparents who were there with her - they asked if I was LDS & I said yes & they said they were too & were from about 10 hours away...it was busy when I was caring for them & discharging them from the PACU but I also saw them tonight & was able to help them on their journey - really others at home are helping them thru me. Near the end of the night we had some 12-16 yer old girls - they always remind me of my own kids & I often think of how these teenagers lives are changed in a one hour procedure...
I finished giving out all the dresses I had today - the last one was to the sister of our last patient & she was so excited to get it she put it on immediately & I got a picture :) I still have a few CHOC shirts & a few toys for tomorrow.
A few other things about the day. Gayle started the day fine but by 2 wasn't looking so good - we ended up starting an IV on her & I infused 4 liters of IV fluid (8 of the bottles I hung today). She is feeling better - a few others are down & I recognize how blessed I was to have such a mild case of whatever it is we are all getting! Claudia the Colombia pediatrician told me we are in a VERY DANGEROUS part of town...I knew it didn't look good & there are guards at the front of the hospital but when she said that she rides the bus to our hotel & then get a taxi from there it going an hour out of her way it was a bit of an ah ha moment for me...we are serving those who perhaps need it the most but I have felt safe.
Its almost midnight...I am tired....and tomorrow we have our final 20 patients plus take down. We are only doing lip repairs tomorrow no palates & also some are just local anesthetic...so hopefully we will be done & out by 5 or so. The final team party/dinner is at 7:30 & then Doug was able to change my flight from leaving at 2:30 am Sun morning to leaving at 2:30 am Sat morning (really just late tomorrow night) SO in 24 hours I will be en route to the airport & then a few hours later start my journey home...it seems unreal. But I am ready to be home, with my family, in my house & in my bed....after one more day....
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