Soooooooooo 4 months later I am finishing up my last blog post from my Bolivia Mission. I am usually really good about blogging when I am on a mission & during the days I make little notes of things I don't want to forget but the last day typically leads to my travel home & then I am in recovery mode and then back in "real life mode" and my blog goes untouched....until I am getting ready to go on another mission and then I remember that I never finished blogging about my last mission (more on that in another post)
Anyway the last day of surgery in Bolivia went really smoothly we did lots of cleft lips which are simple 45 min surgeries but make such a HUGE difference in these children's lives!!! we actually had some older teenage lips that we did & that always makes my heat happy cause I know these kids were probably teased or even worse shunned and now they have a chance at a more "normal" life. The other nice ting about Fridays is that we get to do some "extra" surgeries if we have the time. We removed an "extra thumb" that a 4 year old boy had & his mom said the other kids made fun of him, we also did a removal of a large facial hemangioma on a teenager that also would change her life and we did the surgery on my little friend the teenage girl who I mentioned in another post was the last surgery called on the day everyone was notified. She just needed a scar revision - actually sort of a lip do-over & she was SOOOO HAPPY to have the surgery - I felt like I could actually see her self esteem rise as we gave her a mirror to look at herself after surgery. These are truly some of the most rewarding moments when older kids see themselves differently than they ever have or perhaps ever imagined.
Also today they were taking many of the post op photos from Day #1 of surgery before patients began their sometimes very long journey home. Seeing them for their post op final pictures was new for me - usually that is set up far away from the recovery room but in this case it was right outside our door across the "magic wall! So we got to see the patients come full circle from screening to surgery to heading home. The little orphan boy "everybody's baby" was there with the sweet woman from the orphanage...he was so precious - I just wish I could adopt him & bring him home with me!!!
I gave away the last few fleece blankets to some of the older girls and some of the beanies that were small gave to Christina the head OR nurse to use for the newborn c section deliveries in the OR - she was so grateful :)
Since it was a slower day - as it always is...we had time to take pictures with other team members & also Ankour one of the Plastic Surgeons from the UK is in the Royal Army there & has had several tours of duty in Afghanistan - he had a video montage that he put together that brought the injuries of war to our young soldiers VERY MUCH TO LIFE...soldiers with all sorts of body parts blown up or off...remember he is a plastic surgeon so he's not dealing with anything minor...he said that was the opposite of his Operation Smile...it was very sobering but I am glad I watched it...made me immensely proud of all of those in harms way for the freedom's I sometimes take for granted. I also spent alot of time with Claudia out Pediatrician - LOVE HER!!! I don't remember if I already posted about this but she told me that MD's in Bolivia working full time 7 am-5 pm earn about $500 a month...some nurses in the US can make that in a 12 hour shift!!! That is why she is not working here - she is from Colombia & there working part time 7 am-1 pm physicians could earn $2000/month. I certainly do not understand the disparity between those 2 countries!!!
It was rainy today & the mosquito's were out in full force - I swear I have 100 bites & it is a miracle/blessing I have not gotten Dengue fever!!! We finished by about 3 & got the PACU torn down & packed up pretty quickly. Claudia took Gayle and Erika & me shopping to some of the "local" places...I found some wonderful things to bring back, and we ate some local food from street vendors she new were "safe". we "rented a taxi & driver"who took us wherever & waited for us for the 3 hours we were gone for about $12 American!!!
We got back to the hotel showered and packed up since both Gayle & I were leaving at midnite for our 2:30 am flight. We walked to a different area of the hotel and there was a double decker "party bus" waiting for us - everyone was so excited! The took us on about a 90 min tour of Santa Cruz & I saw places there that I never knew existed in Santa Cruz...areas of affluence and prosperity, colleges, high end shopping etc - an entirely different world than what I had lived in the past week. After the city tour we went back to the restaurant of the man who is the Op Smile President - where we had been earlier in the week. The gave the normal talks, showed the slide show, etc - it was really nice. Gayle & I had to leave by 11:30 to get back to the hotel change into comfy clothes & get our bags & take the bus to the airport. I took an Ambien so I slept well. We had one connection and were in LA about 16 hours later - got thru customs pretty easily & made it home. I was ready to be home - my work was done & I was pretty tired.
Just like that another mission done...lives changed, a wonderful team of new friends met all of whom love to serve and help others. Again I am INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for this opportunity..there are people I will never forget, stories that have changed my life and smiles that were created. I LOVE THESE CHANCES TO SERVE GODS CHILDREN IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD!!!
