The Trip There

"A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS"

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Gathering at Vassar Brothers Medical Center to catch the bus to JFK at 3 AM - we have the care packs from New Century Medical, but where's Manoj's wallet?

Loading up the "big yellow bus" at Debbie's place - who knew there would be traffic on the GW at 5 AM.

Packed in like sardines (Byron provided medical care to a couple of passengers even before we got to Colombia!)

Looking for that elusive bag #14 - it reappeared miraculously in Santa Marta.

6 hour layover in Bogota, getting used to delicious new cusine - how many ways can you cook corn?

Boarding for Santa Marta - it's the next night already!

Welcomed by Cecilia and the increadibly gracious women of UNIMA in Santa Marta

The First Day, Screening Patients

Arriving at the hospital - we were impressed with the modern facilities.

Patients waiting outside the hospital since early morning. We were expecting about a hundred patients, but ended up seeing close to two hundred!

Many had traveled great distances from outlying areas so their kids could be seen. They slept on mattresses on the floor of the hospital.

Say "ahhh"

Patiently waiting.

For me, the most gut wrenching part of this whole mission was turning away patients after our operating room schedule was completely booked.

Please refer to Annabel's post below on October 1 Screening Day 9/23/07 for more photos of screening day.

18 Hour Days

Setting up

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Who wouldn't want to wake up here? The rest of the team was amazed by how the recovery room was creatively transformed

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Art setting up the microscope (a.k.a. "girlfriend" :), with local physician Alba Bettancourt looking on

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Pat putting a child at ease

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Hard at work.

Everyone chipping in - when was the last time you saw a CEO cleaning instruments?

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Annabel with her wonderful photos .... and the internet connection

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Can we add just one more...

Taking a knee

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Dinner brought at 10 PM to the operating room

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Comfort

Exhaustion...

Staying until the last patient was safely discharged from the recovery room.

What Makes It All Worthwhile

Rounding on patients the morning after surgery.

Before...

and after ... a sleeping angel.

That Mona Lisa smile.

Please refer to Annabel's post below on October 18 Children are resilient for more photos of patients recovering.

Some R & R

Byron translating for the Governor - but we don't speak Spanish, Byron :)

Who knew Art could move like that (and Byron too!)

Dinner at the Mayor's Mansion - was he trying to outdo the Governor :) We were all deeply honored to be recognized for our work.

The local entertainment was extraordinary!

The team with ours hosts, the remarkable women of UNIMA.

Our ever present military escort, keeping us safe.

Our last day, a chance to unwind and appreciate the natural beauty of Colombia.

An appropriate metaphor for our mission - a line of carpenter ants carrying neatly cut leaves nearly ten times their size.

To be continued...

A Montage of Memories

• Veronica's breakfast tea
• What are those double yellow lines for anyway?
• Art dancing with the octogenarian (breaking the ice)
• Byron dancing with everyone! The Mambo King!
• Byron translating
• Finding the one spot where the air conditioning worked
• Taking cold showers. We learned to love them!
• I couldn't eat another bite. Oh, there's dessert?
• SUCK IT UP CRYBABY
• No UNIMA, you cannot keep Anond.
• Do you think we could do one more kid?
• The colorful,okay gross, descriptions of Granadilla
• Manoj finishing the rum
• Veronica saying"I'll be OK, just dance around me."
• The late night bus ride--Joel saying "This is just like a video game!"
• No one leaves here without Bilateral Myringotomy Tubes!!
• The horror on Pat's face when he thought he lost his wedding band.
• The relief we all felt when he had it safely back on.
• Cliff's gracious sharing of his lap-top. God bless the Internet.
• Debbie always ready for anything! Her contagious laugh.
• Chikila--our rock and our inspiration.
• Nick-- Manoj called you the heart and soul of this mission and you were.
• Maybe we could get an earlier start... did I just say that?!
• The best room-mates possible
• Annabel becoming a Godmother
• The poor airport security dog who had to sniff my dirty laundry
• My version of Spanish: speak loudly, use short English sentences but end most words in "o", smile and use alot of hand gestures... I'll work on my Spanish for next year. Hey, what do they speak in Madagaskar?
• The beauty of the Columbian mountains and coasts.
• The warm generosity of our hosts.
• Learning something new every day from every one of you.
• Looking forward to working with this exceptional team next year!

Another Voice Heard From

Hello my Santa Marta mission amigos. I go to this spot often to see if anyone has added anything new and I am so appreciative of those of you who have written such beautiful and heartfelt entries. Its been three weeks and I can't seem to let go of this experience. Nor do I want to.

I will add a few of the entries from my personal journal in the hopes that you'll be encouraged to share your feelings and stories as well...

We are screening patients for surgery. He is 15 years old. He looks about 10. He smiles shyly,
giving me a sidelong glance. He says something in Spanish to his Aunt. She translates, "He thinks you are beautiful." I am flattered and respond, "Ooooh, how sweeet." She continues...
"He thinks everyone who doesn't have a cleft lip is beautiful." I am humbled. My heart is aching. I see a beautiful human being in front of me. I am thrilled that, with our help, this 15 year old young man will look in a mirror and finally see himself as beautiful too.

Treasured Memories & Rewards

While we are all back to work and the rituals of life, the experience of caring for the children in Santa Marta is also a permanent part of my life. I was able to actually take part of changes made for the families physically and emotionally in South America, which in return will make us a more everlasting element to the self-esteems of each person we touched. No words and perhaps pictures could transpire the pleasures experienced in the responses of the children, families, and members of this medical and professional team! I have lived more and grown by working with various customs in a foreign country. What a growing process of life... I became part of different situations and functions. The environment, mannerism, styles of living and coping are only a few of my insights gained as I opened up my heart to how people are living and managing differently than what I was aware of. Our own roles and culture may leave us stagnant, but to give of our own privileges, skills, and hearts will provide for the children and families, and to the team too an award that I gracefully welcome.
With my continued faith, support of family and friends, I look forward to making a difference in lives from my direct touch through similar missions again... most definitely 'to be continued.'

Mission recap

Almost three weeks after returning from Colombia, I am finally getting a chance to process the experience - since getting back, I have been overwhelmed trying to catch up with work at my practice, while at the same time teaching at a Facial Plastic Surgery conference in NYC.

In many ways, it has been difficult adjusting back to "real life." The incredible emotions of the trip, the exhaustion of traveling so far and working so hard, still lingers ... not to say anything of the residual effects of having stayed in a third world foreign country (my stomach hasn't been the same!). By any estimation, this was a tremendously busy trip. Over the course of a week, we screened close to 200 children, and performed well over a hundred surgical procedures on 65 patients.

I want to once again express my heartfelt gratitude to all of the team members. Everyone absolutely worked their butts off, and despite 18 hour days, provided the highest level of care. The selfless nature of team members and the camaraderie during this mission was beyond anything I could have expected - and, I truly hope I earned my title as the "nicest slave driver"! The volunteer organizers of UNIMA who provided for us while we were in Santa Marta also deserve a tremendous amount of credit.

In the end, this effort was all about the children. Words can not describe how wonderful it is to make a difference in these kids lives, to inspire hope that there are people in the world who care. For that, I am indebted to all who made this mission possible, especially those in our local community. I will be leaving on a mission to Guatemala shortly, and I am planning a fundraiser to benefit Healing the Children this Spring, to support another mission from our area. To be continued ...

My experience

My experience in Colombia was profound. It was a rewarding Mission for myself, and I sense it is beyond that for all those for whom we cared. Although I have been a pediatric nurse for 19 years, it was my first participation in a Mission. During this time, I nurtured children as they recovered from surgical repair of facial and oral deformities. Our six long days of care resulted in expressions of admiration, respect, and gratitude. The volunteers of UNIMA made our stay comfortable and assisted the team through the long hours of work. The conscious benefits were heartfelt - smiles, hugs, prayers in Spanish and tears too from the children and adults during the first day of screening and after recovery from the surgical procedures. Thanks to contributions through schools (Lourdes H.S. and class of 2007), work (Vassar Brothers Medical Center), physicians and medical groups, and never to be forgotten the guidance of God and support of family and friends, I was able to participate in this wonderful Mission to Santa Marta, Colombia!

Tamara Faublas-Joseph, RN, MSN

Children are resilient

I think what will stick with me the most from this trip is the resilience of the children. At home, we have a tendency to see images of children in developing countries and think "How sad. Poor children." The amazing thing about kids is that they are so adaptable to whatever situation they are in. They do not have a basis for comparison, when it comes to their economic or social standing. I bet some kids go to the hospital thinking this is a normal part of growing up. The hospital experience was probably harder for the parents who know that this is not normal and are scared. While this trip was not without some upsetting moments (i.e. having to turn families away, children waking up from surgery in tears), overall I was uplifted by their spirits. I only wish I could spend more time with them.

Edwin (above) was born with one leg.
But that didn't stop him from starting a game of chase with me.
I was not only out of breath, but I never did catch him!

Jerson 1 day post-op

Jerson 2 days post-op

Fari before surgery. Kids like him came into the operating room more curious than scared.

Fari leaving the hospital 1 day post-op and carrying his own suitcase.

Luis Gabriel putting Veronica's stethoscope on his own heart before surgery.

Luis Gabriel less than 24 hours after bilateral cleft lip surgery.
And no, this picture is not photoshopped...

All photos ©Annabel Clark 2007