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John T. Colucci, Eoin Farrell & Riley Dean

Brian Theroux, Riley Dean, Eoin Farrell and John Colucci in Bolpur, India – November 2008

November 18, 2008

As surgeries begin the student team has been active all over the hospital. Before surgery we calm anxious nerves and prepare children for operating rooms. Seeing a child come in with tears forming in her eyes and leave with a giggle as the surgeon carries her into the operating room is a rewarding experience. After surgery we help the hard working nurses reunite families. There is so much activity, it is impossible for us to encapsulate it all in this small space. This is the most incredible experience any of us has ever had in our lives.

With only about 800,000 people, Bolpur is considered a rural town in populous India. On our first day the team screened over 200 people for cleft lip and cleft palate surgery. The student team photographed every person screened as part of the medical records process. From the beginning it was clear that there will be many heart wrenching experiences; a 4-month-old child, 2 brothers, and 62-year-old grandmother all looking to match the joy in their eyes with a smile on their face.
We hope to report each of their stories as the mission continues.

November 19, 2008

Today is surgery day 3. Rikta Ghosal just finished surgery, and was the 12th cleft palate and 100th patient so far this mission. She is a 10-year-old with an amazing story. She received a cleft lip operation on a mission two years ago. When she arrived at the hospital ward yesterday she shook my hand and said in English, "Hello, my name is Rikta" with a large smile on her face. Hers is already a truly incredible story, but as David Fisher, the field medical director, said at our morning meeting, "there are lots more surgeries to go and perhaps the best stories are yet to come."