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Check Out the Field Journal Entries Written by the Medical Teams during the Missions

Excerpt for Jimma Mission,December 2008

Jimma 12/14/2008

Jimma, Ethiopia

The surgical suite is a mutli-cultural melee, three operating tables in one room..Beth, the clinical coordinator gives her commands, keeping chaos at a minimum. Table 1: Dr. Yemane from Jimma stands by as David, team leader and plastic surgeon from Ireland puts the last stitch in 13-month-old Kadiat, whose baby face is blemished with an asymmetrical bilateral cleft. As Millicent cuts a thread,Alice, a nurse from kenya starts to clear the cart... Table 2: 11-month-old Mohamed, is almost finished. Andy, a surgeon from Wisconsin makes his last stitch as Adam, an anesthesiologist from the UK, monitors the baby's vitals. He adds a little incision, a v-plasty to his tiny mouth to make the vermillion symmetrical; no child is denied the best, even if it requires more time. Table 3- Per, from Cambridge, and Andrey, from Russia, start their next case, as soon as Plinio, from Spain, has him under anesthesia. Daniel, a dentist from Mexico is on-hand for consult, ever busy pulling jagged or decayed teeth, making impressions for obturators, offering advice to achieve the very best smiles. Accented English flows across the room, bits of Amharic heard amid the beeps and murmurs of biomed equipment.

Pre-surgery waiting... 13-year-old Biridbe sits apprehensively by, keeping her eyes averted; she tells me she works hard in school in her quest to become a teacher, and gets good grades. Sshe has to wait all day for her surgery, as she is a teenager and babies go first, so I give her a makeover to bide the time. I paint her nails a sheer glimmery bubblegum pink, a little rusty blush to her cheeks, and put bright, colorful rubber bands at the end of her tightly plaited cornrows. Then i give her dad a gift to give his daughter 2 weeks post surgery- "glazed berry lip gloss". She grins her crooked grin and glances repeatedly at the lip gloss. It's what she really wants to accent her new smile! They call her name and I am allowed to walk with her into surgery, holding her newly manicured hand gently as she falls asleep.

Pre-post op room: Meti sits quietly with her parents, her new smile apparent on her parents’ faces rather than hers, as she is still in some pain from her surgery. Her mother looks at me, and beats her hand against her chest, their way of expressing her happiness as father bows his head and places his hands positioned to give thanks. Their smiles then turn toward their daughter, and continue to beam brightly as their prayers were answered.... children spread out in the pre-post area have spilled out into the halls, lying on their own disheveled clothing and blankets, Mark G. happily distributing plastic shoes that he purchased in the market for less than $1 a piece, but the families act more delighted than someone given a new pair of $100 Nikes or Guccis... Ethiopian women, some wrapped in ragged "natala", their shamma .. Some carry their children in shawls on their backs. Those who have brought their food are chewing injera, the Ethiopian bread made of "teff" grain- injera is a flat bread that is spongy in taste, sour, almost bitter. I am working with a young teenager pre- surgery on some sounds....Suddenly one of the American nurses blurts out "I think this kid must have asthma!" as after every few words he sucks air as if gasping. I laugh. No, that "gasp" I tell her just means "OK" in Amharic.. And this kid said OK about 15 times during our short conversation... she'd be on an inhaler by now in the USA!

Post op: Biribe is holding her mirror, catching her beautiful bright teenage smile, in awe, and then she dips her head and puts her hand on her heart. These moments are magic, and in itself explains just why we do this and why we must come back. I think we just made not only a new smile, but a future teacher for the children of Ethiopia.

I leave for Addis Ababa tomorrow. My flight, as well as all flights for several days, have been cancelled flying from here to Addis, so Operation Smile will find a means to gets us by land on this 5-6- hour journey from Jimma.

I'm fine and will try one last email from Addis!!

- Cathy Snyders, Volunteer Speech Pathologist

Mission Dates: December 4- 12, 2008

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Comments

a fan says: January 31, 2009 These stories bring much happines and pride to me. That there are Doctors, Nurses, reporters,camera people; just every volunteer, willing to give so much to humanity is truly heart warming. Thank you all!

Shericooke says: January 30, 2009 I am so happy to get these letters sharing with us what actually happens between the children, their families and all the doctors, staff and volunteers. Thank you so much for bringing us right there, where I can 'see', 'hear' and 'feel' with you and everyone these incredible miracles. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Love and Blessings, Sheri

Lloyd says: January 30, 2009 JUST BEAUTIFUL !!!

Stu says: January 30, 2009 What a blessing to have a trade or profession to contribute.

Pat says: January 30, 2009 As a young nurse I have scrubed into so many of these cases and am always so delighted to see the results. Every child deserves this kind of surgery

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