We were up early today as the mission teams got on their way. I started at Galleres Memorial so I could see Benjie before his surgery. The operating rooms at both hospitals took a little longer than planned to set-up because of several reasons, such as power failures and a last minute surgery that took priority. Just imagine the detail that goes into totally furnishing three operating rooms with all the necessary supplies, all  shipped from Kansas City from the Medical Missions Foundation. It requires months of planning and anticipating every need. (Some of these supplies are donated, but many times, must be purchased. There is also great expense incurred in shipping which is why fundraising is an on-going effort for the Foundation.)

Benjie’s surgery was a success! Dr. Cusick said he was a little tougher case because of the way his body had developed. For those of you who don’t know, cleft palates occur during pregnancy and is a condition in which the two plates of the skull that form the hard palate (the roof of the mouth) are not completely joined. The soft palate is “cleft” as well. In most cases, a cleft lip is also present. Cleft palate occurs in about one in 800 births in this region. Benjie surgery went well and his mother couldn’t be happier.

Cristina was next in line and her surgery also went very well. Thank you Dr. Cusick, Doug, Becky, Joyce, Marlene, Kay, Vonnie, Leila, Cora and Ed!

Each mission’s medical director has the task of putting together the surgical teams. That’s not easy considering everyone’s busy schedules at home, time off from their real jobs and trying to match-up the different skills needed. In most cases, these are new teams that might not have had the opportunity of working together before. I couldn’t believe how quickly everyone got along so well. It takes patience, understanding and, of course, big hearts. I’m very lucky to have made some great new friends!  Dr. Cusick’s plastic surgery team includes Doug Cowan, Becky Quesenberry, Joyce Sheehan and Vonnie Kane. Marlene Bailey is the team’s nurse anesthetist. The pre-and post-op nurses are Kay Johnston, Cora Zamora, Leila Busch and Ed Ayaquil.

The Medical Missions Foundation has been working with Galleres Memorial Hospital for several years now. We have a very good working relationship with them and our surgeons take every opportunity they can to help train their medical teams in order to help expand their capabilities. In 1997, MMF brought and left for them a Laparoscopic machine to be able to use for many surgeries that with it don’t require an invasive approach. These machines are very expensive and would unlikely be able to afford to get one themselves even now, twelve years later. Through donations MMF was able to give them the new scopes they needed for other operations. Chief of Surgery, Dr. Zaldy Boac was very grateful. I spent the rest of the day at Ramiro Community Hospital with Dr. Trudi and her team. Jerome had his surgery today and all went well. After his surgery his eyes were pretty red but Dr. Trudi said they would clear up after a couple of weeks. She added that surgeries like these are great for the kids and their families because you can see the positive results almost immediately.

Strabismus (also called cross-eyed or crossed eye) is a condition where the eyes are not able to properly align. Both eyes are not able to focus in the same direction, at the same point and at the same time. In most of the cases on this mission, these children we born this way. So, aside from the obvious cosmetic reasons to do these surgeries, it’s important to get to them as young as possible because if left untreated, the eye that is not aligned tells the brain to ignore what it sees.

Paul is another patient Dr. Grin operated on today. His surgery was a success and he’s coming back to see Dr. Grin for a follow-up visit on Wednesday. He and his mother were quite happy as they left the hospital in a taxi. Here in Bohol taxis are the way most everyone gets around. You can get just about anywhere for 25 pesos (50 cents)! Special thanks to Dr. TrudiGrin’s surgical team, headed by Phyliss VanHorn and the local Ramiro Hospital staff, Agnes, Gloria and our mission coo rdinator Cora’s nephew, Ryan, who lives here. Today had its challenges. There was a power failure during one of the procedures, but all went well thanks to the handy pen light Dr. Trudi had in her pocket.

As I mentioned on the first blog, I had been told many times about the Filipino culture and how friendly  everyone is here. Well, that’s an understatement. We’ve been treated like kings and queens by every person we’ve come in contact with – from the people at our hotel to the medical staff teams we work with at both hospitals. But mostly, the patients. The children are so sweet, brave and amazingly patient even after having to wait for hours to see our team. I was talking with another teammate about why, in general, these kids are so different from most of the kids in the U.S. Even with the conditions they have, their demeanors are peaceful and calm and they are very well behaved. Might make a good dinner conversation anyway... 