Winding Down

The four operating rooms are slowing down with the exception of cleft lip and palate. I always thought it was odd at first when the team would refer to the patient as the “lip” or the “hand” or the “leg” or whatever body part they were operating on rather than the name.  It became clear to me today why they do this.  Dr. Pap was telling me that these patients’ misfortune was that they were born into it and that any one of these patients could be you or me.  I broke out in tears because my job is to learn the story of the patients and the more I learn , the more I realize that it truly is a misfortune.  My new friend, Anderson, did not choose to be born with a cleft palate, nor did he choose to lose his mother at age 2.  Anderson remembers his Mother & Father taking him to the doctors for his first surgery and now his Aunt, Alexandra has thankfully found Hands Across The World even though Anderson had to wait 6 years for more surgeries.  Anderson was probably passed around after his mother died, just as his brothers and sisters were, but this kid is a survivor.  The mother who chose to have 10 babies did not choose to have her last baby born with a cleft palate but do we judge her for having 10 kids or just be thankful for the fact that we have better lives.  I do not think I could operate with dry eyes if I knew all the stories of these people who come to see Hands Across The World.  There are so many tragic stories and yet these people continue to be grateful and continue to be warm, compassionate, caring and with a sense of family that is unlike what I see in America.

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I did a test screening of the trailer for this film to my friends and the common consensus was that the blood and gore was too much for the general audience yet I’m going to share a photo of a woman who was so burned that it was difficult to find an area on her body to do a skin graft.  She had many surgeries before the team had seen her and she could not walk because he foot had become a club food from the burns.  Even though the doctors spent hours working on her, it is doubtful that she will be able to walk much better because the damage was too deep.
David Acsero was brought in by his grandfather for a cleft problem (I will not get technical with you in this blog) and when they saw the results, his Grandfather beamed like a 6 year old.  It was the sweetest joyful event for both him and I to see.
And, of course, the reunions are always the priceless moments.  Mary Ellen reunited with her most problematic patient last year.  He remembered her and giggled while they played together before his surgery.  After his surgery was a different story but as he grows, and Mary Ellen returns, this boy will find a special place in his heart for Mary Ellen, and he will be thanking her for the rest of his life. Now it’s not the nurses that make the difference, it is the whole team that makes the patient’s experience truly a wonderful.  I see it in the parents eyes and I hear the gratitude over and over again.
I noticed that Alexandra, the social worker from Coca was sad.  It’s not difficult to notice because this woman is beaming with goodness and has an infectious laugh that fills the room.  Finally at the end of the day during the rounds, I learned it was because one of her patients was very ill.  We noticed this patient was shivering yesterday when we were at the hotel but they brought her back to the hospital today and thought that perhaps she had caught pneumonia.  As it turned out, she was suffering from the altitude in Quito since she is from the jungles of the Amazon.  If she was in the US, she would have been put in intensive care but because she is here in Ecuador she was put on oxygen and shares a room with Anderson.  Now that Alexandra knows what is wrong with this girl, she is happy again 🙂
Every day has drama and stories but during all of this, everyone takes time to blow off some steam.  Ross Ching, my director of photography has had a fascination with the wheel chair these past few days and today Jeff Vandall, a CRN Nurse showed him up by doing 360 degree wheelies without cracking his head open.  They film crew, Tom Visser, Ross and Roy Prendas have been wonderful and extremely patient through all of this as they have been torn in every direction and then made to wait for the next possible drama.  I’m blessed to have these guys here supporting me because without them, this film would not be possible.  I’m truly grateful and also very tired.  I do not know how this group keeps their stamina up.  Each night they find time to hang out at the hotel, go out on the town or whatever form of entertainment they seek in Ecuador, and I can only find the time to blog and go to sleep so that I can be ready for the next day’s adventure.