Stories From Nicaragua

“A NIGHT IN MANAGUA”

In the middle of the night when everything was calm, Mario and I had a few minutes to look around Hospital Infantil Manuel De Jesus Rivera located in Managua, Nicaragua. Mario was a Nicaraguan physician who participated with the in-country Operation Smile missions and had volunteered to spend his night translating for me in the Post-Op Unit. We wandered out to the hospital lobby, and what I saw before me simply stopped me in my tracks. There were approximately twenty people sleeping on the ground right outside the locked doors to the front entrance. Mario explained that many of them are people who live in very remote areas and travel far to bring their children here. Since only one family member is allowed in a Post-Op room at night with their child, any other family member often sleeps outside.

Meanwhile, inside our Post-Op Unit, for every child sleeping in a bed or crib, there was a person attempting to sleep in a chair next to that bed or crib. Yet, despite this discomfort and other conditions that we would find difficult to bear, the parent remains patient with their child as he/she squirms or cries, sweating in the warm room, possibly febrile, and desperately seeking sleep in the strange, new environment.

As the sun was rising several hours later and we rounded from room to room, the same exhausted family members graciously accepted our repeated suggestions to push fluids for their child and smiled in return as we wished them the best.

-Amy Braun, Post Operative Nurse, Operation Smile Managua
November, 10-17, 2007

The children who needed an operation but weren’t quite ready for surgery are the ones I remember and think of. “X” was one of the last to be seen in screening, brought by her mother after we had begun to clean up for the day. She was one and a half years old and brighter than one might expect. She had a facial cleft, either Tessier 3 or 4 with additional clefting of her ear and lateral eyelid. She had cleft hands and an unusual skin condition with patches of firm, hypopigmented spots throughout her body. Although they looked like scars, her mother said that she was born with them. She had a head of thin, sparse hair and her skin was dry. We suspected that she had the ectrodacytly-ectodermal-dysplasia-cleft palate syndrome, also known as EEC. Her mother suspected that this was all due to moon rays from an eclipse that occurred the night she gave birth.

In addition to her hands, face, and skin abnormalities, “X” had a non-seeing eye and strabismus. The eye looked empty with no iris and just a bright white reflection. Her ear was thin and knobbly in appearance. She had anteriorly projecting teeth from her malpositioned, clefted alveolus. In spite of her appearance, there was a bright, feisty girl inside.

“X” came back the next day for bloodwork, but the overall sense from the team was that she was too small and undernourished to undergo a surgical procedure.

What will happen to her? How will she eventually look? Who will she eventually be? She will see a local ophthalmologist and will return to the next international mission screening in less than a year. Her mother is caring and attentive. She is a bright little girl. Who will she grow up to be?

Raymond Tse, MD, FRCSC, Plastic Surgeon, Canada
Team Nicaragua, Operation Smile World Journey of Smiles 2007

Saturday, 8AM – the day that all of the children will find out if their lives will be changed. Hundreds of people anxiously gathered around the hospital, awaiting for the lists to be posted.

Finally…the lists went up.

I recognized one of the mothers, whose daughter I screened for cleft lip surgery. I distinctly remembered her story – 14 hours of travel just to get to Managua, in the hopes of obtaining cleft lip surgery for her daughter. Hours and hours by foot, boat, and bus – and now they finally made it.

She walked away from the wall – crying. I didn’t know what to say. Did her child not make it on the schedule? Was her daughter too malnourished? Was she denied surgery for health issues?

Then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was her – with her daughter. As I spoke to her in the small amount of Spanish that I knew, I did understand her say, “Thank you”. Through a translator, she told me that today was the first day that she saw her daughter smile – she said that she didn’t know that her daughter could smile with a cleft lip, as she never saw her do it in the past year. Monday, her daughter would have cleft lip surgery.

I then realized that those were tears of joy.

-Albert Andres

I looked after one boy who was about 14 and mentally disabled. That day I was the only non-Nicaraguan in the OR and the only person who didn’t speak Spanish. As the Nurse, it was my job to help Anesthesia get the boy off to sleep. Unfortunately, because of his age and size, he needed an IV before he could off to sleep. The girls had tried in pre-op but he became very agitated and somewhat aggressive. The Nicaraguan Anesthesiologist elected to bring him back to have the IV started in the OR and warned me that me might have a fight on our hands. The boy was terrified and at first was very agitated but the Anesthesiologist and myself calmed him down and eventually got him to lie down. He grabbed my hand and I held his hand and re-assured him in what must of been the most horrible Spanish he had ever heard. He just looked at me and smiled. He had his IV started without so much as a flinch and went off to sleep without incident and the surgeon repaired his cleft lip. It showed me that caring for another person crosses all language and cultural barriers. My trip to Nicaragua with Operation Smile has been the highlight of my Nursing career.
Thank you

-Quinn Sharkey RN, CNOR

Blues from the green eyed baby

Green eyes stared at you from the tiny 5 month old tot. Her 16 year old sister was her sole companion on her visit. With the child in one arm and an old diaper bag in the other,
she came from afar with little money and lots of hope. The child was cute, chubby and smiled at you at every opportunity. She smiled at our giggles, bubbles, and perhaps even freckles. Her mother was with her other sister who had been admitted in a distant hospital with pneumonia. The 5 month old could not be cleared to undergo surgery as she had congestion and fever. We told her sister that we could not operate on her lip now but will definitely do it after 3 months when she is healthy again. Her hopes dashed in one quick moment, sorrow rolled as tears from her cheeks. The sister was uncontrollable for 10 minutes. Then she looked up, looked at the baby and smiled again.

Her journey will continue and her hopes have been renewed. Again will come another opportunity and she will be back. Her little sister will have her lips repaired hopefully in the next few months. The green eyed baby’s smile will be complete soon.

As Dr. Magee and hordes of volunteers travel on this world journey, not only are they accumulating countless miles ( frequent flier for some), they are also spending many more smiles throughout the world.

-Pradeep Padmanabhan, M.D, Pediatrician,
Operation smile – Nicaragua mission November 07

Beautiful Smiles

I’d like to share with you an experience that occurred when I was returning from my WJOS Bolivia mission, an experience that reminded me that sometimes positive things can occur in rather negative situations.
After an all-night flight from Santa Cruz, Bolivia I was more than ready to get back home to Memphis. My mission experience in Bolivia had been incredible in every way but I was ready to return home.

Upon landing in Miami I found myself standing in a long U.S.Customs line, dreading the long wait & the less-than-pleasant Customs agents ahead. As I proceeded through the line an agent motioned for me to place my bags on the bench between us. He seemed to have an especially gruff, all-business attitude. As he began inspecting my first bag he asked the usual questions: “Where have you been? How long were you there? What was the purpose of your visit?” When I responded to the last question & he heard the name Operation Smile he looked up at me & said “I’ve heard of that group - tell me about them”. An immediate change in his attitude was evident & he actually became warm & engaging in his manner.

For the next several minutes he wanted to know all about Operation Smile, asking a number of questions about how our team worked together, types of surgeries performed, follow-up care, mission sites, etc . His entire personality underwent a most positive transformation as he became even more involved in this discussion!

His last question, however, was the most telling - “How do you doctors get compensation for this work you do?”

I simply replied : “Smiles. Beautiful Smiles on the faces of these precious children & their families as we complete our work.”

He looked into my face with a look I shall never forget & this tough guy’s voice began to crack as he said “God bless you & God bless Operation Smile.”

- Dan H Shell III, MD, Operation Smile volunteer

Hand In Hand…A Walk Toward Happiness

Managua, Nicaragua

The mere mention of “Australia” conjures up happy images of kangaroos hopping across the bush with little joeys peeking out of mysterious pouches. Curiosity led me to question a new Australian friend about this idyllic image at the beginning of the Operation Smile World Journey mission held in Managua, Nicaragua, where our team of international volunteers gathered for ten magical days to create miracles. This talented, young woman, Anita, of Brisbane, Australia, volunteered to provide speech screening and important language instruction for each patient. With big smiles, she happily answered questions about that fascinating creature, the infamous “Kangaroo”. Anita laughingly announced that she had even brought one with her. It was plastic, inflatable, four-feet tall with a big tail and, yes, had the requisite joey peeking from its pouch. The children were delighted upon its arrival, and even the adults broke out in smiles as the brightly-colored icon of “hip-hop” made its way to the warm and dimly-lit play area where children waited for their call to surgery.

As a “medical records assistant”, I soon learned that my job of creating hundreds of medical files was a piece of cake compared to positions that entailed entertaining hungry and thirsty children waiting long hours for their facial surgeries to begin. Hour after hour, efforts by team volunteers to create diversions and entertainment were rewarded with big smiles from the soon-to-be surgical recipients. Standing close by were weary parents who accompany their children through hours of selective screening and now wait patiently to gently place their precious babes in the arms of virtual strangers as they are whisked away for lip and palate reconstruction.

It was during one of these long days that Anita’s “Kangaroo” appeared and towered over the little ones as their bright eyes reflected the wonder of such a happy creature in the midst of all the chatter and challenging chaos. One little patient, Eduardo, was particularly intrigued with “Kangaroo’s” presence and quietly sat on his chair patting and squeezing his new friend when suddenly his name was called. Karen, an anesthesiologist-CRNA, appeared from behind swinging surgery doors to claim him for his life-changing surgery, an answer to the prayers of his family.

But, frequently, the separation of child and parent is quite traumatic as medical personnel gather up a new patient who then begins to protest and reach back toward the safe arms of family. I watched as Karen instantly recognized the attachment Eduardo had made with his large, plastic friend and quickly reached out to place one puffy paw in Eduardo’s little hand. She then took hold of “Kangaroo’s” other paw and beckoned. Eduardo happily hopped off his chair still tightly grasping the paw; and, together, the happy trio rounded the corner to begin their journey down the long hallway. It was a sight to behold by surgeons and nurses alike as the smiling threesome made their way toward the surgery table. But “Kangaroo” wasn’t done with his mission. He was given “patient status” and happily succumbed to an oxygen mask along with his brave friend, Eduardo. Operation Smile was the recipient of a new ambassador that day.

As volunteers come to know, all language barriers and fears between parents and volunteers alike are absolved once the “magic begins”. I quietly stashed away this memorable, magical moment and returned to my ever-growing stack of medical records knowing that a picture in my mind of “kangaroo” and a little Nicaraguan boy’s walk to life-altering surgery would linger with me long after I disappeared into regular life.

- Connie Engel, Operation Smile Volunteer, Medical Records

Photos: Magees Visit Care Center in Bogota

Operation Smile Co-founders Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee visit the Integral Care Center in Bogota, Columbia during the World Journey of Smiles.

The Joy in Tears - A story of Ruth and her Mother

She sat there and watched her daughter walk through the operating room doors, as the doors closed a tear fell from her cheek and then another and another.

I knelt before her, arms extended to hold her and maybe to be held as well.

She uttered that these are tears of joy, not of sorrow, not of fear. And she gently smiled.

She shared that she had traveled from doctor to doctor, to different cities to find help for Ruth. Always told, this is her life, there is nothing we can do. She felt hope was fading, were there no answers? How could this be?

Rocking, swaying, pouring of emotions, she spoke of her story, of her struggle, her hard life; no husband, no partner, cleaning other peoples clothing to feed her children. Her life is hard, she felt alone, so alone. This became a momentary chant. Life is so very hard…

Then the chant began to transform to an expression of heartfelt thanks and tremendous gratitude. Thanks to all for giving her daughter the gift a new life…of possibility…of hope. For coming so far, for giving up and sharing a part of our lives. She poured out adoration for the team members of Operation Smile.

The room began to hum, voices coming together in song, the song of women waiting with their own children as they gave witness. Offering a hymn of union to support each other and to something greater than themselves, something divine.

Lifting us, holding us in our tears.

- Jennifer Kreimer, Chile Life Specialist

Coincidence

This is a story about two families that I met during my Operation Smile (OS) mission in Bolivia. While waiting for my luggage in the Santa Cruz airport, I started speaking to a younger man and his wife and child who were also waiting for their luggage. He noticed the OS stickers on my backpack and started asking questions about OS. He had a general idea of Operation Smile’s purpose but he wanted to know more about our role in Bolivia. I talked about our mission in Santa Cruz and he explained that he and his wife were nurses working with a Christian group traveling along the Amazon River, visiting small villages and providing medical care. He stated that he knew someone with a child that has a cleft lip and palate. I mentioned to him that he should notify her and have her and her child come to Santa Cruz this week for the screening.

On the second day of screening an American nurse from a small village arrived with a Bolivian 15 month old baby boy with a cleft lip and palate. They had flown in from a remote area two hours away. The boy began the screening process but when the surgeons examined him, she asked that they correct only the boy’s palate and delay the lip surgery. When asked why, she explained that she was the adoptive mother and she was concerned that if the birth mother saw the baby’s repaired cleft lip, she would change her mind about giving up the baby for adoption, a process which would not be finalized until a few weeks later. She stated that the birth mother had refused an earlier opportunity to have the surgery performed on her son.

After speaking with the surgeons, she was not sure if she would consent to the baby’s surgery because the surgeons would not agree to operate on his palate first. She continued with the screening process. Eventually she arrived at my station where I was checking that the charts were complete. We started talking. She mentioned that her friend had met someone at the Santa Cruz airport and told him about OS. What a coincidence! I stated that I was the person she had heard about. She continued to tell me about her work in the village and that she was in the process of adopting this baby boy. She has three other boys of her own and that this baby was a blessing to her family.

The mother did agree to the surgery and the baby was the first cleft lip to be performed on my table during the first day of the surgery week. As the baby went to sleep he started to cry but soon drifted off to sleep. The surgery lasted 45 minutes and his repaired lip look fantastic. I visited the baby and his adoptive Mom in post-op to check on them and to give the baby a teddy bear. She told me that she would contact me at a later date and let me know how everything was going.

- Greg Samson, RN, Operation Smile volunteer

Nicaragua Mission Day 5

This is it. The last day of surgeries in Nicaragua. Everyone did well last night after their surgeries and we were able to catch an older group who we hung out with yesterday before they went home. One girl was Maria, a 14 year old girl who had a bilateral lip repaired at a younger age. The bilateral lips are more difficult to repair and so she needed a revision to make her lip more full. At this age they are much more conscious of how they look and she even was brave enough to ask us about her teeth and whether or not she could get some work done to them. When you are born with a bilateral they often have to pull the front teeth because they are sticking out or the gum has not formed correctly so they do not have front teeth. We wish we could help them with this, and we could in the US, but unfortunately, she is going to have to get comfortable with the fact that they are missing and to keep the teeth healthy that she has. I discovered yesterday that she is very smart and works hard in school, so I gave her a challenge. Audrey Williamson gave us some magic Treehouse books to bring over and although she cannot understand English, she can read. I gave her the books and a Spanish/English dictionary and told her if she tried hard enough she could probably understand a little bit of what she was reading. This will be up to her. We said good bye to her and several other children in the post op area waiting to leave. Alec had a few more soccer balls left to give out along with the baseball mitts that the O’Brien boys gave us (thank you) and we were able to give them out. Of course they were all very thankful. (We have to leave for the final team party so this day will be in two blogs!)

- Brigette & Alec Clilfford (To read more about Bridgette and Alec’s mission experience, click here.)

ONE TEAM, ONE GOAL, MANY SMILES…

As the last surgery was completed on the World Journey of Smiles’ Fortaleza mission, you can sense that great joy and accomplishment reigned throughout the OR. Doctors, OR and recovery room nurses, anesthesiologists, dentists and the clinical coordinator were sharing that moment of joy of having completed surgery on the final 19 patients today. In total, the Fortaleza mission evaluated 280 patients, conducted 111 surgeries and 119 procedures.

As you stepped outside the OR room into the other side of the hallway, some pre and post operation nurses were hugging each other and sharing a laugh, while others rotated to care for the last surgery patients. The biomedical technicians, always available on the spot throughout the week to resolve technical matters, were going to work, ensuring all the equipment was properly put away and the operating rooms were left completely organized.

As the speech therapists and psychologists continued providing families with the proper counseling and next steps for their ongoing treatment, the medical records team continued its impeccable job of organizing, logging and providing the necessary information to the medical staff. Throughout the process, geneticists continue gathering and analyzing information to determine the causes of these deformities and the possible family heritage connection. An army of student volunteers, who regularly came to the hospital to provide a much needed helping hand, worked along hand in hand to help put the final touches on this mission.

The film crew continued to move along all rooms, conducting interviews and catching valuable footage that will be very useful for the global documentary. With grace, they were able to get into the tightest of spots to capture those important moments while not interfering with the work done by the medical team. The photographers, who all week long appeared to always be present at the right moment to capture those feelings and emotions through their lenses, had now returned to headquarters to prepare the final slide show and video to be shown tonight at the dinner party.

Through it all, the director and coordinators did a fantastic job overseeing the total effort, ensuring all logistics were covered and all needs met beyond expectation. According to comments from many people I spoke with, this was one of the best organized missions they had ever participated in…I absolutely agree.

I can mention names and countless individual stories that occurred throughout the mission, but it would not properly describe what took place in Fortaleza. Throughout the week, this was an absolute TEAM effort. It was not the individual who stood out, but rather the unit. Egos must have been checked at the door because not once did I see them present and even under stressful moments, a laugh was always shared, a joke was said or a story told to keep things loose.

While giving a smile back to 111 kids is an impressive achievement, the success of this mission went beyond the numbers. The families and their children truly received an integral treatment from the minute they entered the hospital. Cultural barriers were also broken with ease as Brazilians came together with numerous volunteers that arrived from the different corners of the globe to provide treatment for these needy children.

They all formed part of ONE TEAM with ONE GOAL: provide the gift of MANY SMILES to all the children they treated.

With this update, we end the reporting from Fortaleza. This particular mission, as others around the globe in the World Journey of Smiles is coming to and end. However, as we celebrate Operation Smile’s 25th Anniversary, our MISSION is just beginning, as we all look forward to continuing to help children born with facial deformities wherever they are born in this planet. All children deserve a chance to smile and live a normal life and as volunteers, we will continue to work together in an effort to make that dream happen.

- Erich de la Fuente, EDF Communications

Photo Journal: Smiles from Bolivia

Operation Smile World Journey of Smiles volunteers changing lives with new smiles in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

View Album

THE JOURNEY GOES ON…

Quito, Ecuador
Bill and Kathy Magee began this journey 25 years ago. They probably never imagine the proportions the promise they made during their first trip to Philippines would become a worldwide initiative. Last night, they arrived in Quito, Ecuador after ten days of extensive traveling across eight countries during the World Journey of Smiles. Early this morning, the Magees joined the wonderful team of medical volunteers in preparation for the last day of surgery.

Francisco Punina, Executive Director of Fundacion Operacion Sonrisa Ecuador (FOSE); Fernando Cordova, local Medical Director; Edward Alvarez, local Surgeon Team Leader for WJOS; and Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, Co-founders, all addressed the team. All of their remarks followed a common theme; everyone involved in this WJOS mission should be very proud of the great achievements accomplished during these two weeks. “As plastic surgeons, we connect muscles to make a kid smile. As volunteers for Operation Smile, we connect hundreds of committed hands to make a difference in the world,” stated Edward Alvarez.

After the meeting, the team went off to discharge those who were operated on yesterday and began operating the last group of patients. The Magees had a full agenda. They met with representatives from the Lions Club of Quito, an organization that is interested in supporting the efforts of Fundacion Operacion Sonrisa Ecuador (FOSE).

The next step was a meeting with Even Lenin Moreno, Vice President of Ecuador, who has been very supportive of FOSE and WJOS. During the meeting, Dr.Bill and Kathy Magee thanked the Vice President for his commitment to the well-being of Ecuadorian children and his office’s help in carrying out the organization’s mission. As a token of their appreciation, they presented a signed copy of the commemorative book “A Journey of Smiles,” which is a compilation of photos from different Operation Smile missions around the world. The Vice President in return presented Operation Smile with a National Commemorative Seal.

Today, 14 surgeries were conducted. Dr. John Canady; Dr. Randy Sherman, Operation Smile Chief Medical Officer; and Dr. Magee joined the rest of the plastic surgeons. Their surgery was transmitted through a live feed to a hospital auditorium where a select group of doctors was present in order to learn about the type of procedures conducted by Operation Smile.

In total, the WJOS in Ecuador evaluated 197 patients, conducted 107 surgeries and 174 procedures. The Medical Director of Hospital de los Valles, where the mission took place, commented that Operation Smile had served as a great example of the impact that great teamwork and solidarity can have on the patients, setting an example for the staff at this new hospital.

While this update is being written, the final day of surgery is done, but the mission still has one last activity scheduled. The whole team will gather one more time to celebrate the end of an extremely successful mission. Everyone is invited to join the WJOS “Black and White” celebration Gala at the Metropolitan Cultural Center. There, local government groups and other entities will be honoring Operation Smile International and FOSE for their humanitarian services.

After a long trip, this was the last stop for the Magees. This is only one of many stops of a wonderful journey that began with a simple promise 25 years ago. All of us who have been involved with Operation Smile are ready and committed to continue changing the lives of patients all around the world. After all, this is just the beginning. “We have been able to show through medicine the value of truly committed joint efforts; we will continue changing the world one smile at a time,” stated Magee.

Photo Journal: Elieth, Yu, & Samuel

Follow the stories of Elieth, Yu and Samuel as they work their way through screening and surgery to receive new smiles in Managua, Nicaragua during Operation Smile’s World Journey of Smiles.

View Album

Three Times the Smiles

Fortaleza, Brazil
Being granted the gift of a child, in other words becoming a parent, is a blessing. Now imagine the gift of triplets; that is what the Lemos da Silva family was blessed with two years ago with the birth of their daughters, Lara, Larissa and Lorena. However, what they were not ready for was being told that all three of their girls were born mute, without the ability to speak at all. Two months into their lives, their mother Nubia, noticed that the girls had the ability to react to noise, despite their continued inability to speak. As a result, she took them back to the hospital only to find out later that they had been initially misdiagnosed and that in fact, they were not mute but had cleft palates, hence their inability to speak.

Nubia and Moezio, the parents of these vibrant two year olds, are humble farmers residing in a remote rural area on the outskirts of the Morada Nova Municipality in the State of Ceará, Brazil. They live off of what they are able to harvest on their land, selling anything that is left, which is usually not much. Therefore, paying for their daughter’s surgery or traveling to find the medical attention they required was simply not an option. This is where Operation Smile’s work in the most remote of areas around the world pays off, as the organization is able to reach families and children that would otherwise remain in obscurity.

Operation Smile has been providing free reconstructive surgery around the globe for children born with facial deformities for 25 years and in Brazil, it has been operating since 1997. This week, the organization is carrying out its World Journey of Smiles, simultaneously conducting 40 missions in 25 countries that will treat approximately 5,000 children with facial deformities.

When Nubia and Moezio were informed by the local health authorities that one of the missions was arriving at the Albert Sabin Children’s Hospital in the city of Fortaleza, they did not hesitate to pack some clothes and travel approximately 220 kilometers in search of the necessary medical care for their daughters.

Upon arrival, their children had to undergo the standard screening process to determine if they could be operated on. Doctors must examine each child carefully to decide if he or she is in proper health conditions to undergo surgery. After the triplets were seen by the doctors, the Lemos da Silva family had to wait two days until the screening process was completed for all children and a final decision was made. They had no place to stay, but thanks to the shelter home Casa de Acolhimento São Gabriel, which had partnered with Operation Smile to provide food and shelter to the organization’s patients and their families from the interior while they remained in Fortaleza, the family received free food and housing.

Every parent who has gone through the process of waiting to find out if their child could qualify for a life-changing surgery has experienced great anxiety. For Nubia and Moezio, those feelings of uncertainty were multiplied by three. During the wait to find out if the girls were selected, the parents were asked what they would do if only one of their daughters met the conditions for the surgery. Would they allow the one to undergo the procedure? Their response: “Absolutely, it would not be easy to accept, but it would be better to take the opportunity to be able to at least help one now and then continue fighting to help the other two in the future.” You can only imagine the joy on their faces when all three girls were selected.

Lara, Larissa and Lorena safely underwent surgery this week. These young toddlers are too young to understand what this surgery entails or what it will signify in their lives, but no one knows better than their mother and father, a couple dedicated to struggling together for their children.

How will Lara, Larissa and Lorena’s lives change? For one, they will one day soon be able to say, “papa,” a word they have never been able to pronounce. They should go on to be able to speak and eat normally, things many parents take for granted with their own children. These every day abilities that Nubia and Moezio have for two long years hoped and prayed their daughters could do, will now soon become a reality.

“We are so very thankful to Operation Smile and all the volunteers for helping our daughters; they have done something we thought was impossible,” stated the Lemos da Silva’s. “This experience has also inspired us to go out and help other children suffering from the same thing by helping spread the word of Operation Smile’s work.”

The triplets will return home with their overjoyed parents by next week, all of them filled with new hope, happiness and a future of endless possibilities.

- Erich de la Fuente, EDF Communications

Many Helping Hands Working Together for One Important Cause

Quito, Ecuador

Medical volunteers arrived to the hospital very early today, much like they have done all this week. They are visibly tired, but nonetheless ready and excited to help each patient smile.

Two new sets of helping hands arrived yesterday to join the team, John Canady and Paul Pomerantz, President and Executive Director of the American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS). Dr. Canady has been a volunteer with Operation Smile since 1992 and has participated in numerous missions around the world. As President of the ASPS, he wants to create awareness among the group’s members about the work conducted by Operation Smile.

“Beyond the official endorsement that we have granted to the WJOS we wanted to lend on-site support because for us, reconstructive surgery is a key part of the plastic surgery practice. One of the best things that plastic surgeons can do is to volunteer their talents and expertise to help those who otherwise wouldn’t have any hope for a better life,” indicated Canady.

This is Pomerantz’s first mission; his reaction is common to most of those who have participated in an Operation Smile mission before. “It is incredible to feel the positive energy and team work that goes on in the operating room. Doctors and the rest of the volunteers work hand-in-hand to make a child smile regardless of their country of origin,” concluded the executive director of the ASPS.

Describing the WJOS in Ecuador wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the excellent group of non-medical volunteers who are pouring out care and attention to the kids and their parents. Getting ready for surgery can be stressful, as there are steps that are probably new for most of these families, but they are not alone in this process. Many helping hands and smiling faces walk up and down the corridors easing the patients’ and families’ anxieties. Among those doing the rounds, is a special group of 14 volunteers who dress up in funny, eye-catching clothes to make everyone smile before they go into surgery. From blowing bubbles to singing silly songs, the “clowns” do whatever is in their bag of tricks to help create a comfortable environment.

Dario Huato is one of the clowns; he has been helping the Fundacion Operacion Sonrisa de Ecuador (FOSE) for two years now. According to Huato, each member of the team has different talents and they basically work with each other and in different shifts visiting the patients depending on their availability. Rather than using make-up, which sometimes can scare the younger ones, they prefer to use props and costumes with bright colors. And with those colors they definitely stand out from the rest of the volunteers. Kids are drawn to them and in most cases a timid grin becomes a full face smile. “Children are the very essence of life and when we see them smile we know we are making a difference,” concluded Huato.

This is what Operation Smile and its WJOS is all about, bringing talented people from all different professional and cultural backgrounds to work together for a great cause: helping a child smile.

- Zory Graciani, EDF Communications

Actors Roselyn Sánchez & Eric Winter Visit Nicaragua Site

Television and film star Roselyn Sánchez and actor Eric Winter joined Operation Smile during their World Journey of Smiles medical mission to Managua, Nicaragua, which began on November 8. Sánchez and Winter lent a hand helping in the screening team process, where about 250 children were provided with full medical exams. The actors served on the mission by preparing the patients emotionally and physically for their life-changing surgeries. They spent their days talking to the children and their families to ensure they were properly informed on what to expect. They also played with the children making their time at the hospital more enjoyable.

The mission was launched with a press conference, during which both actors addressed the Nicaraguan media and they also spoke to a group of about 500 youth volunteers about the importance of building awareness, fund raising, the value of commitment, leadership and volunteerism.

“Being a part of Operation Smile during their World Journey of Smiles medical mission to Managua, Nicaragua was a surreal experience. To been able to see all those children and their families with their faces filled with hope for a better future was incredible. We learned a lot, helped and understood the value of a smile and the real meaning of a helping hand,” said Roselyn Sánchez. “We are blessed with health, work, family, love and money, now it’s time to give back and thank God for our blessings. Nicaragua is a great country full of beautiful and caring people. Definitely a great moment in our lives that will stay with us forever,” stated the actress.

Puerto Rican-born actress Roselyn Sánchez is known for her work in the popular TV show Without a Trace and her recently released Disney film with The Rock entitled The Game Plan. She has also been cast as a United States Secret Service agent in the hit movie Rush Hour 2 with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Actor Eric Winter is best-known for his recent work on the popular T.V. show Brothers & Sisters, and also for his work on CSI, Charmed, Wildfire, Viva Laughlin and the soap opera, Days of Our Lives.

- Zory Graciani, EDF Communications

Celebrating New Smiles in Ecuador

Today is the third official day of surgeries at the World Journey of Smiles in Ecuador and 196 potential young patients have been evaluated, 69 of those have already undergone surgery and 105 procedures have been conducted. The team of volunteers has worked tirelessly to literally change the lives of all these kids, one smile at a time.

We have seen many different cases during these past days, like Kevin and Justin, who are part of the Operation Smile Ecuador (FOSE) family because they already have undergone various surgeries respectively. There are also new cases like Jimmy, who is seven years old and traveled six hours with his mother to get here, because they heard about the mission through a friend of the family. Like him, others have traveled many hours, including several kids from the Amazonia region who have traveled around 16 hours to get here. These are only a few of the many wonderful stories the team has been working on these days.

WJOS is only one of the many activities that FOSE has conducted to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Operation Smile International and its very own 12th Anniversary. One of those activities is the unveiling of a commemorative stamp developed by the Postal Company of Ecuador (Empresa de Correos del Ecuador). Leaders of the company presented two designs that have already been approved through the selection process of the organization. These designs will be officially unveiled during the WJOS “Black and White” Closure Gala to be celebrated this Friday, November 16th at the Metropolitan Cultural Center. Noted local and international attendees will be present at the event, including the founders of Operation Smile International: Bill and Kathy Magee who will be arriving in Ecuador tomorrow, Thursday November 15th. To view the stamp, please click here

Additionally, local government groups and entities will be honoring Operation Smile International and FOSE at the Gala for their respective anniversaries servicing those who need it the most.

-Zory Graciani, EDF Communications

Surgeries Continue in Panama

Images from Day Two of Surgery in La Chorrera, Panama.

View Album

Sonrisas in Ecuador

Follow Operation Smile volunteers in Quito, Ecuador change lives one smile at time. Includes mission images from screening and surgery.

View Album

Images of Honduras

Photo images taken during screening and surgery in Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras during Operation Smile’s World Journey of Smiles.

View Album

New Smiles in Venezuela

Images from Barinas, Venezuela taken during Operation Smile’s World Journey of Smiles.

Video: Smiling in Puerto Vallarta

Follow the first day of surgery during Operation Smile’s World Journey of Smiles medical mission in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Images from Panama

Photo journal following screening and surgery during Operation Smile’s World Journey of Smiles medical mission in La Chorrera, Panama. Images include volunteers and patients as they prepare for a week of new smiles.

View Album

Mission Photo Journal: Santa Cruz

Follow the mission in Santa Cruz, Bolivia during the first two days of surgery, including images of patients, volunteers and Operation Smile Ambassador Carmit Bachar of the Pussy Cat Dolls.

View Album

Mission Photo Gallery: Asuncion, Paraguay

Images taken during Operation Smiles’s medical in Asuncion, Paraguay during the World Journey of Smiles.

View Album

Images of Smiles: Arequipa, Peru

Images from Arequipa, Peru of Operation Smile volunteers changing lives during the World Journey of Smiles medical mission.

View Album

Videos: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Get an inside look into the first three days of Operation Smile’s medical mission in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico through the eyes of volunteers preparing to change lives.

Results Day in Santa Cruz

Potential patients and families gather at Hospital Japones during screening day in Santa Cruz, Bolivia to find out who made it onto this week’s surgery schedule.

View Album

Ronald’s New Smile

Before and after photos of Ronald, who received a new smile in Bogota, Columbia on November 11, 2007.

Mateus’ Story: Fortaleza, Brazil

Last Tuesday, as she prepared dinner, Edna Correia Satiro saw the news on television that doctors from Operation Smile were coming on a mission to Fortaleza to operate on kids born with facial deformities at the Albert Sabin Children’s Hospital. The newscast reported that the screening process would begin the following Thursday morning, so Edna did not waste any time and the following evening embarked with her son Mateus on an 11 hour trip, covering 600 kilometers from the outskirts of Crato, a city in the interior of the State of Ceará, to Fortaleza, where she arrived at 6 AM. Deprived of sleep after a long trip, but armed with hope and a mother’s drive, she headed straight to the hospital and arrived just as the first day of the screening process was about to begin.

Mateus is a charismatic three-year old who enjoys playing with toy cars. When he was born, the doctors informed Edna that he had a problem, but did not let her see him for a few days. She was very nervous and upon seeing him, thought he had a grave illness. She also had a deep sense of guilt as she thought it was her fault that he was born with that deformity.

After further examining the child, doctors determined that he had a cleft palate and informed the mother that it could be treated with surgery. While Edna understood the doctor’s explanation, she remained very saddened because that type of medical treatment was not available in her town or cities nearby. They live in very poor conditions, well below the poverty line, and she did not know where to turn for help or how she would get the necessary money to perform such as a surgery.

Mateus’ father had abandoned them and they barely got by despite help from her parents. Not knowing what her child had was troublesome; being aware of his medical situation and not being able to do anything about it was extremely frustrating, especially for a mother who just wanted to see her child speak and smile normally.

That was when she discovered that Operation Smile was coming to Fortaleza and that the team of doctors operated on children like Mateus for free. Operation Smile Brazil has been working in Fortaleza for the last ten years and a top-notch team of Brazilian doctors and volunteers, along with their international counterparts, had long been working with children from the region.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Mateus went through the screening process to determine whether he was eligible to go through the surgical procedures. Doctors must take into account a series of factors, including age, clinical history and current health conditions to determine if a child can undergo surgery. After being examined, Mateus and Edna had to wait two days until the decision was made on Saturday. They did not have a place to stay in Fortaleza; that is when the shelter home Casa de Menino Jesus stepped in. The shelter, run by Sister Conçeicão, a charismatic and caring Catholic nun, regularly provides housing and food to children from the interior of the country that come to Fortaleza to receive cancer treatment. During this mission, they partnered with Operation Smile to provide those same services to Operation Smile patients while they remained in Fortaleza.

Decision day arrived and Edna was very nervous. “I have not slept for the last two nights; praying to God that my son would be able to obtain the necessary treatment”, said Edna as she waited impatiently for the name of the children to be read. “Mateus Correia Satiro”, as those words were read by the Operation Smile volunteer announcing the kids that would receive surgery, a burst of joy ran through her body and tears ran down her face. While talking to her on the patio where the families were waiting for the surgery schedule, she said to us: “Nothing can be of greater joy for a mother than to see her child healthy; my dream has come true”.

She expressed her gratitude to the doctors and volunteers from Operation Smile, the hospital and the sisters at the shelter. “May God always be in the heart of all the people who helped us through this process”. Mateus will undergo surgery on Tuesday, November 13th; he will be able to speak normally and his smile will give his mom and grandparents the light of joy that has for so long evaded them.

We do our best to try to describe what goes on during the mission and the emotions the families go through. I thought it was best to relay that information through an individual human story. However, I know that is not entirely possible, but hope that people not aware of Operation Smile who read these words and see the attached photos providing an image of the emotions experienced by this mother and her child, reach into their heart to help Operation Smile continue its charitable work.

We are ready to start operating here in Fortaleza. Doctors estimate that approximately 120 children will be operated on. Their stories might be different than that of Mateus’, but they all share certain things: the roller coaster emotional ride that families go through since their child is born with a facial deformity, the tremendous drive by family members to get help for their child, the feeling of hope that keeps them going through precarious situations and the sense of joy that fills their heart when they find out their child will soon be able to live a normal life.

- Erich de la Fuente, EDF Communications & Operation Smile volunteer

Video Diary: Volunteers Arrive in Mexico

Operation Smile volunteers arrive in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and prepare for the medical mission currently underway. Video by Lia Starce.

Giving Smiles in Fortaleza

Operation Smile volunteer talks about giving children new smiles during the second day of the medical mission in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Video: Student Volunteers in Fortaleza, Brazil

Video comments from Operation Smile Student volunteers after their first day at the medical mission in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Smiling in Honduras

Follow screening in Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras, as the medical team evaluates potential patients for life-changing surgery with photos taken on November 09, 2007.

View Album

Photo Journal: Fortaleza, Brazil

Screening has wrapped up in Fortaleza, Brazil with 263 patients evaluated! View the photo slideshow below to get a look inside the mission site as these medical volunteers change lives one smile at a time.

View Album

Operation Smile Ambassador Carmit Bachar Visits Bolivia Site

Bolivia: Santa Cruz - November 9, 2007

Local volunteers make an extraordinary effort to make the mission run smoothly and the Bolivian volunteers in Santa Cruz were no exception. The Bolivian volunteers and high school students went out of their way not only to welcome the international volunteers but to work tirelessly behind the scenes. I’m not screening would have been possible without the “fix it” help of Susie and Juana who were there at the beginning and end of each screening day and every moment in between with a smile on their face making it happen.

Also on our mission team as guest participants were Carmit Bachar of the Pussycat Dolls and her team Dina Van Minnen, Filipo Loco, Cheray O’Neal and Lee Cherry. During screening, this creative team organized stations for the kids of: face and body painting, bookmaking (complete with a digital photo printer) and crafts (weavings, butterflies, etc.). There was also music and dance for the kids. The amount of care and forethought that went into the planning by the creative team was enormously evident and much appreciated by the crowds of ebullient children surrounding the creative stations and lining up for the face and body painting. On its own, this creative team developed a new role for creative participants and worked tirelessly engaging the children, some of whom waited through a long day of screening.

The international team hails from 19 states in the US and from Canada, Colombia and Bolivia.

- Mary Ellen Shuttleworth, Operation Smile volunteer

Student Bloggers in Latin America

As part of our partnership with Microsoft and Windows Live, Microsoft has provided 5 Operation Smile student volunteers with laptops so they can provide updates from the field, and two of them will be reporting in from Latin America. Be sure to check out Maya’s postings from Venezuela and Lauren’s updates from Paraguay.

Maya’s blog can be found at http://mayab-e.spaces.live.com
Lauren’s blog can be found at www.lpinparaguay.spaces.live.com

Find out more about Windows Live at http://www.windowslive.com/smile

Vice President of Ecuador Inaugurates Quito Mission

The Vice President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno Garces joined us at the hospital today to officially inaugurate the Operation Smile mission in Quito, Ecuador. The Vice President has a disability of his own, having suffered a gunshot wound to his back six years ago. He has a particular sensitivity to our patients and he gave an eloquent speech on the meaning of a smile, what it means to see your child smile for the first time, how smiling and laughing improve your health. He was quite simply lovely, humble and genuine.

Things here are going great here - we have screened 80 so far, I would not be surprised if we reach 130 or so by the end of the day!

– Tory DiCarlo Programs Manager, Latin America Operation Smile

Latin America gets ready for World Journey of Smiles

Operation Smile local foundations in Latin America are poised and ready for the launch of World Journey of Smiles! This is an exciting time for everyone. Colombia and Honduras have already inaugurated their new Comprehensive Care Centers. Peru, for the first time, will be conducting simultaneous missions in two sites. Brazil is celebrating it’s own 10th Anniversary locally and conducting numerous campaigns with the local student groups, a large mall in Fortaleza and with Colgate throughout the country as part of the celebrations. Latin America is proud to host celebrity Smile Ambassadors during the Journey, including Rosalyn Sanchez in Nicaragua and Carmit Bachar in Bolivia. CNN en Espanol has already done extensive coverage of the great work of Operation Smile foundations in Latin America and so much more press coverage is on its way! We are thrilled to launch our partnership with UNICEF in Latin America – they are helping to sponsor the mission in Paraguay and also have been instrumental in helping Operation Smile set up its Latin America regional office in Latin America. All that – AND we are operating on thousands of patients in the region and donating equipment to each foundation which will help them operate on more children on their own, at a higher standard of care, in years to come! Thank you to all of you who are helping make this monumental event happen. It really is helping to bring so many sonrisas to children throughout the region!

– Ellen Agler - Regional Vice President, Latin America