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Home > Missions > Peru Mission Journal
Lima Peru - Days 8 & 9 – Final Days of Surgery
As surgery week comes to a close, more and more children will be leaving Hospital Nacional Daniel A. Carrion with new smiles. Please check back to this journal for more of their stories. Today, we say thank you to Operation Smile Peru for hosting us and we provide a few more photos of just some of the many dedicated volunteers and team members who made it possible for 130 children to have a brighter future ahead.
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Lima, Peru - Day 7 – Third Day of Surgery
On Wednesday, the medical team arrived at Hospital Nacional Daniel A. Carrion to find a full schedule of nearly 30 patients, with more than half of them receiving surgeries to repair their cleft palates. At this morning’s team meeting, team leaders thanked the team for their dedicated and compassionate work so far and encouraged them to continue the good flow of communications that had been established the first two days. One group that depends on that communication is the Recovery Room team consisting of nurses Diana Gilbert and Virginia DeCastro from California and Stacy Adams from Pennsylvania. This team is responsible for the important transition period for the patient between the operating room and post-op and it is in the Recovery Room where the patient’s parent is reunited with their child to comfort and calm them.
Although Operation Smile’s teams are primarily composed of medical volunteers, the mission could not be carried out without the work of many non-medical volunteers, such as the Medical Records team. Operation Smile completes both a paper and electronic medical record for each patient and this overwhelming task is ably managed by Peggy Hewes and Rachel Wallis from Virginia and Dennis Schnabel from Michigan. Working in close and constant coordination with the Operation Smile Peru volunteers, as well as the hospital staff, this team provides a crucial function in documenting the care of each and every child. The addition of electronic medical records also created the need for two more non-medical volunteers called Patient Imaging Technicians who capture clinical photos before, during and after the surgeries. On this team, these photos are taken by Britney Jurgensen from Kansas and Daniel San Martin from Peru, and are then uploaded into the electronic medical records database, providing a wealth of post-operative information. All these team members work smoothly together to provide more children each day with the chance for a smile and a bright, hopeful future.
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Lima, Peru – Day 6 – Second Day of Surgery
The second day of surgery had a full schedule of nearly 30 patients and it turned out to a very special day. Peru’s First Lady Pilar Nores de Garcia paid a visit to Hospital Nacional Daniel A. Carrion to see Operation Smile’s team at work. After a brief tour of the pre- and post-op areas, she donned a pair of scrubs and was ushered into the operating room by Operation Smile Peru staff members Alessandra Leverone and Milko Arroba. This visit prompted the First Lady to say that she and Operation Smile Peru should be working together to help more children with facial deformities all over Peru.
At the time of the First Lady’s visit, the Student team including Sponsor Colette Dean from Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Kelly Bonilla from Miami, Florida; and Jennifer Barsky of New York City; traveled to San Silvestre School in Miraflores Lima where they joined 14 members of the International Baccalaureate programme led by Social Servie Coordinator Cecilia Pennano as they completed their weekly service project. Each Tuesday, the group of San Silvestre students, whose school motto is “I Am…I Can…I Ought…I Will,” travels to Observatorio de Lima where 20 – 30 school-age children eagerly await their arrival. These children live in a small fishing village overlooking the ocean, too far away from public school or are already fishing to help their families survive. So the weekly mentoring in English and Math is vital. This week, they also learned about basic health care as the Operation Smile student team presented lessons in Burn Prevention, Oral Rehydration Therapy, Nutrition and Proper Dental Care Techniques. Back at the hospital, the medical team worked throughout the day and into the evening, providing new smiles and hope to many more children.
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Lima, Peru – Day 5 - First Day of Surgery
Bright and early this Monday morning, the medical team arrived at Hospital Nacional Daniel A. Carrion and began the surgical week on the fourth floor in five designated operating rooms. Patients had arrived the day before and were first given their final medical check to be cleared for surgery. Next they either went to the play area coordinated by the Child Life Specialist for some quiet and calming time or they met with the Speech Therapist for important post-operative instructions. One of the most emotional moments occurs when a loving mother or father is called to place their child in the hands of someone they don’t know, so Operation Smile volunteers take time to reassure the parent that their child will be in excellent hands and lovingly cared for throughout the surgery. Once the patient has been stabilized in the recovery room, the parent is reunited with their child to see the results and once again to hold and comfort their precious child. Together they are escorted to the post-op area for closer monitoring by the nursing team for the rest of the day and overnight. At the same time, the next day’s patients have begun arriving and getting settled in, keeping the activity level high. Nearly 30 patients received surgery on this first day, so the mission is off to a great start. Check back for some of their wonderful stories.
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Lima, Peru – Day 4 - Team Day
Today was designated “Team Day” and served as an opportunity for the international volunteers to have fun, relax and just get to know each other better before the busy surgery week ahead. Operation Smile Peru’s Executive Director Alessandra Leverone and Public Relations and Fundraising Manager Milko Arroba served as hosts taking the team about an hour outside of Lima to Mamacona, site of the Caballos de Paso Peruano or Peruvian Prancing Horses. The program opened with a grand and majestic welcome featuring horses and riders bearing the flags of the home countries of the visiting Operation Smile team members. Next came the beautiful and graceful Lady Amazons of the Peruvian Paso Horse demonstrating how docile and noble the Peruvian Paso Horse is, followed by an opportunity for team members to practice their riding skills, assisted by the Lady Amazons. Next the team was treated to a display of traditional Peruvian dancing and a delicious luncheon feast before boarding the bus back to Lima, having made new friends and experiencing some authentic Peruvian culture on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
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Lima, Peru – Day 3 - Screening Results & Equipment Setup
On Saturday, 337 potential patients and their families returned to Hospital Nacional Daniel A. Carrion to learn the results of the previous days’ evaluation and screening process. After some initial instructions and preparations by a team of psychologists, each family met with an Operation Smile Peru volunteer who guided them through the next steps in the process. For the 130 patients selected for surgery, they met with a lawyer to complete the necessary paperwork and were given instructions on preparing for their surgeries. The remaining 207 families met with a series of professionals including dentists, speech therapists and nutritionists trained to provide helpful information until the patients can be considered for surgery at a future Operation Smile Peru mission. Thanks to the generosity of the Hasbro Children's Fund and Hasbro, Inc., children went home with Mr. Potato Head specialty plush toys to keep them smiling.
In the afternoon, the international team arrived at the hospital to unpack the cargo and set up the supply area and operating rooms for Monday morning’s surgeries. During this mission Biomedical Technician Robin Whittal from South Africa is mentoring two new technicians, Humberto Gustavo from Paraguay and Jaime Paucar from Peru. As part of Operation Smile, Inc.’s 25th Anniversary, each International Foundation is receiving state-of-the-art medical equipment to furnish their operating rooms; Operation Smile Peru’s equipment arrived just in time for this mission. After a few hours of hard work and a fair amount of controlled chaos, the fourth floor operating rooms and the recovery room are ready to receive their first patients on Monday morning. Check back for some of their stories.
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Lima, Peru – Day 2 – 2nd Day of Screening
Hundreds more families turned out for Operation Smile Peru’s second day of screening at Hospital Nacional Daniel A. Carrion. The international team worked side-by-side with the large and dedicated contingent of volunteers from Operation Smile Peru, coordinating the flow of families from station to station under the colorful tents on the hospital grounds. From the initial briefing by psychologists throughout the multi-disciplinary stations, each family waited patiently to have their child examined by a medical professional. By day’s end, approximately 110 more children completed the screening process for a two-day total exceeding 330. Now the difficult process begins – reviewing the medical evaluations of all of the potential patients to determine the surgical schedule for Monday morning. Throughout these 2 days, we have met so many children in need. Tomorrow all of the families return to the site to personally hear the results. Check back for their stories starting on Monday.
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Lima, Peru – Day 1 – Screening
The international medical team of volunteers from Peru, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, South Africa, and the United States boarded the Operation Smile Peru tour bus and arrived at Hospital Nacional Daniel A. Carrion in Lima bright and early Thursday morning where a large crowd of hopeful families had gathered. The outdoor evaluation and screening process was off to a busy start as patients and their families filled out information and medical history charts. From there, each potential patient received a full medical evaluation by visiting a series of stations staffed by medical professionals including plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, dentists, nurses, and speech pathologists. Every patient attending an Operation Smile screening clinic is evaluated as a potential candidate for surgery. While the screening takes place, keeping the children happy keeps the Operation Smile student educator team busy playing games, jumping rope or tossing Frisbees. Some children were occupied drawing pictures that were later displayed in the tents. As the day goes on, the lines build, but the process is organized and steady. By day’s end, more than 200 children received a medical checkup and now were considered as candidates for surgery.
Operation Smile Peru began its medical program in 1999 and has to date provided free surgeries for 1,551 children. During this mission, it is expected that 130 children will receive free surgery for their cleft lip or cleft palate. Today, the volunteers also conducted one-year post-operative evaluations for more than 50 patients who received surgery in Lima last year. The patient’s progress is evaluated, photos are taken, and if necessary, further care is coordinated by Operation Smile Peru.
As the sun set and a cool breeze came in over the hospital grounds there were many happy families with hope in their hearts that someday soon their child will get the chance for a new life and a bright future.
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