Surgery Day Three - Will observes an surgery!

I must say Will acted like he had always been in this hospital setting.  Suited up and curious about the cutting of the different layers of the skin, he watched this beautiful 1 year old Stephanie with a unilateral lip transform in front of his eyes.  Nothing really phased him - Will said that he did not expect the surgery to be as bloody and was a bit shocked when they suctioned a huge, bloody piece of tissue from inside the nasal cavity.  There was also one piece of skin that was left until the end that he wondered about.  Where were they going to piece it together with the rest of the lip.  Just as it always does, this little girl now has a smile like the rest of us.  She is from the Nobe tribe and we hope now she will have a better life.

 Will plays a little with a boy who was working with psychology just before the surgery.  He was definitely nervous and unsure being away from his mother.

 Back at the shelter, it was all joking around with the kids we have become so close to.  The shelter is becoming quieter now with some kids already heading home, while others are recovering after their discharge from the hospital.  A whole new group left us about 5:30 to get their beds at the hospital in order to be ready for tomorrow's surgery.

 One of my favorite moments so far has been meeting the Lobo family.  I have always been an advocate for getting students on missions, but meeting Edgar Lobo, the father of Alejandro, only reaffirms this.  The story goes that he was a volunteer back when he was 16 years old on a Venezuela Mission.  As a young Venezuelan, he was looking for something to do during his summer and so he helped translate for us in the OR.  His experience during this mission led him to study medicine, but little did he know that his time with us would mean much more when he had his first son.  Alejandro was born with a serious facial cleft which literally split his face in half.  Edgar says that if it were not for Operation Smile, he may not have been able to handle this challenge in his life as gracefully as he and his wife have.  By chance, after Alejandro was born, Edgar stopped at a certain hospital one day feeling a pull to walk in.  He ran into a dentist who had just the week before been a volunteer for the Operation Smile mission there.  He showed him a picture, which happened to have my father in it.  Immediately, Edgar knew who he was, as he had been on his mission at 16 with my father.  His prayers were answered.  He knew who was going to take care of his little boy.  At 40 days old, Alejandro has his first operation by Dr. Wulfrado, who trained under my father.  Just this January, Alejandro came to Norfolk to have his third major surgery with my father.  Alejandro had a small procedure done today to take out a wire in his nose and that is how I have come to know him.  Edgar is very optimistic that he will bring Alejandro to run with us for the Operation Smile Final Mile next year.  We will be sure to welcome him with loving, open arms!  Alejandro joined us at the shelter this afternoon and gave the patients a pep talk about going through surgery and being happy.  whew - how these little ones inspire us!

Towards the end of the day, we got creative and put held our bubble wands in front of the fan - messy, but fun!

 Tonight at dinner we were entertained by three adorable children with the traditional dancing.  My father is in the middle with the kids.  All are wearing the traditional clothing from Panama.

Good Night.