Surgery week began today and what an amazing day it was! 25
patients received life-changing surgery today.
I spent a lot of the day in the Child Life room. For those unfamiliar with Child Life
Specialists, they help to prepare patients and their families for upcoming
procedures through play therapy and other educational means. Their role on a
mission is to help the child feel at ease and to understand the procedure ahead.
The child life room is toys and crafts and the patients wait here before going
into surgery.
Many patients I met during screening had surgery today and it
was great to be there to see them continue on their journeys with Operation
Smile. While soothing and playing with the patients I witnessed many memorable
moments.
A 21-year old girl named Samita began to cry as Holly, the child
life specialist, described anesthesia and surgery to her. She was terrified of
the upcoming procedure but Holly was able to reassure her she would be just
fine. When she was called in for surgery she stood up bravely from her crafts
and walked right into surgery. Her courage was astounding.
An 8-year-old boy with a facial deformity lay in his mother’s
lap sleeping peacefully. She gazed at him contentedly for hours and her love
for him shone through. When he went to surgery, she collapsed on the floor and
began to pray fervently.
When Ria’s father saw her for the first time after her surgery
he struggled valiantly not to cry in front of us. He succeeded until he held
her and tears ran down his face. When I went to get her mother she looked up at
me and I waved her towards me. Her face lit up and she ran towards me so we
could go see her daughter. After visiting her daughter in the recovery room she
hugged me tightly and exclaimed, “Thank you, thank you.” She did the same to
Lisa, the clinical coordinator, and Virginia, the program coordinator.
13-year-old Rakesh grabbed hold of student volunteer Daniel
Sasoon’s camera. Together they took photos of everything for hours. In the
recovery room, I handed him a mirror and he held it for a long time just
staring at his new smile. After surgery, we visited him in post-op and he asked
Daniel for his camera by making symbols with his hands. When Daniel picked up
his camera to let him play a huge smile spread across his face.
A 45-year-old man was one of today’s last patients. His smile
lit up the room instantaneously and he joked around for hours with us. Medical
Records has a Polaroid camera and I gave him a picture of himself. A smile
spread across his entire face as he clutched the image tightly to his chest.
These are only a few of the incredible moments I shared with
patients and their families today. As a student journalist, I have been able to
observe the intimate relationships volunteers forge with patients and their
families. Parents express emotional extremes of worry and excitement, fear and
joy. I had the opportunity to talk with several patients today and the
universal love of the parents for their children was undeniable. It is
indescribable and transformative to witness lives changed before my own eyes.
We have 4 ½ more surgery days to complete and many more lives
will be transformed. The days are long and tough, but as volunteer
clinical coordinator, Lisa Friessen said today” energy is not limited when
passion enters the equation.” I am incredibly blessed to be working with a
group of passionate volunteers from around the world and our energy this week
is truly limitless.
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