Yen Bai Province Surgery Week 2024

 

Hi Team,

Just completed a very productive surgery week in Yen Bai Province. Yen Bai province is about 3 hours north of the capital Hanoi.  Forestry and farming are the dominant industries in Yen Bai.  
I was very impressed with the Provincial Hospital where we performed our surgeries.   The facility was built 10 years ago with cooperation from South Korea.  The facility was very modern and our specialist from Hanoi commented that it was much nicer than the National Hospitals in Hanoi.   There are several provinces in Vietnam that have hospitals sponsored or built by the South Korean Government.  
Our week was kicked off with a welcome party hosted by the hospital for the patients which included live entertainment, games, treats and gift bags provided by our donors VSUN and Van Meter as part of the "Rebuilding the Smile" program.   The children and parents loved it.  Great way to welcome everyone. 

During the week we performed 80 life changing surgeries for the children.   I would do daily rounds a couple times a day to check in on every patient.   It's amazing how quickly you bond with these lovely families.   More important is to see the changes that the surgeries have made on their child and how appreciative they are for the work WE are doing.   I stress WE because without your support this would not be possible.   I am the lucky one who gets to be here and meet them first hand.    

One of my highlights for the week was a group of parents invited me to join the families for dinner on Friday night.    So we had a farewell dinner on the floor of their hospital ward.  Many requested to connect via social media so I have been receiving updates on their lives and children.  
To see more highlights from this amazing week.   Here is the link to Google Photos:   https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fr22eEfBer8dGoR9A   WARNING:  Some photos taken during surgery so viewer discretion is advised.   

That's it for now.    Stay tuned for more updates for Vietnam.....

Bob McGarry

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