Surgery Week #1 Yen Bai Province
Hello team USA,
It's just Tuesday of
Surgery Week in Yen Bai province and I already feel so blessed to be
able to do what I do! Yen Bai is a very poor community located in the
mountains approximately 76 miles north of Hanoi. This week we will
evaluate approx 500 children for surgery.
Highlights of the week for me:
Monday
I was reunited with a little boy we did surgery on 2 years ago. At
the time he was the youngest patient with bilateral cleft lip repair at
just 8 months old. Wow what a transformation his lip looks amazing and
he is now a handsome very active two year old boy. A classic example
of how we are changing the future one child at a time.
As I visit the patients in the hospital the parents and
grandparents are so appreciative and want to express their gratitude for
helping the children. We don't speak the same language but the
expression of love and appreciation is universal and does not have a
separate language.
Yesterday, I was greeted
by a mother who could not hold back her emotions and wanted to express
how thankful she was that someone finally is willing to help her son.
As she embraced me I could feel her love. For many of these families
which are very poor it's more than surgery for their child. It's being
recognized. To know someone cares about you as a human. Just to have
that human connection is very powerful and healing. I experience that
power and appreciation as I make my daily rounds in the hospital to
visit the patients and their families. I am the lucky one that gets to
experience these powerful emotional moments. It takes a village so hope
you too feel the impact that WE are having on so many families. It's
more than surgery for the children. Our efforts are changing the future
of so many families.
Here is the link to google photos with many random photo's from our surgery week in Yen Bai province. Enjoy! Yen Bai Surgery 2026
Comments
Post a Comment