SELECT MAX( mj.mission_num ) as mission_num, c.country_en, c.country_code
FROM missions_journal mj, missions m, countries c
WHERE mj.mission_num = m.mission_num
AND m.country = c.country_code
AND mj.active=1
GROUP BY mj.mission_num DESC LIMIT 1 Operation Smile - Missions - Field Journal - Haiti
Having just returned from Operation Smile's inaugural mission to Haiti I must report that it might have been one of the most special for me. The small country that shares an island with the Dominican Republic is the hemisphere's poorest. But the people there are certainly rich in spirit.
One striking difference from most missions was the number of adults for whom we provided corrective surgery for cleft lip - 19 over the age of 25! Having suffered stigma for years, these mothers and fathers finally have a new smile! There were 17 patients who that ranged in ages from teenagers and to age 25. And you can imagine what an impact their surgery will have on their lives.
Clesienne Pierre is a 35-year-old mother who walked alone for three days carrying her 9- month-old baby. Clesienne had a tumor on her nose that was quite large and disfiguring. After being chosen for surgery she sent the baby to stay with its uncle who was watching her other 3 children and her husband arrived. Her mother had died and she had no female relatives to help with the children. We had advised her that we wouldn't know about the possibility of removing the tumor until the surgery had begun, so she tried not to get her hopes up. What a treat to bring her husband into the recovery room to see his wife after the tumor was removed. His smiles and laughter buoyed us all as we handed her a mirror.
Another patient was at least 50 years of age named Silvia Lory. A mother of three grown children and five grandchildren, she had spent 3 hours walking and 4 hours in a vehicle to arrive at our hospital screening site. Her cleft lip had been the source of years of ridicule within her village, not only for her but for her children as well. The daughter who accompanied her was overwhelmed with happiness when she saw her mother after the surgery. "I would have spent months here waiting with her if that's what it took for her to have this done," said the daughter. The only thing Silvia could say while holding my hands tightly was "Merci, merci, merci" over and over again.
-By Melissa Cole
Journal Entry Images: (Click to enlarge)
March 07, 2008
Hinche, Haiti
Its been an amazing mission so far. We came in thinking we would do 40 surgeries on 2 tables. We have opened up a third table and might be able to do 70 patients!! The need here is evident in the ages of the patients that came to screening...the average life expectancy in Haiti (as of 2004) is 52. Today alone we operated on a 51 and 50 year-old women.
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