A team of 27 medical and non-medical Rotaplast volunteers from across the USA and Canada arrived at the Hospital National Arzobispo Loayza on opening clinic morning. We were greeted by Dra. Margot Escobedo and Dra. Margarita Marchino as well as our host Rotarians who assisted us in set-up and storage of the medical supplies brought by Rotaplast.
The original hospital was founded in 1549; it was reconstructed in 1924. In 1974 it came under the auspices of the Peruvian Department of Health. It is the largest general hospital in Peru with a sprawling campus.
Children and families traveled as far as the Peruvian highlands; more than 20 hours by car and as close as Lima itself for the free surgery offered by Rotaplast; a surgery that will change the trajectory of their lives forever. In one day, our team screened 107 children and young adults.
The first stop in the clinic is at medical records where we gather information and often hand out sticker to the children.
Vitals are then taken in the next room followed by the surgeons' and anesthesiologists' screening. Next, the child visits with the pediatrician and finally, the speech pathologist and the dentist. All in all it's an extremely long day of waiting for a family. But, hopes persist and the smiles that greet us are infectious.
