The second day was filled with a beautifully controlled frenetic energy. The entire team basically assembled a temporary station in a wing of the hospital in order to review and accept patients in an organized fashion. From the waiting room the child was taken to an initial interview processing area, where their file was set up and then handed down the line to me, the photojournalist, for an up close and personal medical headshot.
From there the parents and children were seen by each of the Rotaplast medical professionals and eventually given either a green, blue, or red dot (green is good for surgery, blue is iffy, and red is inoperable/a no-go). One hundred and eighteen patients mas o menos stepped in front of my lens today before being examined and re-examined, but it only took a few for me to begin to realize the impact and opportunity that we have here in Lima.
There's something about staring directly into a person's eyes that forces a certain intimacy, and I felt that today. Great things are going to happen here. They already are. I can only hope that my place allows others to realize the profound work of these volunteers that I am witnessing more and more of each day.
Lima, Peru 2011 Rotaplast Team
Rosalie Wells, Mission Director and Ron Gemberling, Medical Director; Ted Alex, Sterilizer; Sadie Clausing, Lead PACU Nurse; Judy Cummings, OR Nurse; Bill De Shazo, Surgeon; Paul Durand, Medical Student; Ken Funk, Patient Transport er; Jo Gillespie, PACU Nurse; Al Goldberg, Lead Pediatrician; Puya Hosseini, Anesthesiologist;Theresa Jannuzzi, OR Nurse; Divakar Joshi, Lead Anesthesiologist; Valerie Katz, Speech Pathologist; Anne LaRossa, PACU Assistant; Don LaRossa, Surgeon; John Lee, Anesthesiologist; Rosie Mayro, Orthodontist; Kim Merlitti, Medical Records; Nita Mohanty, Pediatrician; Peter Nosé , Anesthesiologist; Marylin Santiago, OR Nurse; Milton Solis, Surgeon; Rick Waltonsmith, Quartermaster; Sallie Weissinger, Interpreter; Jane Winning, Head Nurse; Angelo DiMauro, Photo Journalist