The morning started off with a surprise gift in the hallway outside our Operating Rooms. A young woman was on the way to another OR for a C-section, but just couldn’t wait. She delivered a beautiful baby girl. But Evelyn Abad noted that mom didn’t look happy… Paula Fillari noted that the mother was still in labor. Lo and behold, with assistance from Evelyn and Lianna Hooper (OR nurse), a little brother finally popped out!! Mother and twins are doing well, and we had our thrill for the day.
Our surgeries today included two patients with contractures from previous burn accidents. A contracture is tight skin and scar tissue that limits range of motion. Below is the feisty 6-year-old Ichada, ready for her first bandage change after surgery, with anesthesiologists Michael Johnston of Hawaii, and Sule Akin, of Adana, Turkey.
Our plastic surgeons released the contractures and grafted skin to make hands and limbs more functional. Even though our primary mission is cleft lip and cleft palate repair, we can sometimes fit other procedures into the schedule.
Our ward coordinator Joan Correll outdid herself in the pediatric ward today. In a small schoolroom on the hospital premises there she was singing “Frere Jacques” with teachers, nurses and 12 children. By the time we left the room they were still coloring, singing and clapping. It is heart-warming to find joy in the midst of difficult circumstances.
Lead PACU nurse Paula Fillari and her team have the challenge of staffing the hottest room in the hospital. However, they also have the joy of seeing parents reunited with their children who have just had surgery. There are lots of smiles and some tears of happiness. The picture below shows the transfer procession from recovery room to the ward, where the patients will stay overnight and sometimes a few days to be monitored by the pediatricians and surgeons. Check out the mother’s big smile, leading the way with baby in a brightly-colored Wrap-A-Smile quilt. (Thank you, Terry Hodskins of the Rotary Club of Wells, Maine, for starting such a wonderful program.)
And yes, it was another good day.