As with any mission, there comes a time when a natural flow among our team organization emerges. That natural flow often sits side by side with obstacles and challenges that arise on any given minute. Parents need to understand that their child may not eat or drink anything before surgery. Unfortunately for some children, they are fed and surgery needs to be postponed. The surgical schedule changes daily; often a number of times during the day which then has a ripple affect on everything else we do.
Harumi is a five-year-old child who smiles and poses for the camera like a movie star. Maria Luz, her mother, said that they have been waiting for this surgery to fix a fistula in her palate for four years. She has been attending speech therapy but with the hole in her palate, air continues to seep through affecting her speech.
The day before clinic, Maria Luz saw an article in the local newspaper announcing the Rotaplast mission. Although Harumi’s father also wanted the surgery, he had less hope that she would be chosen. Maria Luz clung to her positive thoughts, packed a bag and arrived with Harumi at the clinic at 4:00am.
As Harumi struck a little pose for the camera, she said “Finally I’m going to be operated on!”
This is Issac and his mother. When he was born, his mother and father could not afford the surgery to fix Issac’s bi-lateral cleft lip.
Today, after an operation that lasted one and a half hours, Issac's mother sits with her child in extreme gratitude that through her actions and the help of Rotaplast her baby has a chance to grow and thrive as any other.