Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for. Up early, on the bus for a 6:30am rollout so we can set up for the opening day clinic and be ready to welcome our first patient at 8:00. Clinic day can best be described as organized chaos. Families who have been waiting, sometimes for years, for their children to have the corrective surgeries arrive en masse and the team mobilizes into action.
Patients pass through a series of stations, first for registration, a quick photo session, then evaluation by surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, a dentist and nurses. They are all checking to assure that patients are healthy and ready for the life changing procedures. It’s a very long, trying day for families as they wait to hear their place on the surgical schedule.
Moms, dads, grandparents and siblings are all part of the picture. Local Rotarians are on hand to assist with organization and help translate. India is a grand mulit-cultural mix of predominantly Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. The best way to understand the day is to let the photos tell the story.
Rotaplast provides services free of charge
Local Rotarian, Rakesh Kumar, registers patients
Waiting for the good news
Dr. Deborah Miller, pediatrician; Dr. Dennis Dundas, surgeon and Dr. Leslie Hall, anesthesiologist exam a child
Dr. R. K. Chetty, orthodontist, exams a patient
Medical director, Dr. Dennis Dundas, evaluates a patient
