Gia is nearly four years old. She’s sweet, a little shy and in need of her palate repaired. Gia was our first patient of the day.
Two year old Anisa from Sylhet was born with a bilateral cleft lip. Her parents heard about Rotaplast through the local newspaper as many of our patients’ families have. “I never dreamt surgery for my daughter would actually take place,” said Shipu, Anisa’s young father. “I thought she would have to be like this forever.”
Her mother, Farzana added, “I’m feeling really good.” Farzana has had a smile on her face since yesterday when the surgery took place.
Hussain, 6 months old was born with a bilateral cleft lip. Yesterday, as his father cradled him in PACU he said, “My many thanks to all the staff.”
Seven month old Nishwan’s parents found out about Rotaplast through leaflets in their city of Zokigong about 3 1/2 hours away. “Before we found out Rotaplast was coming to Sylhet, we were very hopeless,” said Nishwan’s father. “The surgery is very expensive and we could not afford it.” Nishwan’s father used to work in Saudi Arabia in a coffee shop where he made a good living. When he became unemployed, he moved back to Bangladesh. “Now, it is really bad. We had a little land that we sold so we are managing. We never dreamt that our girl would have a beautiful life. We thank God.”
Four month old Protima Rani before surgery
Protima Rani in her mother’s arms in recovery
Yesterday, 10-month-old Nourin received palate surgery. Here Nourin’s mother is aided by the PACU nurse to see the results. Today, we observed both Nourin and Mom sleeping peacefully while we made our rounds.