Today, Zonas will have his cleft lip repaired and also his cleft palate. While the lip repair will make such a difference to his appearance and social acceptance, the palate repair will greatly improve his speech and ability to eat and swallow.
Before any surgeries are started, Dr. Mary Bernard, Anesthesiologist and hospital Medical Director, conducts devotions in both English and Amaharic. This morning the lesson was lead by Atsede Tmariam.
Zonas with his father and Dr. Helen Vajik who will administer his anesthesia. Dr. Angelo Capozzi will do the surgery.
CURE hospital CRNA Bekele Kebede starting Zonas’s intravenous line. Bekele has been at CURE since it opened 7 years ago.
Zonas and his father in recovery room after surgery. He now has a repaired lip and palate. Zonas has 7 older sisters and his father was thrilled to have a son. He is an Ethiopian Christian and had great hopes for his son even when neighbors thought their was no hope he could be ‘normal ‘. How shocked will his fellow villagers be when father and son return home-about 5 hours from Addis Ababa!