Surgical Day One- Santa Marta, Colombia

We arrived early Saturday morning, and spent the day recovering from the red-eye flight and planning for the busy week ahead.

On Sunday, we hauled 58 bags of medical equipment, supplies, and donated materials to Hospital Universitario Fernando Troconis. Upon arrival, the Unima volunteers ushered us in and hopeful children and their parents and grandparents awaited our arrival.



The team saw 102 patients on Sunday. Soldiers provided entertainment for thepatients and their families as they waited in the hospital's open-air lobby,
while team members provided balloons, which kept the children occupied
during the day-long wait. Return patients freely greeted doctors and nurses
with hugs and kisses as they checked in for follow-up visits and procedures.

The first patient of the week to be treated was 6-year-old Valentina; she came in with a growth on her upper lip, and left groggy and crying for her mother, but with a reconstructed lip. She would be followed by a steady stream of children, ages ranging from 6 months to 7 years, shuffling in an out of two operating rooms and a recovery room. By the end of the day, 17 children were scheduled for procedures.

Santa Marta, Again!

Early Saturday morning, Dr. Manoj T. Abraham and his team of 29 others departed JFK airport for Santa Marta, Colombia. After several months of preparation, countless emails and telephone calls, they are off. Please visit the blog throughout the week as they'll be posting daily stories (as long as the internet connection cooperates). The team will mostly treat children with cleft lips and cleft palates.

Joining Dr. Abraham are: Dr. Andrew Jacono, Dr. William Kennedy, Dr. Arthur Menken, Dr. Aslie Darr, Dr. Augustine Moscatello, Dr. Bruce Chipkin, Nick Schwetschenko, CRNA, Dr. Kalpana Modi, Dr. Dawn Larson, Robin Birchenough, CRNA, Dr. David, Fenner, Dr. Danny Aronzon, Mary Hayden, RN, Ann Critelli, RN, Miriam Lynn, RN, Carol Meken, RN, Debbie Fritz, RN, Chikela Cody, CST, Ann Conboy, RN, Maureen Fink, RN, Bibi Yasin, CST, Donna Matcham, RN, Steve Nargiso, Nancy Aronzon, Bob Conboy, Veeshal Modi, Helen Buhler, speech therapist, Etoile Leblanc, speech therapist, Annabel Clark and Gregory Marano.

This is Dr. Abraham's third time to Santa Marta. There, he and the team expect to treat new patients and provide follow up care to children treated during previous missions.

A Natural Born Healer

Often we say that it is not only the children whose lives are forever changed by the volunteers of our teams. Victoria Keiser is a senior at Villa Walsh Academy in New Jersey. In her short 17 years on this planet, she has participated in 3 volunteer trips abroad. Below, in her own words, she shares how her participation has changed her life.

I grew up helping people. Compassion was in my blood. My dad is an oral surgeon and my mom, a teacher. These wonderful and caring people have formed my 17-year old personality that yearns to help others. In 8th grade when my dad asked me to be a part of his Peru mission trip of 2005, I jumped at the chance. My only words to him were, "Dad, can you promise I won't see any blood?" I grew up wanting nothing to do with medicine. I wanted to be a teacher and be with children every day. I hated the sight of blood, guts, pus, and all those other bodily fluids. I left for Peru and came back a changed woman. I was only 13 years old and after seeing the poverty and medical needs in Peru, I knew I wanted to change my career plan. Oh, I saw plenty of blood and pus in Peru and I realized that it really didn't bother me as much as I thought. I was cleaning the blood off of the dentists' instruments and watching teeth being pulled and children being scared and parents being thankful. I loved every minute of it and I told my dad that I couldn't wait for the next trip. The next trip I went on was to Guatemala in my junior year of high school. I was much more mature and I felt like a bigger part of the team as I was able to make long-lasting friendships with the team members and help out in a bigger capacity. This trip increased my love for helping people and my dream of one day becoming a doctor. My most recent trip was to Belize in my senior year of high school. I sterilized instruments, held hands, taught dental hygiene practice, handed out toothbrushes, and became a true dental assistant. I am committed to Boston University's class of 2014 to study Human Physiology as a pre-med student. I plan to go through medical school and become a pediatric surgeon and lead trips of my own. In the meantime, I am looking forward to continuing helping others and going on these mission trips with my dad learning about other cultures and helping the poor of the world.

For more pictures of our Belizean adventure...

SNAPFISH

Our Final Day

Our final day was spent at Parish Hall. Reunited, the entire team worked on overdrive to finish treating all of the school children from across the road as well as the remaining children of the area. We also had a school bussed in full of children for treatment. While the day was long and hectic we maintained order and worked hard to finish the goals we had set for ourselves. The grueling day was broken up with a few humorous patients, one including a nine-year-old boy who told us he was having a heart-attack during a filling.

We were also visited by Dr. Solomon, Punta Gorda's only permanent dentist. He seemed shocked to say the least at the level of treatment and the number of students being seen to. All children that we were unable to deliver treatment to due to time constraints were screened and referred to Dr. Solomon. We also were able to donate over 5 bags of medical supplies to Doctor Solomon's clinic.

Our un-belize-able team's treatment numbers were as follows...

We worked a total of 5 days over the course of our time and treated 641 patients.

Of the 641 patients, all received oral hygiene instruction, toothpaste and a toothbrush.

285 fillings were completed.

42 patients received sealants.

65 patients received a cleaning.

529 extractions were performed- multiple extractions on some patients.

The total value of these services is US$282,150, which includes US$12,800 of donated supplies and medication.

An unmeasurable thank you is owed to each and every member of this trip, especially Dr. Greg without whom none of this would have been possible. The members of Team Belize and the children of Punta Gorda thank you.

Please Note

Please note that because of the continued slow internet connection within Belize we have been unable to upload video and pictures to the blog. They will however be added once be return home.

The work continues

The middle of the week the team was split up between the Forest Home Clinic and Parish Hall, a community center in the middle of Punta Gorda. The need for dental care is so great in this region that spreading out between center city and a surrounding suburb was the most effective way to treat children from the entire district. At Parish Hall a large multipurpose community banquet hall was transformed into a dental clinic treating patients with extraction, restorative and hygienic needs. With a large school surrounding the hall there were literally hundreds of students being treated throughout the day. From little faces poking through the shuttered windows to screams, some of laughter and some of tears, coming from all corners of the massive room, the undertaking at Parish Hall was definitely an exciting time.

P.S. WARNING, "un-belize-ably" a wave of hypochondria has swept certain members of the team. To date we have self diagnosed... malaria, lice, dengue fever, bronchitis, varying forms of skin rashes and swollen glands. More maladies are sure to come.