Goodbye Honduras

As we wait for our flight in Houston I am challenged with putting our 8 day mission trip with Operation Smile into a few words. It is only those who have been with us that can truly understand why my parents continue to push like they do to help children with facial deformity all around the world. When you watch a gifted surgeon artistically tranform a child with your own eyes it makes so much sense. 45 minutes. $240. If we can all lend a hand in spreading the word maybe someday, this unnecessary weight will not be on the shoulders of so many children and their parents.

When you and your son are also embraced by a family who does not know you until they pick you up at the hotel, you also feel quite lucky. The Gomez family took us in as their own and as a mother, it was wonderful to watch a friendship form between two 11 year olds within minutes of meeting. Riley and Gustavo had a blast together. So much so that Riley had a hard time keeping his eyes open at breakfast this morning. They made the most of every minute whether it was in their home, at Gustavo's school or in the hospital. They both made tons of children smile with their spirit. I also feel lucky to have made new friends in the Gomez family. Giselle was running around even as we left trying to help little Wendy and her family get the paperwork they need to hopefully come to us in a couple of weeks for surgery. I am grateful for her new friendship and the commitment she and her husband have made to help us with Operation Smile Honduras.

And then there is the team. What a team! Our coordinators, Christa, Meredith and Lopsang along with everyone else were happy to have us with them and all worked enthusiastically together this week to help the children. The Child Life Specialist, Lina, and her team of psychologists were amazing to watch along with our students who played tirelessly with the kids as they waited. We are honored to be included in this group of caring people.

And we cannot forget the children and their parents. The bravery and patience in dealing with their deformities is unimaginable. Yet, for the most part, we witnessed happy and incredibly cared for children who, even with the stares of others, faced each day with the hope that someday, they would not have this burden. Operation Smile screened 230 patients this week and scheduled 100 patients for surgery. On Friday, a 50 year old woman with a cleft lip with have her face repaired. When asked why she has not come to Operation Smile in years past, she claimed she was too poor. I cannot imagine what it will be like when she looks at herself tomorrow afternoon for the first time.

I thank the local volunteers of Operation Smile Sonrisa, who work throughout the year to care for these children. Just in December, they were able to operate on 47 children in their beautiful clinic in three days. My father expressed his gratitude as well commenting on the fact that 12 years ago there was mostly older children with primary lips that appeared out of the woodwork. For this mission, the majority of children who came with primary lips were 15 months and younger. It is a fine example that this problem in Honduras is being addressed due to the fact that our local volunteers stick with them year after year. From the Sonrisa Amigas to the American School and Del Campo High School students to the medical team and clinic staff, it is everyone's efforts that enables the children of Honduras to get such great care.

I will finish this blog with Riley's thoughts as he flew back to the U.S. I must say I am so proud of him. His comments reaffirm why it is so important for our elementary children to understand what is happening around the world. I do believe this influences them in more ways than we can ever imagine.

Day 9 of Mission

"I'm getting ready to get on the plane to Norfolk. I didn't eat anything weird today. I went to the hospital for a little to say goodbye to the rest of the team. One of my mission coordinators, Lobsang, plays for the Hondorian National baseball team and is trying out for professional soccer this May. The other coordinator, Christa, is my uncle's sister, so I know her pretty well. The coordinator in training, Meredith, always had a smile on her face. Lobsang loved to play around with you, Christa knew me so she joked around with me and Meredith just took it all in with a big smile on her face. The other students which were high schoolers were fun to work with. Everytime you needed someone to help you entertain a kid or translate for you, all you have to do is give them a call and they would be right over. There names are Jacklyn and Maggie. Gustavo is a good friend and very funny. The rest of his family would help you with whatever you needed. I'm glad we got to stay with the Gomez family. Gustavo would always give me company wherever we were. I don't want to tell you about the whole team, but the surgeons were great and a lot of the kids are getting smiles. The team was very nice to me and in general. The whole country is friendly. Being on the mission shows you have lucky you are to be in a safe home and not somewhere on the street or somewhere in the country or mountains. You see how less fortunate these families are and you see how overjoyed the parents are when they come out of surgery. I'm glad I could help change their child's life forever. I'm going to miss the kids, the team and the family I stayed with this past week and a half. I've done a lot of stuff this week, ate and drank some weird things and now I'm ready to go home. Before I go I want to say this week I only woke up past seven o'clock one day, so it is not like a vacation. I've been very tired this whole week and I am ready to get back home to my own bed, house, family and friends. Goodbye Honduras."

From the eyes of Riley

Screening Day 1

"Once again it is the end of the day and I am very tired. Today I tried fried banana and it was so gross tears were almost coming out of my eyes. I woke up at 5:30, ate breakfast from 6 - 6:30 and then went to screening for 11 hours non-stop. There I would play with the kids. I put up the front of my hair in a ponytail and ponytails like devel's horns. Every kid I walked past would smile and if I made eye contact with the adults, they would smile. With all the stress they have about getting their child into surgery, a smile always helps. All of the kids always wanted to pass the ball with you or something. It shows how desparate these kids are, because I had a mini kickball for all the kids to play with and a kid stole it or at least ran off with it. Right now Hondoras has a big water problem because of the big drought they are having. With the drought, there is not enough water for all 8 million people in Honduras. You might not be able to take a shower but if you want to you have to call someone and order water. I really wish I could speak spanish. All the small kids talk to me and I just kin of sit there with a weird look and try to figure out what they are saying. I love working with the kids. Everytime you play with them there is this big smile on their face and it brightens you up too. After a very long and tiring day I'm ready to go to bed. I'll see what is in store for me tomorrow." Riley

Day 4 of mission...

"I just got back from playig soccer with OpSmile volunteers and it is 12:30 a.m. I didn't eat anything crazy today. I saw my favorite kid and he is getting operated on. The other kid did not steal the ball. One of my team members found the ball. It did have his name on it, so he really wanted it. I was walking in the street and an adult man asked to keep the football I had in my hand. I would not let him have it because it was for the kids. I went to the shelter where the people who don't have a place to stay are. They get one little bed, three meals a day and all of them are packed into 4 rooms. I'm really tired and it is almost 1:00 a.m. now, so good night. One last thing before I go. I saw a guy called out the names of the kids to announce if they were going to have surgery or not. Many parents were very said. I would be too if I did not get picked. Goodnight." Riley

American School visit

Today we spent much of our day at the American School giving our OpSmile/Final Mile presentations. Riley and Gustavo did an excellent job. We first spoke at the school assembly. It is cool - they do both the Hondurian pledge and the American pledge first thing. We then had a chance to speak to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade separately. I opened, Riley talked about the Final Mile and Gustavo and Riley talked about their experience in the OR with Carlos on Monday with pictures. Each time they both were more and more comfortable. We even had Wendy, the little girl we are trying to get to come to Shamrock, visit with 4th grade. Although some were shy to go over and say hello, many of them did and her little face lit right up! The American School kids are all over the Operation Smile Final Mile. They want to start now! I am thrilled they have this early kickoff for next year. The principal, Mrs. Martinez, is very enthusiastic and can't wait to implement the program. Maybe Riley and I will have to go back, especially if they get permission to run in the Olymico Stadium!

OK. So Riley is out with Gustavo, so here is an excerpt from his blog. He is so tired when he gets home at night that I have not been able to get him to "blog". This is his from surgery day. It is a great journal to read because he does not fail to mention the different food he has tried. Here is a funny comment from early on. "Today I tried fried banana and it was so gross tears were almost coming out of my eyes!"

Now his surgery day entry...

"I'm back after the first day of surgery week. I didn't eat anything strange today. Here, the buses don't have fronts and if you ride in a car you get shiny and sweat a little because it is so hot. This morning I went to see an operation. It's amazing how they fix the kids. The surgeons like take the lip apart and put it back together. It was a cleft lip. I sat down for about 50 seconds then was fine the rest of the surgery. When we showed the mom her child, Carlos, she was crying because she knew it would change her child's life forever. After surgery, I played with the kids who were about to go to surgery. If you give them a toy, you have trouble getting it back. Next, I went to post operation. Once the numbing wears off all of the kids are kicking, yelling and screaming but they will be OK by tomorrow. I'm going to dinner now. I'm back from dinner and I'm going to tell you more about surgery. You couldn't touch anything, there was alot of cutting and blood, the child had an oxygen tube through his throat and in his lungs to breath and at one point, my grandfather cut one of the nose flaps loose. It's crazy to watch and see how it comes together at the end. I have to go to bed now." Riley

yep, word for word and more where that came from! I will try to wrap my arms around this experience while traveling tomorrow. I have been blessed with this wonderful opportunity to spend time doing so much good with my son. It is a true gift to be able to share together. Thanks mom and dad for inspiring so many people! love you both. brigette

Day in the OR

Today was the big day and what a cool experience. Riley's grandfather, Poppy, was here in Honduras with some special people from NJ so we had a chance to all go into the OR with him and watch him operate. The little boy's name is Carlos, a 14 month old with a cleft lip and palate. This was his third time trying to get surgery since he was born. The first time, he had a cold so they could not operate, the 2nd time this past December, he was so chunky, they could not find a vein to place his IV. After 8 times trying, they said they would have to wait. They actually put him on diet! Today had to be his day, right? After a bit of a wait, we put on our scrubs and had a chance to play with Carlos in the Child Life room. He has quite the personality.. He enjoyed playing with the ball with Riley. When the anesthesiologist came to get the baby, I was amazed by the mom's calming presence. She barely even said goodbye to him saying that he would just cry harder if she went to hug him. Riley, Gustavo and Giselle got a brief run down from my dad on the rules of the OR and we were in. The anesthesiologist Mark from Michigan, tried for a quite a bit to get the IV in and finally it worked! Not knowing how their bodies would handle being there, all three stood to the side for a short bit. Since we were not scrubbed in, we could not touch anything sterile, which was not so easy considering their were two tables running in each room. Once they realized they wanted a better view of the operations, all three went right to the top of the table and listened carefully to my dad's teachings. Gustavo was very concerned with the extra pieces of flesh hanging out, and constantly asked my dad if he was going to do anything about it. With a bit of laughter in the room, he told Gustavo that with patience, all would fall into place. The thumbs up picture was when the lip was finally closed... something Gustavo could not wait to see. It was fun having his curiosity in the OR. Everyone was extremely patient with us, teaching anesthesia and surgery along the way. I was proud of all of them. With only a couple of dizzy spells throughout, they were all able to witness the miracle of a smile. I think if given the chance, they would have gone back for more! We also had a chance to see Carlos handed over to his mom and that was the moment that everyone talks about and why we work so hard to help these children. She was very stoic for a few brief moments and then her tears started to flow. After all of this time waiting, her baby boy finally had a beautifully complete smile. You could feel in her tears and in the gratitude of her eyes when she looked at us that she was grateful. It was a beautiful thing to witness. My dad even had Gustavo translate that even though he was quietly crying, he had been given pain meds so that he would not be in pain. It was really a one of a kind experience and I am so grateful that Riley's new Hondorian friends could do this along with him.

Isabelle, check out your hospital gown on little Maria! She is wearing it with pride! love all of you, brigette and riley