TODAY WAS AMONG THE MOST WONDERFUL DAYS OF MY LIFE. At the hotel at 700am, before leaving for the hospital, we took pictures of my farewell. These pictures will be reminders of the special people who made this trip so meaningful. I have made some new relationships that will last a lifetime.
When we reached the hospital we went to surgery. Lourdes was a 15- month-old baby and she was adorable. I am making Lourdes the Barco’s Nightingales poster child. I may decide to use a photo of Lourdes to be featured on my website. Gary did the surgery and I stood close and off to the side, watching as he skillfully tended to Lourdes. It took a little longer because he needed to repair a small portion of her nose following the lip surgery. Gary is a perfectionist and how wonderful it was watching Gary go for the perfect result. After the surgery, we followed Lourdes to recovery and watched Tina lovingly care for her. Tina said to me that she has seven grandchildren and would love to take Lourdes home. She was that adorable. After Lourdes, I watched Gary repair a hand that had a bullet still inside and the hand. The hand was not very useful and the patient did not have any real feeling in the hand. I saw Gary open up the hand and work on repairing the damage. It was another magical moment. I was able to see the tissues and nerves inside the hand. I was able to see how he cut out the bad tissue and helped repair the nerve damage. Following the surgery in recovery, the patient said that he was finding feeling back in his hand along with better use from the hand.
Now the best and most meaningful time of the trip occurred. We visited with Angel, his two sibling and his mom and dad. They live in severe poverty. The bedroom is no bigger than Frida’s closet. In that bedroom were small cots on the floor for six people. It was shocking knowing that six people live in such close quarters. We took a tour of the home. They were so courteous and friendly. They offered us water and were very nice. Amy presented to Angel’s parents that I was offering to send them to Lima for Angel to have surgery now and not waiting for the future to happen. They were both overwhelmed and the father showed some concern about them having to go to Lima for the surgery. They probably have never been out of Pucullpa. With two other children at home and his desire to care for them, as well as take care of Angel, he seemed overwhelmed and asked for some time to think about the offer. As the conversation continued, they seemed more thankful and deeply touched by the gesture. He came over to me with tears in his eyes and gave me a big and rather long lasting hug. I had tears in my eyes as well.
Next we were able to visit with Piero, who was one of the first children to have his cleft palate repaired on this trip. We played together on clinic day. He was the happiest child of them all and he had an amazing smile. He lives with his father and mother and five other children. His home was better than Angel’s. They had a computer and TV, but the whole family lived in one bedroom. They had a bathroom and I needed to use it. They allowed me to, but the father needed about 10 minutes to get it ready. Both families live in extreme poverty and it broke my heart.
We went back to the hospital at 3pm and they were on their last surgery of the day. We visited Lourdes in her room. She had the most precious dress on. Her mom was nursing her next to the bed. We left the room when we saw this moment. Many of the young children were being nursed while in recovery and then back in the room. We also were witnessing something truly amazing. Following recovery, two beautiful young women who were cousins were being taken to their room on the same gurney. They both had foot surgery together. One of them had six toes and two of her toes were stuck together. The other had two sets of her toes stuck together. In order to complete these surgeries, each girl needed skin grafting. I watched one of them go through this and it was fascinating.  As the team was winding down for the day, Nicole, Adam and I went back to the hotel. Adam wanted to download the pictures he had taken for me so I could take them home. I am sitting in the lobby as we speak. It is 4pm and I am resting and cooling off. What a day.