Thursday September 13, 2012

Our last patient is in the recovery room about to go his room; it is almost midnight.  We did nine surgical cases today, and all went well, but it always takes a little longer than we think.  Half of the team was finished around 9 or 10 and went back to the hotel.  We have a full schedule tomorrow, but some of the patients know that we might not get to them.  Because we got a late start on Monday and there were some surgical emergencies, we haven’t gotten quite as many cases done as we had hoped, but clearly we have done some good work.

It is quite touching to see the parents, mostly the mothers, with their children in the recovery room, especially for the patients who had a cleft lip repair.  They are so happy to have a child that now looks normal.  For many of them, they and their child have been ostracized from society and now they have a chance at a normal life.

Since it is now 1:30 am and I am finally in my room, sleep will be wonderful tonight!