June 11th, 2012: DAY 1 OF SURGERY

           Today was the first day of surgery on our mission! Twenty fortunate children received surgery for their clefts in the hospital.

I found Hoai, a tiny three- year- old girl, talking to a small yellow doll in one of the hospital’s hallways today. When I picked up her chin, she stared at me with her very round, brown eyes. Her bilateral cleft lip and palate prevented her from smiling back at me. Instead, she softly touched my face with her fragile hands, tracing my smile over and over again with her tiny fingers.

In desperation for their daughter to smile, Hoai’s parents visited many different surgeons in the past, but were turned away six times. Haoi was too underweight to receive surgery because her cleft prevented her from eating normally. After hearing that Operation Smile was coming to the Nghe An 115 General Hospital, Haoi’s parents believed that their dream for their daughter to smile would finally be fulfilled. Hoai also has a brother, Luc, who has an unrepaired cleft palate, but her parents thought that Operation Smile would only be able to operate on one of their children. Thus, they decided to bring only Hoai to the hospital because her visible cleft provokes severe ostracization by her community. After learning that Operation Smile could operate on both of their children, the siblings’ parents were filled with hope. Luc’s father immediately arranged for Luc to come to the hospital to enter the screening process with her sister.

Luc’s playful personality shone through the moment he walked into the hospital. He couldn’t stop enthusiastically dancing to the upbeat Disney music the high school students played in the pre-op ward. Four years ago, a Korean organization repaired Luc’s bilateral cleft lip at another hospital in Nghe An. Although his parents tried to get surgery for his cleft palate many times before, they were turned away each time because he, like his sister, was too thin to receive surgery. Because his cleft is unrepaired, it is extremely difficult for Luc to speak and eat normally. Luc’s peers regularly tease him because his unrepaired cleft poses these difficulties for him and makes him look different from everyone else.

The family showed mixed emotions after hearing the screening results. Haoi will be receiving surgery for her bilateral cleft lip and palate! Sadly, however, Luc will not be able to receive surgery for his cleft palate because his deformity is so severe and Operation Smile does not have enough resources to treat him.           

          Although downcast that he was not receiving surgery to repair his cleft, Luc did not any show hostility towards his sister. Luc openly shared in the surprise and joy of receiving a sister with a now beautifully crafted smile. Hopefully we will have enough support to treat Luc on another mission to this site in the future and bring him the same happiness from the sight of his own repaired cleft.

Hoai, a three-year-old with a bilateral cleft lip and palate.  (Diana Amini)

Luc, a ten-year-old with a repaired bilateral cleft lip and unrepaired cleft palate.  (Diana Amini)

Luc has a severe cleft palate that we hope Operation Smile can treat in the future. (Toan Nguyen)