Ilya and Mykola

	Ilya

Despite a life of poverty, Ilya and Mykola, ages 11 and 9, wore constant broad smiles and were the pride of their parents.

For these two Ukrainian brothers, playing with friends in an abandoned schoolyard was a singular source of childhood delight.

Then, in an instant, their lives changed forever.

While climbing a tree one spring morning, an exposed power line fell on the boys, causing devastating third-degree burns to their scalps and extremities.

Hours from adequate medical care, the brothers were transported to the Pediatric Burn Center in Lviv, Ukraine.

	Ilya, Denny and Tom

For over three years, Medical Missions for Children teams performed multiple surgical procedures on Ilya and Mykola.

The procedures involved the use of tissue expanders to create more skin to cover the burns on their heads. A tissue expander, which is similar to a balloon, is surgically implanted underneath healthy skin. Over a period of several weeks, the expander is gradually inflated with saline solution. The amount added is determined in part by how much discomfort the patient can tolerate. This can be a very uncomfortable process.

Ilya and Mykola also had suffered permanent hair loss on parts of their heads due to the burns. By inflating the expander beneath a section with remaining hair, the skin and hair were stretched. During these weeks, the boys' heads developed into strange shapes, inviting another unwelcome reason for people to stare at them.

Once fully extended, the expander was removed and the stretched skin was used to cover the area that was burned with healthy skin and hair. Though the procedure is tedious, it can eliminate the need for painful, multiple, traditional skin grafting.

These two very brave boys, smiles undiminished, have made a truly remarkable recovery.

They have returned home and to their school, once again enjoying soccer with their friends.

Bridging the Continents:
How the efforts of a Peruvian dentist changes the lives of so many

	Fortunato before and after cleft lip repair

It would have seemed natural for Dr. Rocio Flores to build a lucrative and busy cosmetic dental practice in Lima, Peru, after finishing her training at one of the prestigious dental schools in Lima, Peru. Instead, Rocio gave up all the luxuries and comfortable amenities of a large and bustling urban city and moved with her husband, Jean Luis, to Quillabamba, a small town at the edge of the Amazon jungle, to serve mostly poor indigenous Quechuans from the Andes.

	Dr. Rocio (first from right) with MMFC team & local nurse

The bulk of Dr. Flores’ practice is built on pro bono work that she offers to these needy patients, who otherwise, would not be able to get any kind of decent dental care unless they traveled to one of the larger cities. Even if they were able to travel, they would not have been able to afford the cost of dental care due to their limited resources. This is how Dr. Flores has been able to make such a difference, by providing quality dental care at such a remote site in the heart of the Peruvian jungle, free of charge.

Rocio became concerned about the large number of young and older cleft lip and palate patients whom she was seeing through her practice. Most of them and/or their families lacked the financial resources to address their facial disfigurements. Sensing the social, medical and financial impacts that such uncorrected deformities levy on these patients and their families, she reached out to Medical Missions for Children whose surgical and dental teams have been operating in Cusco since 2003. After initial arrangements were made, she personally took charge of transporting 20 cleft patients from Quillabamba to Cusco on an 8 hour bus ride through the Andes Mountains.

Fortunato is a 26 year old Quechuan born with an incomplete cleft lip. With less than one dollar income per day, he elected to live with his facial disfigurement until he heard of Dr. Flores and the visiting team in Cusco. He traveled with her last May and underwent corrective surgery by the surgical team from Medical Missions for Children, a trip sponsored by the Smile Train. Fortunato was all smiles in the recovery room after a one hour procedure had corrected his cleft lip deformity. When asked by the nurses caring for him why he was smiling, his answer was: “I finally have my dignity. Now I can go out and mingle with people without the fear and embarrassment of my cleft lip deformity”.

The efforts of individuals like Dr Rocio, by providing free care to needy patients and facilitating the corrective procedures for their facial deformities have certainly transformed so many lives and bridged the distances between rural Peru and the visiting team from the United States.

Suying Lam, MD
Volunteer

Abdalla Ould Mohamed

	Before and After

The Mohamed family arrived from Timbuktu – a long four day bus trip to Bamako—and they brought their young son, Abdalla. I can still picture his sweet little face. Abdalla´s Mom and Dad spoke a Berber Arabic- so I did my best to act as translator. Abdalla had his face buried in his father’s chest. Dad did not want to give his son to the nurses.  He kept saying “He will cry”.  I assured him in broken Arabic that he would be well cared for. He handed me Abdalla so the nurses could examine him and I sang to him to help keep him calm. He clung to me until sedated on the table.

After the surgery, I explained to Dad how to give Abdalla’s medications, the cleaning process for his wounds and that his mother must not breastfeed for three weeks.  He nodded that he understood and then repeated the instructions to his wife to be sure she understood. The nurses instructed Mom on how to express her milk in order to feed Abdalla with a syringe in order to avoid disturbing his sutures.

Abdalla’s parents were immensely grateful to all of us and as they left the hospital, Abdalla gave us a soft little wave good-bye. I waved back and felt my own gratitude for having had the opportunity to meet and help such a loving family.

Heidi Sleiman
Volunteer

Assiata Traore

	Before and After

I think I can speak for every team member when I say that 6-year-old Assiata stole our hearts from the very beginning of the mission.  There is a certain light about this little girl that is exuded through her smile and those big brown eyes.  She was the first cleft lip surgery performed on the Bamako mission, and the very first that I have observed.  To witness the transformation that occurs before and after the surgical procedure is simply amazing, and Assiata was no exception.   Her mother was just beaming with pride.  In the course of all she went through, brave little Assiata never lost that light, making it clear to me that this is one child I will never forget. 

Kristen Ristuccia
Volunteer