One of our young patients, Derek, recently had his cleft lip repaired by our volunteer surgical team in Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador.
Children with cleft lips and cleft palates are frequently shunned and denied an education because of their appearance and speech impediments. Reconstructive surgery can successfully repair clefts, though, and the result is permanent, immediate and dramatic.
Dr. Tom Davenport, our volunteer surgeon on a recent surgical team trip to Ecuador, provides hands-on training for resident surgeon Juan Pablo.
Education and training are essential components of ReSurge's commitment to creating sustainability in the delivery of reconstructive surgical care to the world’s poor.
By Sheila Wolfson, ReSurge volunteer trip coordinator
Yastin, now 12 years old, was severely burned at the age of three. After a garbage fire broke out in the basement of her family's home in Ecuador, her sister attempted to put it out by throwing gasoline on it.
Unfortunately, Yastin was near the fire and was severely burned on her face and arms. She was taken to Quito, the capital, for emergency medical attention right after the accident, but she did not receive proper treatment for her burns. As the wounds closed up, burn scar contractures formed on one of her arms. She has lived nine years with these severe contractures on her arm.
Yastin's family recently traveled three hours by bus to bring her to see the ReSurge team in Bahía de Caráquez. There, our volunteers performed surgery to release the contractures on her right arm. Since Yastin writes with her right hand, which is now immobile so it can heal following the surgery, she will need to write with her other hand for a while when in school.
Dr. Jorge Palacios, director of ReSurge's Surgical Outreach Program in Ecuador, will provide follow-up care for Yastin in Guayaquil.
Dr. Jorge Palacios, director of our Surgical Outreach Program in Ecuador, poses in front of his bus with his former resident, Pablo, who is now a surgeon.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Palacios has helped impoverished people who have clefts, disabling burns and hand injuries receive the life-changing medical care they need. He started Ecuador’s first plastic surgery residency program in an effort to increase the number of local plastic surgeons in the country devoted to helping the poor in their own communities.
Now these young men and women are joining him to care for those in critical need of reconstructive surgery in Ecuador—providing new hope, today and for the future.
By Sheila Wolfson, ReSurge volunteer trip coordinator
Romina was truly a gift sent to our team at the hospital in Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador. She came to help us as a volunteer translator from the Rotarian program and was a delight to be around.
She was born and raised in Ecuador and previously spent a year in Canada studying English. She obviously must have been a “quick read.” Her English was superb, as was her enthusiasm and willingness to do any little thing. She also had a very kind demeanor with the children.
She has hopes of attending medical school next year and will be taking her entrance exam shortly. There is no doubt in my mind that she would make a fantastic doctor!
By Sheila Wolfson, ReSurge volunteer on recent trip to Ecuador
As Dr. Jorge Palacios was driving both the U.S. and Ecuadorian teams from Guayaquil to the town of Bahía de Caráquez (about a 4 hour drive) to perform a week of surgeries, we stopped mid-way at a gas station in the small town of Jipijapa.
As is typical of Dr. Palacios, who is always giving of his time and energy to see patients in need, we were there not just for an el baño (bathroom) break, but to do a consultation with the family of a two-year-old boy named Wilmes. He had previously had surgery on his cleft lip and palate, and he would need an additional surgery for his palate. Several days later, they showed up at the hospital in Bahia and the little boy was scheduled for surgery.
On our return from Bahia to Guayaquil, again we stopped at the gas station for Dr. Palacios to see a little girl (pictured above with Dr. George Gregory) who could not have surgery while we were in Bahia because she had a swollen lip when we arrived. He had prescribed antibiotics for her, and after evaluating her again in the car (and bribing her with chocolate), Dr. Palacios determined that she had improved sufficiently on the antibiotics and that he would see her a short while later in his office in Guayaquil.
Day and night, weekday or weekend, Dr. Palacios is there for those who need him.
Last week, The New York Times published an article that touched on the multiple factors you may be considering if you plan to make any charitable gifts during this holiday season – how much to give, to whom and where?
The author, Tara Siegel Bernard, interviewed charity experts and ethicists, and she detected a consensus among these experts that giving to organizations working in developing countries can help your gift have a larger impact on reducing poverty.
The article discusses the work of Peter Singer, a philosopher and professor of bioethics at Princeton University, who in 2009 included ReSurge (then Interplast) among his list of most effective organizations in his widely acclaimed book, "The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty." Singer argues that people should be contributing more to projects in developing countries and has even developed a calculator to help you determine how much you should be giving to these projects.
ReSurge was honored to be included in this book and is proud to be a highly efficient nonprofit, with 86 percent of our budget going directly to medical programs that change lives.
With the community’s generosity and support for nearly 45 years, we have provided 100,000 reconstructive surgeries and thousands of doctors with hands-on training and educational workshops that build medical access in underserved communities across the globe. With your continued support – whatever the amount – we will be able to serve many more in the future.
Because, in Bernard's words, "even small dollar amounts can have powerful results for people living in extreme poverty."
Today on International Volunteer Day we celebrate our wonderfully talented and dedicated volunteers!
Since 1969, medical volunteers have donated their time to help children and adults receive the treatment they desperately need. Our volunteer team trips have a critical role in providing surgeries in locations where the caseload is overwhelming, teaching and improving the quality of health care, and evaluating new sites. We thank each one of our volunteers today and every day for the talent and time they give to help transform lives.
Speaking of volunteers, our volunteer surgical team arrived in Ecuador this week and has quickly begun long days of surgery in Bahía de Caráquez, a coastal city about 175 miles north of Guayaquil, where ReSurge has a Surgical Outreach Center directed by Dr. Jorge Palacios.
The medical team includes surgeon Tom Davenport, recovery room nurse Sue Fossum, chief anesthesiologist George Gregory, anesthesiologist Duke McMillan and recovery room nurse Maria Pedersen. They are joined by Sheila Wolfson, the trip supporter and coordinator.
The team is joining up with Fundacion Rostros Felices (Happy Faces Foundation), which Jorge founded and calls the “daughter of ReSurge.” The foundation provides reconstructive plastic surgery for local children with clefts. The ReSurge team is helping with surgeries and teaching plastic surgery residents from the residency program Jorge founded to increase the pool of local plastic surgeons devoted to helping the poor in their own communities.
The team has kept busy, working long hours each day teaching and performing surgeries mostly on children with clefts. Stay tuned for more updates from the team!
We would like to give a big thank you to all of you who participated in our ReThink Burns photo challenge last month!
Many people submitted pictures to show their support for the campaign and their participation raised money to help provide care for burn survivors in developing countries around the world.
To see some of our favorite photos submitted for the campaign, check our photo slideshow.
Below is our story of impact that was published by Giving Tuesday in the lead up the new national day of giving, which is tomorrow, December 3. Remember that all online gifts made tomorrow will be doubled! See examples of how your gift can have an impact here.
When Punkaj was 10 years old, he was severely burned on the front of his body when the gas stove he was using to heat up tea in his home in India exploded.
Left to “heal” by themselves, burns like these cause the skin to shrink up, causing what are known as burn contractures. Punkaj developed these burn contractures on his neck and arms, rendering him unable to lift his arms or turn his head.
Back in 2007, a surgical team with ReSurge International, an organization that provides free reconstructive surgeries and builds medical capacity in developing countries, met Punkaj in Dehradun, India, and performed surgery to release the burn contracture on his neck.
Two years later, Punkaj returned and asked the team to release the contractures on his arms. The team had planned to do more work on his neck, but he insisted that they operate on his arms instead, because he wanted to be able to attend school. He had to ride a bike to get to school, but the contractures on his arms made it impossible for him to lift his arms high enough to reach the handlebars of his bike.
And in January, Punkaj, who is now in college, came again to welcome the returning surgical team and thank them for their help throughout the years. During his visit, our surgeons offered to do some revision work on his neck. Punkaj turned down this offer because he has school exams coming up.
When he was 14, Punkaj asked for surgery that would allow him to attend school like most boys his age. Now, because he is able to attend school, he has turned down surgery—a true testament of how Punkaj’s life and functionality have been restored. Punkaj hopes to become an elementary school teacher one day, and thanks to the surgical care he received, he is well on his way to a brighter future.
ReSurge International renews the health of 3,000 people like Punkaj each year—so they can go to school, provide for their families, and be productive members of society. It also empowers local doctors to increase year-round access to medical care in underserved areas.
Celebrate generosity this #GivingTuesday by contributing to ReSurge’s life-changing reconstructive surgical work. Take the opportunity to give something truly meaningful this year by making a gift in honor of a friend of loved one.
And as a special bonus, a generous donor has offered to match all donations made online to ReSurge on Giving Tuesday, up to $75,000.
Consider what your gift could provide by checking out the funding examples listed on ReSurge’s Giving Tuesday webpage and help give the gift of restored health and dreams this year.
Since 1969, ReSurge International has provided more than 110,000 surgeries in developing countries through direct treatment of patients and training of local surgeons.
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