Iowans & Guatemalans & Rotary!
Teaming up to make a difference!
On April 5, 2008, the Rotary 6000 Iowa MOST (Miles of Smiles Team) began its journey to perform cleft lip/palate and dental surgeries in the highlands of Guatemala. The 30-member Iowa team included many mission-experienced medical personnel from the University of Iowa, who worked with hospital personnel at the Hospital Regional de Occidente San Juan de Dios, Quetzaltenango (Xela).
The Iowa Miles of Smiles Team was capably augmented by Guatemalan doctors Juan Carlos Garcia Moran and Antonio Rosal Alvarez, and nure Viki Lopez Gutierrez from Huehuetenango. Two generous benefactors, Sal and Maru Danial, worked as translators for the project, and Dr. Bill Olin, who originally inspired the Iowa MOST mission, joined the team for screening and the first morning of surgeries in Xela.
During its week at Xela, the team of surgeons, nurses, pediatricians, anesthesiologist, dentists and non-medical support volunteers screened 69 patients, primarily Mayan children, and completed 55 medical procedures, including 16 cleft lip surgeries, five cleft palate surgeries, three fistual surgeries and dental placement of six obturators as well as multiple teeth extractions.
A great deal was accomplished medically under sometimes trying conditions, and through it all, Dr. John Canady, lead surgeon, continually cautioned the team: "We need to proceed slowly and safely, just as if we were at home making medical decisions for our own children," Canady said, and added, "These children in Guatemala are our children." And, the team met his goal of leaving with more than 30 children and even a few adults restored -- to smile without shame, and to be able to speak and eat more normally. No one was less well off due to the team's efforts.
The Iowa Miles of Smiles Team, who volunteered their time and skills, were amply paid with tears, smiles and hugs of gratitude from thankful families, and the knowledge that many lives had been improved due to their cooperative efforts as a team and the magnanimous support of the Rotary 6000 members in Iowa and the Quetzaltenango Rotary in Guatemala.
