Continuity of Care

What are the chances that a team like us, who has traveled thousands of miles to do surgery, would see a boy with a cleft lip and cleft palate born, then return a year later to repair his lip, and THEN return another year later to repair his palate? That is what happened with the young boy named Yeremi Heraldo Carrillo Pascual. In 2007 the team was in Huehue for the second mission in that town. Yeremi was born while we were there. Deb Strike, who works with kids with cleft at home, talked to the parents about ways to feed their baby. We took pictures and marveled at the coincidence that a child who would need our help in the future was born virtually right before our eyes. It’s a great feeling to know we have been here to help him for two consecutive years as he grew to a size to be able to have these progressively more complex surgeries. Hopefully he won’t need us again.

Submitted by Jody Meyer