FACES Foundation on Location

Delia interviewing Milagros!

2009-12-29T23:27:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends of FACES:

This video was accomplished on our last day in Peru in mid December. It shows the dedication of our Peruvian FACES representative Delia, interviewing Milagros. Milagros had her palate repaired last year anda nasal reconstruction this year. We are all ecstatic with the improvement in speech she has been having thanks to Dr. Blakeley and Elissa here in Portland helping her through I-chat. It’s been an incredible year for Milagros, FACES, and the entire team. Thanks for your support. Happy holidays. FACES Foundation

FACES Peru Trip | Day 7, Final Day.

2009-12-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

Last Day in the OR!

It's the last day in the OR. It's been bitter sweet seeing the families come in, worry and wait and then see their children after the operation filled with thanks and joy. Aside from the experience of being in scrubs and in the OR watching surgery firsthand, It's the thankful emotional state of the families that's been the most rewarding. It's amazing what just a few people can do for the lives of others.

Friday, the final day of surgeries was a quiet one. The day consisted of 3 patients bringing us to a total of 17 patients for the week. I can't say enough wonderful things about the team and how they each give in a specific way to this trip. There are people who have skills in so many different areas, it's truly amazing to see this group of people turn into a well oiled machine in order to better the lives of others.

Rosa was actually scheduled for Monday, but when she came in doctors found it unsafe to operate because she had a cold. A little quick thinking lead to a swap in schedules adding Rosa to Friday and a Friday patient to earlier in the week. Unsure if we were going to operate or not, everyone arrived, met Rosa and checked her lungs right away. Safe! It was wonderful to be able to tell the family her surgery would be able to go through.

Meet Rosa! She's our youngest patient at 5 months old.

We also Operated on Yordy, a 16 year old boy, who has had his lip repaired but needed his nose fixed. I've recently learned that back home these types of patients may have up to 7 surgeries to repair everything beginning with the lip, palate, nose, gums and teeth. It's very extensive and sometimes, depending on the case, may need follow up work. I'm so grateful Yordy was able to make it back for his nose.

It's been a wonderful time working with everyone this week and also being able to share with everyone back home what FACES has been up to. As this week comes to a close I know the people of Peru will be heavy on our hearts.

Thanks so much to everyone for following along, thanks for your support, encouragement and love. Just like the people say in Chiclayo, Ciao!

FACES Peru Trip | Day 6

2009-12-10T18:41:00.000-08:00

Today is going very smoothly with two cleft palates and one lip up on the menu. Everyone seems to be settling in the groove of the trip and yet at the same time I catch more and more people taking cat naps around the clinic.

The day started a bit more calm, we said goodbye to all our patients first thing in the morning because they were doing so well. Levi and Jorge both went home with a visual change in the face, happy as could be with the soccer balls and toys. Martina was also discharged later this morning and left with her caring sister. It's simply amazing that we can come for one week and change a patient for a lifetime.

Here's Jorge!

... and Levi

... and Martina

On the left is Delia, our amazing Peruvian liaison, Jorge in the middle and Tammy on the right.

We began the day with Nicol, this sweet 19 month little girl with a open palate. Oftentimes when this is the child's first surgery it can be very hard and scary for the parents. When Nicol went into the OR mom began to cry for her daughter. It's so touching to know that Nicol's mom truly cares for her and is concerned for her daughter but just can't do anything about it. It's a blessing to know FACES can help needy children when their parents can't even help.

Jesse and Jackie in the OR. Music is very important for concentration.

Dana, Jeff, Tammy and Melisa M operating on Nicol.

Here's sweet Nicol... her palate was repaired so there isn't much to see... and good luck getting a 19 month to open their mouth.

Nicol and mom post surgery.

The second case was very sad. We proceeded as normal and Tammy prepped little Leonardo, 17 months, for surgery. He was brought here by his mom and grandma. While we were prepping him we learned he had been on medication earlier this week but was initially cleared for surgery for his cleft palate. While under his lungs started to react to medication given to clear them up. The medical team– who is ultimately responsible for the child's well being– did not feel comfortable continuing the operation and decided it best for the child to cancel the operation. After the child woke up and the mom and grandmother returned tears of sadness began flowing because of disappointment that little Leonardo could not be operated on... he was not well enough for the surgery. It broke my heart to see the family cry for this poor little boy.

Thanks so much for visiting and reading all about the FACES adventures!
Big Smiles! Melissa Tomeoni with Soul Mates Photo

FACES Peru Trip | Day 5

2009-12-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

It's day five and the schedule has us all going little something like this... Up at 6:20, breakfast at 6:45, clinic at 7:15. The first two cases start before lunch and the final one begins at around 3 pm depending on how long the first 2 take. Each surgery is roughly 2-3 hours which does not include prep, pre op and post op. Patients are at the clinic for about a full day and a half. Today, Wednesday, there are 3 cases on the schedule, 1 cleft lip and 2 cleft palates. Jorge is only 10 months old and is having his lip done. Just like Evelyn was a few days ago, Jorge is as calm as can be. He's a curious little thing following everyone with his eyes.

We said goodbye to Milagros (from yesterday) and taught her how to care for her new nose.

Levi came in for his cleft palate and boy did he have energy... after a while he calmed down and was able to play with his new toys provided by people from home. The kids love the hats, soccer balls, stuffed animals and blankets. Here's Levi before his surgery to repair palate work. Levi already had his lip done and is here for his palate. He also has a ear deformity where his left ear is completely closed and has no developed eardrum.

The third patient today was 24 year old Martina who was raised in a remote mountain town. I teared up at her story. Brave Martina had her first surgery last year to repair her lip and is back today to have her palate done. We soon learned that Martina never went to school because of her lip, she was too embarrassed and teased too often. Since she had her lip done she decided to attend first grade at 23 years old. Today she is so happy she can sign her name and begin to be understood by her peers. Martina now lives with her sister in Lima which is about 2 hours south from Chiclayo. Cross you fingers for Martina, the hope is that she will be able to come back every other month for speech therapy with the local rep. I do hope this sweet girl can have the therapy she needs... If it all works out she'll also be a great candidate for nose reconstruction next time.

Here's Martina!

Again, thanks so much for reading. I can't believe there are only 2 more days of surgery remaining.

Big smiles. Melissa Tomeoni with Soul Mates Photo.

FACES Peru Trip | Day 4

2009-12-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, Day 4
Isury was our first patient today. FACES saw her last year for her cleft lip– it was successful and she came back today for her cleft palate. Little Isury is now 18 months old and the first and only child in her family. Turns out mom found FACES at the location where she gave birth.

During surgery.

Isury was full of energy. She recognized the doctors in blue from last year and didn't let them forget it. Her surgery was very successful! Below is post surgery, mom and Isury.

Second up today was Over. At 19 years old he's one of the older patients this week. He came in for cleft palate. He was very shy today but I know with the surgery he will gain confidence.

And as you can see we all need to take little naps when we can...
Here's Brian.

Our last patient was Milagros. She became friends with some of the staff since she spent time here last year for her palate surgery. She's had lip and palate done in the past and today she will have her nose reconstructed to enable better breathing. Milagros has been working on speech therapy with FACES contact here in Peru, Delia. She's been re-learning to speak her native language and also taking on the task of learning English. "She's been doing wonderfully" reports Delia and will continue to improve because of her hard work. Thanks to FACES, her confidence has grown and now she is helping parents understand what their children are going through. I've caught glimpses of her chatting with parents in the waiting room. What a godsend she is!

And here's brave Milagros going into surgery.

And the final image tonight is Christina, the anesthesiologist. This was taken during Milagors's surgery from a birds eye view.

Good Night! Melissa Tomeoni with Soul Mates Photo

FACES Peru Trip | Day 3

2009-12-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

It's the end of day 3 and there have been 5 successful cases and one drop in that's actually still in the OR as I type. There are 17 scheduled cases for this week (5 have been completed) and if anyone happens to drop in then the surgeons will chat and see if they can add the patient to the schedule. And that's the way it goes!

I wanted to give you a follow up on Yessica, the patient from yesterday. She is going well! Below are 3 stages of her time at the clinic. On the left is the way she arrived, open palate. The middle image was taken during surgery. The final image on the right was taken the day after it's been repaired.

I'm happy to report she's doing well and after one night in the clinic she went home today!

Next, I'd love for you to meet Erika...
Erika arrived with her aunt to the clinic early Sunday morning. This little 12 year old raises goats on her family farm with her father and her aunt. Because Erika's family lives out in the country the nearest school is too far away to travel and therefore attended only two years because of the distance. She spends her days helping her family raise the goats.

My heart went out for Erika. She was the second patient Sunday and was at the clinic at 10am when the first patient, Yessica, went in for surgery. Erika waited for a little over 3 hours and I'm sure the 12 year old was nervous. I know I would be. Even as a patient back home I would wonder what takes doctors so long?!? But now I understand a little bit better how the inner workings work. In reality, in life, in the OR somethings just take time. I'm sure I'll be a little more patient next time I go in to get my check up.

Erika got to go home today as did Yessica. They both had successful surgeries.

And finally, here is my favorite patient from today. No reason she's my favorite, I just really like her :) Meet Evelyn and her mom!

Evelyn is 7 months old and has cleft lip. She arrived early this morning in her mothers arms. Here she is being carried into surgery with some of the doctors.

After about a hour and a half surgery is complete.

After surgery the patient is placed in a recovery room to be monitored while he/she wakes up. At that time the parents are invited to come in and see their child. Here is mom comforting Evelyn.

It makes me so happy to see the before and after within a few hours. It's awing. There have been 5 successful cases thus far. I'm excited to meet tomorrow's patients!

Melissa Tomeoni with Soul Mates Photo.

FACES Peru Trip | Day 2

2009-12-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day in the OR. Yessica and her family traveled over 24 hours to come to the clinic for palate surgery. Traveling by bus, truck, and by foot, her mother, father and sister all made the trip. During the consultation with the parents Yessica's Father said he was so thankful. He continued, saying, his daughter would have never been able to have the surgery because he, as a father, cannot provide enough food for his family yet alone surgery. To admit that must have put a wrench in his gut, but also let us know how extremely thankful he and his family were for what was about to happen.

Yessica's surgery lasted 3 hours. It's quite a interesting process and thankfully I was able to gain access from the top observing room which is situated directly above the operating table. Having a birds eye view was perfect for many reasons, but mainly being able to have the visibility from above. The mouth is a small place to operate and there are already a lot of people in the room! Yessica's palate was very wide (I was told). What the surgeons ended up doing was cut the roof of the mouth along the upper molars on both sides, then stretch it across the middle to fill the hole, and then tack the incisions by the molars.

As Yessica's operation carried on I noticed one thing out of place in the OR room. It sat between her feet and acted as her little guardian... a teddy bear. At 13 years old she's still a child, but with this surgery hopes to hold the confidence of an adult.

Check back for more on Yessica tomorrow!

Sunday, Day 1 | Chiclayo

2009-12-06T06:12:00.000-08:00

We've made it. 3 flights zero sleep and 24 hours later we have made it to Chiclayo. A place where the people use their vehicle horns more than New Yorkers.

As an observer and first timer on this trip it's been quite interesting watching the team take on roles in the clinic. Each person came over with a personal bag and a bag double that size of medical supplies. It's been quite amazing to see all the equipment needed to make these surgeries possible.

Saturday morning we arrived at our hotel, which is a beautiful place tucked away off the street. Delia, FACES contact here in Peru did a fabulous job! After we arrived we ate a quick breakfast and were given "free time" AKA "nap time" which everyone gladly took advantage of. At this point any flat surface would do– I was beat! After a few hours we all grabbed our bags and headed over to the clinic to set everything up, understand our surroundings and make sure they had all the medical supplies needed. There are 3 main rooms we will be using– the OR, the recovery and the extra storage/computer work area. It's quite interesting to see the ins and outs of the medical situations... more on that to come. Oh, and by the way– nothing like the shows on TV.

Currently it's Sunday morning, the first day of surgeries and the team is excited to get this ball rolling. I can't wait to share my first day of surgeries with you. Wish me luck and a strong stomach!

Oh, and the people here are nothing but generous, kind, and loving. They completely go out of the way to help.

Here is the team trekking the medical supplies to the clinic just a few short blocks from our hotel.

The front of the clinic.

A birds eye view of the OR

Jeff giving an overview.

A side street right next to the clinic

Delia, her parents and some of the team after the clinic was set up.

Thanks everyone for reading. I hope to post daily here in Chiclayo.
Happy day and big smiles. Melissa Tomeoni with Soul Mates Photo.

Airborne!

2009-12-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Well I am pleased to tell you that the team is in the air! They will land in the remote area they will be operating out of tomorrow. I can hardly wait to share their travel stories with you and their experiences as they happen, and I really can not wait to see the pictures! Melissa Tomeoni of Soul Mates Photography in Portland, OR has joined the team this year, paying her own way and donating her time and talents to document FACES 2009 medical mission to Peru!

My God this is so exciting!

2009-11-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

We have just received this note from our FACES liaison in Peru, Delia. It speaks for it's self, enjoy!

Hello Elissa, Tom, Dr Blakely

I wanted to email you before but I was busy with my work, I just wanted to tell you thankyou for your patience and time dedicated for our children. This is such a great work! On friday when you evaluated Martina I wanted to cry , she was so HAPPY because she was talking to you on the ichat, in these days that we have been contacting with her, we keep telling her that she has to study and that she has Milagros as an example to follow, Martina is 24 and recently last year in February she had an operation in her lip by a German team, after that operation she could do her first grade of primary school, this year she is doing her second grade, and when we told her that she will have her palate fixed she is so happy because she can see that Milagros can communicate with people very well. She told us she wants to follow the speech therapy with you and that she will study, she was so excited because she says now she can sign. My God this is so exciting!!!!!

how can people like Martina suffer a lot because they can not have access to operation like this, but the most rewarding is that they can have a beautiful smile and they can be inserted in the society, go to school, and have the chance to a better future.

After you talked to Martina, she was so excited, honestly difficult to describe, Angelica and me we were telling Martina that she did the speech exercises very well, we could notice also that her self esteem is going up, that makes us so so happy!!!!! You can change their lives greatly.

Thanks to you all for your time, your love, your dedication.
Milagros and Angelica say hello to you all, they are wonderful,
We are a wonderful team!!!!
a warm hug with all our love, thanks again.

Delia

Why FACES was created.

2009-11-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

FACES Foundation signed its papers as a non-profit organization on 9-11-2001, a day that changed lives forever.
The founders of FACES, Dr. Jeff Israel and Dr.Tom Albert, had traveled the world performing surgical procedures on children with congenital facial deformities with the hope of changing the lives of the kids and their families. It became clear, however, that surgery alone was not enough. For that reason, FACES was conceived to develop a comprehensive cleft lip and palate care program for children and families of developing nations. Jeff and Tom's thoughts were to eventually include care of speech, hearing, genetics, dental and orthodontic problems, and social issues, much like what occurs in US based cleft palate teams. Currently, a model is being developed in Peru to help handle the multifaceted aspects of cleft care.

Welcome!

2009-11-24T23:47:00.000-08:00

Here it is! FACES Foundation's Blog where you can keep up with our daily activities on location! Check in for recent photos, anecdotal updates, and maybe even a video or two! Sign up to follow our Blog and you'll be updated via email with each new post! We are looking forward to sharing FACES 2009 campaign to Peru with you!