| 2003
Peru Mission |
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The
site of our Peru, 2003 mission was in the beautiful
and historic city of Arequipa. While a few team
members prepare the operating rooms and set
up a medical supply area, others head to the
city of Juliaca to screen children from the
high plains of Peru who will be brought by bus
to Arequipa for surgery. |
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| Several
others arrive a few days later and bring the
remaining medical supplies necessary for a week
of surgery. |
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It
is always a tense moment as parents check the
posted surgery lists to see who will receive
an operation. Thanks to the generous support
of CSI donors this past year, our missions were
secure and we didn't have to turn down a single
patient for lack of funding. |
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| The
landscaping at Honorio Delgado Hospital reflects
the pride the people of Arequipa have in their
beautiful city. The climate here is perfect
year-round. |
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The
primary goal of this mission is to repair facial
deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.
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| The
CSI team quickly gains respect and affection
for our Peruvian team members. They are very
forgiving of the ways we misuse the Spanish
language, and grateful that we are trying to
learn and speak it. |
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Our
patients arrive from Juliaca and wait for local
volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints to bring them to their homes
for a good meal and comfortable nights rest. |
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| The
patients from Juliaca are the first to receive
surgery. It is necessary to provide not only
Spanish interpreters at this point, but interpreters
of Quechua and Amayra, languages of the indigenous
people of Peru. |
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| This
type of facial tumor could not be removed in Arequipa
by the local doctors prior to the CSI medical mission.
All of our medical missions are teaching missions,
and this teaching enables the Peruvian doctors to
establish themselves in a broader range of surgical
techniques with a higher degree of safety than would
have previously been possible. |
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| In
many cases a child's life can be dramatically altered
in less than an hour. |
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Many
volunteers from the United States donated blankets
and Recovery Room Bags to provide comfort and
personal hygiene supplies for the surgery recipients.
Many volunteers from Arequipa gave their time
to help us in the hospital-bringing food for
the waiting parents and translating for everyone
needing their help. |
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| Our
medical team all agreed that despite the extreme
poverty in some areas of Peru, these are some
of the happiest people we have ever seen. |
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| Childrens
Surgery International extends heartfelt gratitude
to our exceptional Peruvian hospital staff. We couldnt
have done it without the engineers, public relations
staff, administrators, medical staff and custodial
team. The Ministry of Health provided help all along
the way. All made us feel welcome and appreciated,
and their dedication to helping our patients was felt
by all. |
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We
would also like to thank the Peruvian Customs
Office and Enlace Aduanero in Lima for helping
us ship our medical supplies to and from Peru.
They were very patient with us as we conducted
this first successful mission to Peru. |
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| We
say good-bye for this year at a closing ceremony
in the hospital, but we are grateful to be invited
by our friends to come back again next year. |
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