Operation Smile, Take 2

Operation Smile, Take 2.

Written on 5/27/2015

    While volunteering during the second Operation Smile mission of my service, I was asked by a Operation Smile staff why I returned to do Operation Smile a second time. The answer was obvious, but the words were difficult. Operation Smile was a wonderful part of my service for so many reasons, and here are just a few.

    Smiles - It’s included in the title of the organization and its more than just a clever way to say they do operations on mouth-related abnormalities. As I spent time with the people in Operation Smile, I realized the mission is about so much more than operating on lips and mouths. Its about making health-care less scary and keeping everyone smiling.
   
    When you look around a mission, practically everyone has a smile on their face. And it’s not just because they or their children are receiving a life-altering surgery free-of-charge. Its the happy smiling faces on all the volunteers and staff. It’s the toys and the bubbles and the laughter. Its a organization of people working hard to make sure everyone is happy and safe and healthy.

    It’s also an amazing feeling to see so much change happen in such a short amount of time. In a week, over 100 patients receive surgery - some have two operations at once (a cleft palate and a lip). In seven days - over 100 lives are changed for the better. And that's just counting the life of the patient. The parents of the patients can suddenly breath a little easier knowing their child’s lip or palate are no longer holding them back.

    In the last two missions, I heard countless stories of children who stopped going to school because they were bullied. Or kept being held back because their cleft palate prevented them from speaking well. Or even very young children who weren’t making the developmental marks for their age group because of poor nutrition. With the help of Operation’s Smile dedicated doctors, surgeons, nurses, speech therapists...and all the other people that make the mission possible...these young ones recieve the aid needed to improve their situations - if even just a little bit.

    Mothers with young babies who are still much too small to be put under general anthesthia are taught how to improve the nutrition of their child to increase their weight for the next mission, patients with speech problems spend time with a speech therapist, and all children have access to educational toys and games during the mission.

    But, honestly, the thing that made me come back was the connection that happens when you are part of someones life during that critical week. There is something so uplifting about being thanked by mothers and fathers just for being there and making sure things are going well. Being able to speak Malagasy and translate their needs and do my best to ensure those needs are met was an unbelievably amazing experience.

    I was asked by a few nurses and surgeons if being a part of the Operation Smile’s mission made me want to join the medical field. And my answer was a very strong no. The work that doctors and nurses do, while amazing, is just not something I could do. Watching surgeries and IV changes was cool and all - but the thought of administering any form of health care is slightly terrifying to me.

    HOWEVER, being a part of the Operation Smile’s mission for the second time re-ensured me that I do want to be a part of the International Development field.  Watching all the individuals who committed their careers to changing peoples lives for the better, I was inspired. I have always been passionate about public service (although I first realized this passion could be a career in the past few years), and working with Operation Smile again fueled that flame even more.

Thank you Op Smile :)