World Surgical Foundation

I have returned to the States, and once again, I am so amazed by the World Surgical Foundation’s work and commitment. Upon my return I was so wiped out. The jet lag alone was brutal, but WSF doctors, nurses, and volunteers are back to work without complaint. Admiration is an understatement. Surgical missions are exhausting, and I don’t know how they do it. . . . The only conclusion is the passion they have for doing this and really making a difference gives them a superhuman energy.

Reflecting on the three weeks spent in the Philippines, I just can’t express adequately enough the important work done there. Being a part of changing the lives of so many sick and dying patients was beyond beautiful. World Surgical Foundation does so much, all at no cost to the patients. Just the simple fact that over 200 people lives are changed forever makes my heart sing.

The World Surgical Foundation is a real, honest, and generous foundation. What WSF does is unbelievable, and there is so much more to be done around the world. This is why we do not just go in, preform surgeries, and leave; our doctors also teach the local physicians to improve the care patients get when we are gone.

After participating in two missions, I have been inspired to go to nursing school so I can actually help medically in the ORs or PACU. Seeing a young boy get his life back as a result of WSF, being in the operating room, helping any way I could . . . just being there alone was my gift, but I want to do more.

-Mikaela Lannan

I was once told that the things I take for granted . . . someone is wishing for right now. After all I’ve seen in the last few days, there is no denying this statement. Volunteering on this WSF mission has engrained it even deeper, when I think times are tough . . . it’s nothing compared to what the sick and brave here have to deal with daily. There are even children and adults who craft colostomy bags out of soda bottles and other receptacles or just diapers. If one can’t afford the medical supplies, they must make their own.

After surviving one of the biggest natural disasters in history, the Philippines is a country rebuilding itself, stick by stick. And the people are as well. I am frequently shocked by how willing and strong they are, rebuilding their shanty homes and doing all of this with an air of gratitude and happiness.

World Surgical Foundation has preformed over 70 major surgeries in three days. Dr. Domingo T. Alvear didn’t stop there. At noon on Wednesday a group of us went to the main hospital down the road, and Dr. Alvear spoke to surgeons about appendicitis and lowering the cost of an appendectomy. He lectured once the appendix is ruptured all that is needed are antibiotics and pain medicine as the organ will break up and dissolve internally.

His lecture was followed by Dr. Rolando Mindiola to share his knowledge of minimally invasive surgery and the importance of laparoscopic surgical techniques. The goal here is not only to preform operations, but also to teach the local medical professionals how to do modern, quick, cost-efficient surgeries with a low loss of blood and minimal scarring.

Being a part of this mission is not just a blessing, an honor and a privilege, but the beginning of a career path I never would have been exposed to as well. Since I was a child, I did community service on my own volition. When I see a family come into the hospital with a child or other family member in total crisis and the next day leave with smiles of relief, I am flooded with indescribable gratitude. I know I’ve helped in making a difference in the quality of this person or child’s life. After seeing what WSF does, I will without doubt be picking up my service at home and abroad.

-Mikaela Lannan

With each passing day here things are running smoother and smoother. The coming ins and going outs are like clockwork. Dr. Lester Suntay is the coordinator of this mission locally and the Filipino contact on this side of the earth for the World Surgical Foundation. He is an admirable man to say the least and cool as can be under pressure.  He has a dry erase board that’s a perfect daily schedule. I asked him today why he does what he does, and his response was simple, “It’s for the patients . . . . It’s my calling.” I totally understood that. With six operable beds remaining full and post-op patients shuffled down for recovery the day keeps moving along.

Today was an emotional day for me. I didn’t come down here with the expectation that working in a run down hospital, in a country ravaged with devastation from Yolanda, and in living conditions less than sanitary, was going to be easy to digest. Every time I walk out of the operating theater and see the families of the patients on the ramp, with huge eyes looking at me for some sort of indication on the progress of their loved one . . . so many emotions flood. First off, I want to hug everyone and tell them in a language I don’t speak that it’s all going to be okay now. But I can’t, because sometimes everything is not going to be okay. We are all doing the best we can every moment, using every supply donated for it’s need, and that’s fantastic. Again, I am beyond impressed by WSF, not just for doing this, but for doing it so vigilantly. Every minute scheduled with the obvious willingness to do anything needed at any moment. I don’t doubt if a trauma case came into the ER, WSF would work it in at no cost and ten times the quality of care. It’s just awesome.

I feel lucky to be a part of what is happening here. Deciding to volunteer on this mission, my second with WSF, was a “no-brainer”. I have an application in to go back to school and start my way into the medical field. My goal is to be a key participant in WSF operating rooms and take on the unaffordable health care in third world countries.

-Mikaela Lannan

After experiencing Tacloban, I was somewhat prepared for the larger planned mission in Talavera. But once again, I am moved and amazed. The first day of the mission is called a “screening” day where people come en masse to get assessed, and the surgeons diagnose, schedule, and decide if they are going to be blessed with free medical care from World Surgical Foundation. When I arrived at the screening there was an unprecedented number of people at least 300. And my bleeding heart wants every single patient to be seen and receive the care they so desperately need. We anticipate 150 major operations and 50 to 100 minor procedures. Needless to say this week is going to be hectic and busy, but WSF comes to do as much as possible, and we will.

As the nurses and volunteers were setting up the stock room I stumbled upon something I couldn’t resist writing about. WSF team member, Dr. Chambers, has a daughter who took it upon herself to start a toy drive for the children in Talavera. I was so moved as he told the story to me.  Three days before the mission supplies were to be sent in boxes to the hospital, his 10 year old daughter took it upon herself to start a toy drive for the pediatric patients her dad will be working with. This little angel and her friends sent over three large boxes of toys.

It is really incredible that this child did all of this on her own. Having been on a WSF mission before I know what an impact these donations have on the patients going in and coming out of surgery. Because WSF does not bring back the unused supplies and donations. The amount of toys sent will most definitely outnumber the patients, so they will distributed long after we leave. I can’t say with enough emphasis that this 10-year-old girl with a heart of gold collected so many toys we won’t be able to get rid of them all. I believe she will be coming on missions herself very soon.

As far as the next five days go, we are going to provide as much service as 12 hour days will allow. This hospital has been retrofitted for WSF. Three operating rooms were divided into two operating rooms with two beds a piece and one room with three beds. Additionally there are five stations set up for the minor procedures. This gives us a possibility of performing up to 12 surgeries at one time, and with this team I trust we will surpass our expectations.

It is such a blessing to be a part of this mission.  I can’t thank Drs. Domingo and Veneranda Alvear enough for creating World Surgical Foundation. Not only for providing medical care in third world countries and donating equipment and supplies, but also teaching local surgeons and anesthesiologists while they work, giving the gift of skills learned over 50 years of medical practice.

-Mikaela Lannan

I am presently in the Philippines visiting Tacloban City Hospital with the World Surgical Foundation. We are here to check on the progress of the hospital rebuilding and determine what else WSF can do to help. This was supposed to be a simple visit with no major operations scheduled, but there is a young girl here today in need of an operation immediately to remove a choledochal cyst in her bile duct. Since this surgery was not planned, Dr. Alvear does not have all the equipment he would normally use like a harmonic scalpel or GIA staples. He will be doing it, “the old fashioned way” and expects to be operating for three hours.

As I watched her going under anesthesia, I got chills knowing this life is going to be saved or changed. Her pain and difficulties gone. I am going to watch her surgery because it is all just so incredible to see. Words cannot describe seeing this little body under the blanket with her tiny arm poking out. I have to hold back the urge to hold it. But it is soothing knowing that everything will be better for this little angel. I really understand now that having good health and good health care is such a blessing. I have to mention we arrived the day Pope Francis was leaving, and I believe this was no mistake. I say this because this first of three missions in the Philippines is already mind blowing, just the beginning of the magic. The World Surgical Foundation is making a difference one person at a time. This little girl will have a life she couldn’t have imagined before without cost. Not a even penny, because the hearts of WSF are ready to go.

The second case that hit me in the heart like a bomb is a sweet young mother with her baby boy who has an inguinal hernia. The procedure itself only took a half hour, but this woman, her brother, and child were displaced by Yolanda and live under a bridge. Homeless as can be, she works doing laundry for pesos. I could not let them leave here without giving them something. I was not going to let them just go back under the bridge. So I changed out of my scrubs and walked to a store to find some kind of useful gift before he was discharged. I remembered seeing a store on the way to the hospital that sold children’s bedding and bought a small mattress pad for her baby so he would not have to sleep on the ground.

A city completely leveled by the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda, Tacloban is really picking itself up and moving on. I took a tour around town and was actually shocked at how the survivors here are generally happy, grateful, and amazing people. I have completely reassessed my views on what really matters. I am so grateful to be here. So grateful of the Alvear family for creating this movement. Because that’s what it is a movement. With all the tragedy around the world today, I believe people are finally starting to reach for something greater. And WSF makes it easy for volunteers to get there.

Next stop? Manila and then a long bus ride to Talavera on Saturday for a week-long, multi-specialty mission.

-Mikaela Lannan

“There’s always one.” Sister Martin said looking back at me this afternoon as we hurried through the hallways of General Santos City Hospital, jumping from the OR to the PACU. We were walking fast and going through doctor’s notes, trying to figure out the discharge instructions of a post-op patient who had a total hysterectomy 2 days before. “The one” Sister Martin was referring to was baby Cyril, the little girl I will always remember. Cyril is one of the many young WSF patients that has been operated on during this mission and staying in the Pediatric PACU. Cyril, now 16 months old and her mother Marysol, traveled over 2 hours from Sarangani Province to have her unilateral complete cleft lip repaired. Cleft lip and palate repairs are usually simple procedures and are given a couple weeks after birth however in developing countries like the Philippines the cost of surgery is impossible for many. Cyril’s surgery was successfully completed on Monday evening (day 1 of surgeries) however due to a high fever she has been staying in the pediatric PACU a little longer than expected.

I’ve noticed that Cyril and her mother are usually by themselves unlike the other patients who always have an entourage of family members by their side. Due to the lack of resources and funding, GSCH does not have the same patient accommodations that we would expect to see in the United States. This makes the presence of family members vital to the patient’s well-being before surgery and recovery afterwards. During our 12 hour shifts together in the PACU I’ve heard Sister Martin, a highly experienced ER nurse, say repeatedly, “Now remember, you are the nurse now”, to family members who agree by nodding their heads as they listen closely to her instruction. The hospital does not offer meals so the patient’s relatives are responsible for providing breakfast, lunch, dinner, and water. There’s a water pump and makeshift wood stove outside next to the hospital building that families can use to wash dishes and cook food. In a small room filled with over a dozen other families, they share a bed with their loved one who is either waiting for surgery or who is recovering from it. They even bring sheets and pillows from home so their loved ones do not have to rest on a bare and dingy, thin mattress after surgery. The patients that the WSF serve are financially poor but they are rich in family however it seems to me that maybe Marysol and Cyril have neither a large network of family or money. Yesterday I witnessed a little girl run over to Marysol and kindly give her a mango to snack on. Marysol quietly whispered, “thank you”. The little girl who gave her the mango was the sister of another young WSF patient waiting to have her cleft palate repaired. At 6 years old, her mother had to pull her out of school because she was being constantly teased by her school mates for “talking funny”. Children with cleft lips and palates can not eat, drink, or speak properly, but they also face a social stigma that can sometimes result in staying home from school and isolation. Despite how hard each one of these families have it, physically and socially, they are still willing to help one another out. That is absolutely amazing to me.

From screening day until now, day 5 of surgeries, I’ve been visiting Cyril every morning, afternoon, and before we leave the hospital for the evening. Usually when I visit, Cyril is either sleeping or very fussy. Every time I try to talk to her she starts crying, clings on tightly and hides her face behind her mother’s shoulder, making sure that our eyes never meet. I don’t know what it is but I do not think she likes me! I still love visiting her.  And I love visiting all of the children in the pediatric PACU but there’s something about Cyril that pulls on my heart strings. She reminds me of my daughter Sophia who is thousands of miles away from me right now. When Sophia, now 7, was Cyril’s age she was that same little girl who held her mommy tightly and wouldn’t dare give anyone else the time of day. Cyril has a head full of dark hair, big brown eyes and olive skin just like Sophia and they both have mothers who love them dearly. On Sunday during screening, I remember seeing Marysol holding Cyril in the crowded registration area. You could tell she was nervous about whether or not Cyril would be scheduled for surgery by the WSF team. When I introduced myself, she replied back quietly and had the sweetest smile. After Cyril’s surgery, I visited her immediately and exclaimed to Marysol how beautiful Cyril was. Marysol said in her soft-spoken voice “it’s true”. But the way she said it I wasn’t sure if she was agreeing with my compliment or if she was asking if it was true that Cyril is beautiful.

The most important and life–changing parts of this mission are the operations the surgeons of WSF perform but there’s definitely something gratifying about volunteering in the PACU as well. We get to know the patients and their family. We talk to them, we comfort them, we identify with them in some kind of way. Today being our last day at General Santos City Hospital, we got to leave earlier than usual and say our good-byes to the wonderful staff members and nursing students of GSCH. I made my way over to the pediatric PACU. Cyril was still there. Her mother said they would be leaving tomorrow and Cyril was not running anymore fevers and eating much better. I wished her good luck and to take care. I tried to hold Cyril for one last picture but she didn’t want anything to do with pictures or me and of course she cried… something Sophia would have done. I will miss all of the patients and will always remember my experience at GSCH but most of all I will miss Cyril. Sister Martin was right… there’s always one.