Monday, February 15, 2010

Sometimes the Answer is Right Next to You

Recently we are seeing more and more crush injuries. This morning a woman came into our clinic whose face had been smashed. I was helping clean and debride her wounds, but I was thinking she would really need plastic surgery someday. Through the translator, she was asking me what the next step was, and I knew we didn’t offer plastic surgery. I knew I was going to have to tell her that she would need to be referred to a plastic surgeon out in town. Meanwhile, I was wondering what the chances were that Haiti really had any good plastic surgeons and whether she could afford it. We focus on life/death issues at the clinic, and she wasn’t really in that situation. However, appearances mean a lot, and a significant change to facial features can have a lasting impact on a person. Then something happened that only happens in the movies. I thought, I wonder why Mexico brought such a huge team. I walked over to one of the Mexican doctors. Habla Englais? Are you a plastic surgeon? “Why, yes, I am.” He replied. What a miracle!, I thought. I walked him over to the girl, and he did some measurements and said he would set her up for surgery the next day. I was so relieved that this girl has the possibility of rebuilding her face and her self esteem.

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