UI Public Image

Donna with RGMA DYRU Station Manager Butz Maquinto during our OPERATION TAGHOY Public Image live over the radio....

Donna was on air live over RGMA DYRU with Megs (taking pic) of Rotary during the visit in the station...

Jaime doing the rounds during the last day of the operation...

The kind hearted Nurses from UK visited the Rotary Club of Kalibo adopted handicapped center and donated cash, toys, books, etc..

Megs with the old patient during the visit of the latter at the hospital for follow up check up...

Jaime and Megs met with benefactor of the organization - PAL FOUNDATION Director Menchu during the visit in Manila in between the work week in Kalibo... PAL helped in the smooth transition of the team's trip from airport to another....

Jaime gave a token of appreciation to P. Ed of Forbes Park Rotary Club in Makati before the U.I. Presentation...

Jaime and Megs with the members of the Forbes Park Rotary Club in Makati... RC Forbes Park is the sister club of RC Kalibo - the local host Rotary club of Operation Taghoy this year..

Presenting the SHARING OWNERSHIP PROGRAM OF U.I. to RC Forbes Park in Makati during the courtesy call to the group and personally thanked them for their contribution to the mission 2009. They were instrumental in completing our documents and fees for with the PRC both for Iloilo and Kalibo.

Jaime is introduced to PP Bob, the icon for Kagawad Kalinga and medical missions for RC Forbes....

Final post from Kalibo

Today was a day filled with mixed emotions. People ready to get back home to their daily routine, their families and friends, and at the same time not wanting to leave the fabulous Filipino people, the ability to change so many lives, etc. Today our final patients were discharged from the hospital by the local Dr. Hilario. In speaking with one of the supervising hospital nurses, all the patients did really well and were able to return to their homes. At night a few of us joined the incredible Rotary Club of Kalibo as they hosted the Rotary Group Study Exchange team from Boston, Mass. It was a fun way to close our final evening in Kalibo. Tomorrow we will head to the airport en route to our homes. We do so with a mix of joy and longing to remain; all of us grateful for the experience, many of us as transformed as the people we helped and will leave behind. We will carry them in our hearts and memories as we know we will remain in theirs. Posted by Rev. Talon S. Windwalker, NHD, visual aide/community outreach

A bittersweet farewell

Today our team finished the remaining patients and packed up to prepare for our journey back to the States. We will have Saturday to explore and enjoy what Aklan has to offer before we begin the very long trip back to Colorado and our other points of origin.

One of our last patients was Arnold, age 24. This young man awed all of us by his story. He heard UI was coming to Kalibo, and so he walked for 3 days to get here for his surgery. He arrived early and found places to hide and sleep in the hospital. Staff there discovered him and ensured he was fed, had some local help, and made it for screening day. Yesterday when Kalibo Cable was here to video tape more of our mission, we informed them of this incredible story, and Arnold was interviewed for TV.

When we first heard about his situation and how long he had walked, we were ready to put him up in a hotel, get him food, and fill in for his family to help him on the ward. However, true to the spirit of hospitality and brotherhood that is the culture of the Philippines, he already had all the help he needed. Once again we stood in awe of these amazing people.

What a wonderful way to end a mission!

During the day a small contingency of us went to New Washington to the home of the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's order) in Aklan where they operate a home for orphaned as well as sick children and for the dying and mentally ill who have been abandoned by their families. They don't allow pictures, so unfortunately we can't share visual memories with you. We were impressed at how well cared for everyone there is, but what else would one expect from nuns in the order that Mother Teresa founded!

After packing was done, a small group of us explored the Kalibo Market as well as Sampaguita which is the home, as well as a resort, of Sam Butcher, the artist behind Precious Moments figurines. This is a picture outside his home which you can tour part of. It was quite impressive and just feet from the ocean.

Yes, those are what you think they are Sausages in the wet market

While in the market we were source of many giggles and jokes among the locals. I'm sure the Americans taking pictures of raw meat hanging in stalls, salt, dried fish, etc., was quite silly to them. I was wearing my Uplift shirt, and a stall owner noticed it. She began talking to us and asked if we would like to try some local foods. Suddenly she disappeared carrying money and returned with a bag full of goodies. This was her small gift to us for what Uplift does for her people. Others have similar stories, and every time it is a humbling experience.

Posted by Rev. Talon S. Windwalker, NHD, visual aide/community outreach

Extra photos

Here are some other pics from our time in Kalibo.

Posted by Rev. Talon S. Windwalker, NHD, visual aide/community outreach

Edgardo's transformation

Marked for surgery

Walk to the OR

A brand new face, the day after

Edgar's surgery went extremely well. We had a wait in the OR while they brought in a new oxygen tank, and so the nurses kept him entertained, and kept his eyes off the procedure going on just feet from his table. It was amazing to watch gifted hands create new lips for Edgargo, whose nickname is Ian. Dr. Hilario, a local ENT, had scrubbed in for the procedure and proved to be yet another fortuitous event. While closing, Dr. Samman, the primary surgeon, wanted to use sutures that wouldn't absorb so that the cosmetic effect was even better. However, none of our team will be here in a week for the suture removal. Dr. Hilario, who is also the vice president of the Aklan Medical Soceity, without hesitation offered to do the suture removal so Edgardo's surgery could be just that much more effective.

Edgardo had touched many people on our team, and everyone was so excited for him. I can't tell you how exciting it was to walk onto the ward today and see Edgardo resting without a mask or bandana! He was very happy with his new look. Edgardo's little cousin, Lila, also had a procedure yesterday to repair a cleft lip.

His story got even more interesting as we listened to his "auntie" (a lady who helps care for him but is of no blood relation) relate more of his story. Children at school had started pulling on the bulky lips. Edgardo is an orphan now and lives with some cousins. Edgardo fishes and works all day to try to help the family he lives with. He wants desperately to go to school to learn. Someone stepped up to the plate and will sponsor him financially to help provide a better life for him. It is amazing how many things have suddenly come together for him. And it is so wonderful to see the smiles on the people who have flown from far and near to come help children like him as they watch just one of our many success stories leave the hospital.

Posted by Rev. Talon S. Windwalker, NHD, visual aide/community outreach

Speech Therapy Sounds Out

Speech therapy is relatively new to the Uplift Internationale mission. This is the 2nd year that it has been part of the mission focus. Theresa and Linda, both from the US said all the children there with cleft palates would have speech therapy. Sadly, that is not the case in the Philippines. In fact, on the entire island of Panay (where Kalibo is located) there is only 1 speech therapist! Indigent children here have no opportunity to learn how to improve their speech, so time with the therapists is something they do not want to miss.

Theresa and Linda meet with all the families and cleft palate repair patients. Each session lasts about 20 minutes. They try to teach the parents a few quick things so that they can be the "speech therapists". After the reparative surgery the patients have to learn to direct air out their mouth and to use their "new palate". Essentially they have to relearn how to say words and make sounds correctly. The little girl and her father pictured above were so excited about what they had learned that they left their speech session and started practicing immediately.

Both Theresa and Linda agree the biggest challenges are that there is no follow-up after surgery here and there is just 1 speech therapist for the entire island. They both believe that speech therapy can really help these kids. They feel as though they have had some tangible success, in that, the parents are asking that their child spend time with the therapists and one boy that spent time with them today said that he can't wait to go back to school because the surgery improved his speech dramatically. He dropped out of school in the 6th grade because he could no longer bear the teasing. Now 14 years old, he can not wait to pick up the book bag and head back to a place that previously caused him so much pain.

Life Goes on in Pre and Post Op Ward

Pre and Post Op are in 1 large ward. There are so many patients this week that there is overflow into the courtyard just outside the ward. Life goes on in the ward much as it does for the patients on a normal day. Many relatives come with the patients, to keep them company, to cook and feed them and provide all the needed care. They come with large bags full of blankets, pillows, cooking utensils and a favorite toy or two. There is such a feeling of family and community in the ward - nothing at all like the typical "anaseptic" hospital experience in the US. There were children playing with toys, sleeping, Uplift volunteers reading to or sharing a laugh with the patients. Other talked, spent time daydreaming and 1 boy even did an interview with a local TV station.

The ward is staffed with 6 Filipino nurses, Regina and Sandra Mae who are Uplift Filipino/American volunteers and Uplift veteran nurses and Annie and Liz who hail from the UK. On Wednesday there were 22 patients and their family members in the ward. Two families were sharing each bed and 23 more people were in the overflow area on 9 cots.

When the patients return from the Recovery Room, it is up to the Post Op staff to monitor vitals, ensure patients are drinking water, dispense medications and check the surgical incisions. The cleft lip repair patients stay overnight and the cleft palate repair patients stay 2 nights.

Annie from the UK is a long time Uplift volunteer and spends her day in what appears to be a chaotic environment. She would not have it any other way. This is her 5th Uplift Internationale mission and she has returned each year because she "enjoys to work with the Filipino people and loves to give a WHOLE child back to the grateful parents."