Final day in Iloilo... speech screenings were done by our speech team. They found beautiful results from Mission 2009 patients who had palates repaired. They also instructed parents for ongoing therapy

Thank you celebration

We were hosted for a beautiful dinner by the Rotary Club of Central Iloilo City. A good time was had by all... we could not have had better hosts! Thank you thank you thank you to RCCIC!

Packing/Inventory

After surgeries were complete Friday afternoon, the team inventoried our supplies and equipment, packed everything up and said goodbyes. With the blessing of the Chief of Hospital, Dr. Prem Parcon, the equipment will be stored at Iloilo Provincial Hospital until the next mission.

After Surgery

After surgery, patients returned to the chapel to recuperate. If only the lip was repaired, they went home the day after surgery. If palate surgery was done or they were not medically ready for discharge, they stayed in the chapel for an extra day. There were lots of grateful parents on the ward... relieved that their child made it safely through the surgery, and happy for the life-changing surgery. There were lots of hugs and tears for the UI volunteers and hospital staff as they got ready to go home

One palate obturator was fabricated for a 22-year old young man who was not a surgical candidate. Where the palatal defect is small enough, a retainer-type appliance can be made to cover the hole in the palate; thus improving speech and eating capabilities. Dr. Willa, the Iloilo Provincial Hospital Dentist, not only extracted many teeth for the surgeons, but also facilitated fabrication of the obturator appliance. The obturator was a perfect fit, and there was an immediate improvement in the speech.

Waiting for surgery outside OR

After screening, many patients were housed at a local pension house because they traveled long distances to get to Pototan. They returned to the hospital the afternoon prior to surgery and were admitted to the hospital. If there were further labs or X-rays necessary, those were done, and the families then moved to the Chapel to await their surgery. From the Chapel, they were taken to the OR holding area (a bench outside the OR). When the OR room was ready, most of them walked in and positioned themselves on the operating table. There were two surgeries going in one room... the patient awaiting surgery could see the other surgery in progress. The young children having surgery were so stoic. No complaining or crying; very little pain medication after surgery.

While in Pototan, we experienced "brownouts" every day. Usually, when this occured, the hospital generator kicked in within a couple of minutes. However, on Wednesday late afternoon, the generator was not working, and the hospital electrician had gone home. He was called, and immediately returned to the hospital, but we were about 30 minutes without power. The anesthesia machines are designed to be self-sufficient, dependent only on the pressure of the O2 tanks, so the patients who were already under anesthesia remained comfortable. This ended up being a very late work day for the surgical teams, as surgery could not be resumed until power was returned.

Pototan OR/Supply Storage

The surgical teams consisted of four surgeons, 3 anesthesiologists, one CRNA, and multiple nurses. We were fortunate to have the participation of several local doctors and nurses, some from Iloilo; others from Roxas City and Kalibo. Mike Hollenback ran a tight ship in the OR, and although the days were very long, in the end, 59 patients received surgery. The local Rotary Club of Central Iloilo City worked very hard to pre-creen and select over 100 patients for the mission. Of those, some were not cleared for health reasons, and sadly, some were turned away because of time limitations. The Iloilo Provincial Hospital staff was gracious and generous in helping us accomplish the mission. They gave up their routine and selflessly helped us with no complaints.

The Chapel Potoan

The "ward" in Pototan was an open air chapel... a beautiful space which was inspiring.... even more so when used to accommodate our surgical patients. There were pre-op patients on one side and post-op on the other. While some were recovering from surgery, others were anticipating their operations. Meanwhile, the Outreach volunteers provided needed diversions in the form of games, puzzles, cards, crayons, and books. The universal language of play cemented bonds between families and UI volunteers. We were amazed to see a young 10-year old boy reading IN ENGLISH much better than many of their counterparts in American schools.

Successful Mission 2010

Congratulations for a very SUCCESSFUL medical mission 2010 this year. Roxas has 66 and Pototan has 59 children with new hope and higher self-esteem from our team. Great job guys! I got up at 3:30 am to send off most of the taghoy team to the airport flying out of Iloilo this morning at 6:30 am. See you all next time and THANK YOU ALL for the help you have given our Filipino children! To our Filipino hosts and partners, especially the Rotarians, you made it possible for our team and as usual, you have done aN enormous amount of contribution and collaborative efforts in making OPERATION TAGHOY 2010 a huge SUCCESS! Safe trip all and God bless! Cheers! Megs

Monday, Feb 1. 2010 Pototan

This morning, we left the hotel in Iloilo at 6:30 am, arriving in Pototan to find an additional 35-40 patients to screen. Everyone pitched in and got to it right away. Surgery began at 10:00 am, and 11 children were operated on today.

The “ward” (open air chapel) which houses both pre-op and post-op patients quickly filled up with patients who were admitted to the hospital because they came from long distances, and did not have the resources to return for surgery later in the week. It became apparent that this arrangement would not work. The ward was over-crowded, and the situation reached a critical point when it was determined that the crowding posed a risk to the patients who were having surgery.

The Rotarians immediately made arrangements for all of the patients who were not scheduled for surgery until later in the week to be transferred to a local boarding house, where they are being sheltered until the day prior to their operations, when they will return to be re-admitted to the hospital. This will continue to be supplemental housing throughout the week.

The day was long, with the team arriving back to Iloilo at 8:00 pm. Spriits are high in the ward, with many grateful parent of patients who have had surgery, and many full of anticipation of their big day tomorrow.

We are expecting another 15 children to have surgery tomorrow, with another 21 yet to screen.

66 New Smiles - Mission Accomplished

Mission week in Roxas City was an overwhelming success as 66 children now have new smiles! Of the 66 there were: 53 lip repairs, 3 bi-lateral lip repairs, 4 palate repairs, 2 lip and palate repairs, 3 lip revisions and 1 obturator placement. The average age of the patient treated was 8.4 years. In addition to the hard work in the operating room, all volunteers were warmly hosted during the week at the Mayor's Welcome Dinner and the Governor's Farewell Dinner.

A big thank you to all who made our mission a success. It would not have been possible without their dedication, input, determination, camaraderie and friendship!

The boxes of surgical equipment and supplies have now been packed and moved to Roxas and the Uplift volunteers participating in the 1st week have scattered to many parts of the globe. Farewell until next year when our common bond brings us back together.......mending faces one smile at a time!

We have our work cut out for us this week, with over 100 potential patients needing care. We will be commuting daily an hour each way and working long days to treat as many children as possible. The chapel is already nearly full of patients and we have only scratched the surface. Meanwhile, the families patiently wait their turn to be screened.

The Iloilo Provincial Hospitalin Pototan is the site for this week's mission. The open air chapel at the hospital is doubling as pre-op and post-op ward for all the patients. The families come with their children, uncertain, but hopeful. As you can see in the photos, their resources are limited to say the least. There are no beds here. They bring folding cots if they have them, or they use broken down cardboard boxes as the only thing between them and the cement floor of the chapel. They are accustomed to these hardships, but it is heartbreaking to see the poverty among these people.

Welcome to Week 2 of Mission 2010 in Pototan, Iloilo. The team arrived, weary but safe in Iloilo on Saturday, Jan 31, some moving from Roxas City; some coming from the US. After a quick dinner and much-needed rest, we met on Sunday morning and made our first of many trips to Pototan. Our local partners, the members of the Rotary Club of Central Iloilo City have worked tirelessly to recruit patients for this mission. We were greeted at the hospital by a sea of anxious, hopeful faces. There were already 30 families waiting. We had a brief orientation and began screening the many patients hoping to receive surgery this week.