The Opportunity Of A Lifetime

Operation Smile Student Programs had given me the opportunity of a lifetime by sending me to Zunyi, Guizhou, China to be a student educator and representative for the student programs.

My journey began on March 25th. My mission partner and I traveled by plane six hours to meet our sponsor in Los Angeles, California. From there we boarded Air China and traveled twelve hours to Beijing. After a six hour layover we boarded another plane and traveled four hours to Kunming, where we stayed overnight before taking a five hour train ride to our final destination, Zunyi.

Upon meeting our medical team and going over everyone’s roles and where each translator would be going, we made our way to the hospital. We had one screening day during which we screened over 200 kids and teens for surgery. This meant we checked their vitals and making sure they were fit for surgery. We also observed their clef lip or clef palates to see what would have to be done to fix them. After screening and a debriefing between each specialty about the patients, it was decided that 100 of them would be operated on due to illness or other problems.

Throughout the week I created different relationships with the children and their parents. For the Student Programs, we were instructed to collect patient stories along with other interviews from doctors and nurses. Many patients were local but a select few had traveled over five hours to try and get their child a surgery. Some stated that they wanted their child to receive surgery so they wouldn’t be made fun of in school.

While they waited for surgery, the child life team which I was a part of kept the children occupied before they entered for surgery. We played with cars, colored in coloring books, and so much more. We also took children one by one and had model doctor equipment to show them what would happen when they entered the OR. We showed them the IVs and the anesthesia masks that would be put in and on them. Many of the parents were very anxious because it was the first time their child would be undergoing surgery. With the help of translators, I was easily able to communicate with them and reassure them that everything was going to be okay and that their child was in good hands.

The mission was very successful and brought many tears throughout the week. I got the opportunity to go into the OR and watch a surgery of a girl who I had built a good relationship with. I am so thankful to everyone who supported me throughout the week. I also thank my friends and family for their donations to such a great cause.