Just-Blog

Kochi Reflections

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:50:45 -0500

I have dimples, and was told that, technically speaking, they are considered as a congenital facial deformity - yet many people would pay hundreds and thousands to get a plastic surgery for that. One in every three minutes, a child is born with the facial deformity of cleft palate and cleft lip that would threaten their well being, chances of survival, and outcast them from society - yet many of them do not even have that USD240 dollars for a reconstructive, life changing surgery.

Sounds ironic? But this is the truth. And we never really realize how important is the ability to smile until we realize that there are people who don't have it. And this is the reason why I volunteer for Operation Smile - because it makes me realize how fortunate I am and not taking things for granted.

In the Operation Smile Kochi mission in April 2013, I was able to witness the touch of an angel that was bestowed upon all these kids.

During the screening day I was trying to entertain all the kids waiting for their turn to be screened, with toys and bubble soap. There was this particular girl who was everyone's favorite. She has cleft palate and cleft lip, but she is probably the happiest and bubbliest kid around. When we blow soap bubbles for her she will squeal in excitement and try to burst them.

When we passed her the bottle so that she can blow her own bubbles, she was struggling - and then it hit me. She could not blow any bubbles because of her cleft lip and palate. These kids cannot even perform simple tasks such as this, tasks that we normally do not even think about. This girl was operated on the 2nd day of surgery. When she left her lips were swollen from the trauma, but I believe when it heals, she will give everyone the most beautiful smile she has to offer.

Over the 5 days of surgery we conducted 64 surgeries to correct deformed lips, palates and fistula. But the mission is not only about that. It is really about 64 lives being changed, and 64 families finally enjoying a life without discrimination and judgement.

I was fortunate enough to really witness the whole process of this mission - from the screening to the surgery to post-operation recovery, and I am really pleased with the work that Operation Smile does. The surgeons are so skilled in their cutting and suturing that they literally perform miracles in 30 minutes. The anesthetics and post-operation doctors are all so dedicated and professional about their work even though they are not paid to be. It really inspired me as a medical student to be like them in the future.

A smile is the shortest distance between two people. A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. A smile is a universal language that is so infectious that it is like a mirror when you smile at other people. And I am really proud to be part of this team that changes lives, one smile at a time.

Many people have asked me: seems like you have been involved with Operation Smile for quite long? How much longer do you intend to volunteer for it?

For me, this is not about equality or justice, but I do feel that if it is something I can do so freely and beautifully with ease, others should have the same opportunity to do that too. Hence, my answer would be - till the day that I am unable to smile :)

Mandalay Mission Reflection

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:55:01 -0500

(A reflection piece by one of our medical student volunteers, Terrence Hui)

When the opportunity to join an Operation Smile mission arose, I jumped at it. I was familiar with the mission, and had been on overseas CIP trips before. But what I'd experience in Mandalay was beyond anything I'd imagined.

I travelled as a medical student volunteer and the 4 of us were assigned roles in the medical records team. For most of the time, we were stationed at the "medical records" room, but whenever possible, we would visit the wards to meet the children. I watched as each child and their parents experienced a maelstrom of emotions, the anxiety as they await approval for surgery from the doctors, the fear in the eyes of the parent as his/her child undergoes surgery, and appreciation and relief as their child is brought to the recovery room.

I recall one particular young mother carry her son into the operating room. What struck me the most was the trust they put in a surgeon so foreign to them. Soon after, I realized that what I had witnessed was in fact a mixture of both trust and sheer desperation. It was an extremely emotional and humbling experience standing by as she handed her only child over to the operating room staff. To our relief, the surgery was a success and her son was returned to his mother who was in tears as she received him. In a short span of 5 days, the surgical team completed more than a hundred operations, it was a total success!

Time flew on this mission and although the mission only lasted a week, it felt as if the team had been together for much longer. How a team, made up of people of different languages, different ethnicities, different cultures and different trainings were able to unite for the common goal of healing, gave me hope for humanity.

Operation Smile made more than just those children and their parents smile, it made everyone smile. It is a truly beautiful mission.

Mandalay Mission Reflection

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:16:01 -0500

(A piece of reflection by Reshvinder, one of our medical student volunteers)

A smile transcends boundaries; where words fail, it indicates a person’s feelings. It tells the other person that things are good; it puts him at ease. Smiles are cross cultural. Everyone has seen them; everyone knows what they look like. So what happens when your child, born on what is meant to be one of the happiest days of your life, does not have the same symmetrical up going curvature that you’ve learnt represents a smile? What happens when you see the crack in his smile? He looks different, beautiful still certainly, but different and you begin to worry how he is to survive in this ruthless world. Will he be constantly teased by his peers, bullied even, you wonder. And god forbid, what if your child is a girl?

Orofacial deformities are one of the most common major birth defects, which can be treated with surgery. However, many people in the rural areas of countries such as Cambodia, Philippines and Myanmar neither have the access to nor the means for such treatment. In February this year, I was fortunate to be part of the Operation Smile Singapore team that visited Mandalay as part of the Myanmar-Singapore Friendship Mission trip. It was a trip that took me out of my comfort zone and made me grow so much as an individual.

I should have known on the first day as we walked into the Mandalay General Hospital and I looked into the expectant eyes of parents who had brought their children from miles away for treatment that this would change me. I should have known as I followed the progress of a child, from the pre-op assessment to speech therapy to the actual surgery and post op that each child I came in contact with would leave an impression on me. I should have known as I watched a mother hide her tears as the nurses tried to feed her wailing child after surgery that I would take so much more away from this trip than I could ever give in return. I should have known; but I didn’t. Not until the last day did it hit me that the memories I had made over the past week would last a lifetime; that the things I saw both the medical and the non-medical aspects of it, I would forever hold very dear to me.

I will always remember how well the team gelled as we went about our daily work. From the random bouts of laughter that came from the medical records room to the seriousness with which each surgery was conducted, everyone in the team played their role to near perfection, with a humility that inspires me even now as I look back. Being a medical student, the opportunity to scrub up for surgeries with surgeons who were so willing to teach, was also a true blessing indeed.

I look back on this trip with nothing but fondness and with a strong hope that I will one day use the same values I learnt in my clinical practice. I cannot wait to return on another Operation Smile Friendship mission trip.

Mandalay Mission Reflection

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 07:55:51 -0500

(A piece of reflection by Yvonne Ng, one of our medical student volunteers)

Her baby is born with a cleft lip, a gap between her upper lip. She does not know why, she does not even care for what this is called or how it is formed, all she cares about is - why her child? Why of all the approximately 7 billion people in the world, and therefore 3.5 billion females, why does her child have to be born with this deformity that makes her stand apart from what is considered normal by society? Perhaps she should have given more offerings to the Gods because now her child is being punished for her own deeds. How will her child ever enter into a marriage and have somebody to look after him/her when she passes on. She’ll never be able to afford the medical bill, so nevermind about the possible treatments available for her child that her fellow villagers are telling her about.

The above was a common tale heard during screening day in Mandalay, Myanmar, where I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to witness the good work of Operation Smile Singapore on their Myanmar-Singapore Friendship Mission trip in February 2012. The technicalities of my medical school embryology knowledge on how a cleft lip or cleft palate is formed became a background drone as I witnessed for myself the real-word realities and impact of the deformity in a developing society. Perhaps because of some hidden maternal instincts deep within me, I felt for the mothers – I felt for their sadness and how they cursed their bad luck, but perhaps more importantly, I felt for their joy and anticipated hope as they waited patiently for their child to be screened.

Without a doubt, this mission is the greastest experience of my life. I felt a sense of happiness there that I never felt in my entire life. I learned so much from all the selfless individuals who so willingly contributed their time and energy to this cause. I loved how every single team member worked so seamlessly and effortlessly together to make the mission a success. I admired how everyone around had hearts of gold and gave their one thousand percent for the good of the burmese people. And perhaps because of my own impatient nature, I loved how every surgical operation gave me a sense of instant gratification as something done, a smile changed, a life changed.

Of course, the mission experience extends to the friendships that were formed and this I could gladly take back with me to Singapore! I could go on and on about every single thing that I adored about the mission, because there really is a lot. But I’ll end here by saying that I’ll make every effort to drop anything on my schedule and go back as a volunteer for another mission in the future!

Operation Smile Singapore Mission to Mandalay Reflection

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:02:00 -0600

(A piece of reflection by Michelle Chan, a young student volunteer)

My decision to volunteer for the mission was one I knew would take me out of my comfort zone on various levels. Firstly I would be in a foreign environment far from the comforts of home surrounded by 30 odd unfamiliar faces for a span of 9 days. Secondly, I would be interacting with numerous young patients with facial deformities and was unsure if I had the emotional maturity to handle that.

The screening day for me, was very overwhelming. The area our entire team was allocated to was packed with patients and their families. Amidst the chaos, I observed pockets of activity; translators painstakingly trying to get patients’ histories, some children being hysterical upon examination and members of our team going around to play with the children whose names were yet to be called. While keying in the handwritten information gleaned about patients from their charts into the electronic medical records database, I also learnt that some had travelled for 10 hours for the chance at a new smile. Such tenacity inspired me greatly.

We moved into the Department of Burn, Plastic, Maxillo-facial and Oral Surgery the following day and I was tasked with sorting the patients’ passport-sized pictures. I was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of deformed faces that greeted me and felt deeply saddened. I had never encountered so many young children with cleft lips and palates in a single place. I was also filled with a sense of injustice; the very people who have limited access to clean water and sanitation and are unable to afford proper healthcare, are the same ones who are plagued by these unfortunate health related circumstances. The very thought that I had existed for a good 18 years in total oblivion to the plight of these people irked me and stirred within me a burning desire to do everything I could within my abilities for the patients and their families.

During the mission, I was also extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to enter the Operation Room (OR). Watching the surgeries was personally, an eye-opening experience. It was my first time watching a surgery up close. Perhaps it was the overpowering smell of antiseptic in the OR where three surgeries took place concurrently or perhaps it was simply the blood and gore or perhaps even a combination of both that led me to eventually feel faint and have to lie down. In the process, I also acquired the nickname ‘little fainter’. Undeterred, I vowed to re-enter the OR the following day only to pass out again. Though frustration swelled up within me, it served as the driving force for me to survive at least one surgery. I was determined to prove to myself that watching a surgery was something I could handle. Thankfully, I experienced a huge sense of achievement and relief at the end of the day when I realised I was still lucid after watching another three surgeries!

Apart from a sense of personal achievement gained from observing the surgeries, it was extremely inspiring to see surgeons empowered to change their patients’ lives within an hour. It was also heartwarming to see everyone in the team working together tirelessly with the surgeons sometimes working through their lunch breaks to give as many children as possible a new lease of life.

What I took away from this mission was not simply experiences and friendships but insights about life. As much as the purpose of the mission was to bring smiles to the people of Mandalay through medical expertise and support, it was really the love for people and the profound desire to help them beyond the call of duty that lies at the heart of all the good work done. I am terribly looking forward to the next mission and the privilege to make a difference to the lives of many children who are still without a beautiful smile to call their own.

Dhaka Mission Reflection

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:23:26 -0600

(A reflection piece by Karen Oung, a student volunteer on the Operation Smile Singapore mission to Dhaka)

Personally, the most memorable moment on the mission for me was witnessing a baby boy undergo surgery in the Operating Theatre. That it took less than 45 minutes to repair the babyâ€™s cleft lip and, in doing so, transform his life irrevocably was incredibly humbling. It took a few hours for my experience in the Operating Theatre to truly sink in, but it struck me then, just how much of a contribution the plastic surgeons had made to the lives of each and every patient on the mission. The impact of seeing Dr. Vincent Yeow and the entire medical team perform miracle after miracle was so great that it left me a little wistful for not having continued with the Sciences in Junior College, since this automatically rules out studying medicine as an option for me.

Over the next few days in Dhaka, however, I caught myself thinking about how great it would be, should I be able to contribute to the patients, not simply as part of the Medical Records team, but as a surgeon and with the ability to empower patients to lead a normal life. Naturally, I fully recognize that every member of the Dhaka mission team played a vital role in ensuring the success of the mission, but this awareness did nothing to stop these errant thoughts from popping up time to time.

Reflecting back now, I am not sure if the baby was mature enough to be aware or even fearful of the operation for which he was scheduled. Being so young, it wouldnâ€™t be surprising if he has no memory of the operation in future, should his parents not tell him about it. However, I feel that this is precisely what makes Operation Smile truly amazing â€“ that we can enable a cleft-lip baby to lead a normal life. After all, a normal life might seem nothing extraordinary to the vast majority but to the baby boy whose operation I observed and to all cleft-lip and â€“palate patients, a normal life is perhaps the greatest possible gift they can ever receive.

Dhaka Mission Reflection

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:06:36 -0600

(Another reflection from Dhaka, this time from Pan Yunyi).

My most memorable moment of the mission was when I observed a cleft lip operation completed on a 35 year old lady. It was a local anaesthesia case and certain parts of the operation proved to be trying for her as she was conscious and aware of the progress of the operation. I was glad that I could offer her encouragement and comfort by accompanying her into the operating room and holding her hand during the operation. Even though we did not share a common language and thus could not communicate with each other, I felt that she could sense my support and concern. I was greatly disappointed when I had to leave her before the operation was completed as I was needed for another task.

During the operation, I realized how important this operation was to her; this unforgettable moment was the turning point of her life. Following thirty five years of suffering social stigma and speech difficulties, she will finally have a new lease of life. She will no longer be ashamed of her appearance, nor face humiliation just because of her deformity. At that moment, I felt the true meaning of an Operation Smile mission; we are changing lives.

It is amazing how much difference we can make simply by repairing a correctable facial deformity.

Dhaka Mission Reflection

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:03:50 -0600

(When I got back from the Dhaka mission with Operation Smile Singapore I asked the student volunteers to write a short reflection on the mission. The questions were: "What was the most memorable moment of the mission for you? Why did this moment stand out?" This was written by Kristabella Low, our Operation Smile Singapore Student Chapter President)

There was a slim and beautiful little girl I noticed right from the very first day during screening. Her name was Sristy and she was born with a cleft palate. As with the other patients, I asked her numerous questions about her drug allergies, medical history, family records and requested her consent for surgery. Within a short time, we exchanged smiles and somehow, a special connection was formed. I told myself that I would follow her through her stay at the hospital.

I sat with her for two to three hours on the day of her surgery in the child-life room. Previously, I had only remembered her to be adorable, but spending a little more time with Sristy brought to my attention an emotion I hadnâ€™t noticed before â€“ not on her, and not on anyone else. It was a profound sadness that seemed to permeate her entire being, and life. It puzzled me that a girl at 12 seemed to carry such heavy burdens and worries. Watching her immerse herself in a drawing exercise and various handicraft activities, I was amazed at her precision to detail and artistic flair. Others around commented that she was a gifted girl. Through a translator, I fed my curiosity by asking her questions about her life and family. In spite of the language barrier, I could sense the difficulty she experienced in trying to speak with a cleft palate. She was aware of her inability to enunciate and seemed embarrassed by it. Sristy also told me that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up â€“ just like me.

I was not allowed to watch the surgery, so I waited impatiently in the post-operation room for her. When Sristy was wheeled out of the operating theatre, she was shaking and trembling from the general anaesthesia. When she finally opened her eyes, she was crying out of pain. I sat by her bed, held her hand and wiped away her tears. Then Â I began to cry, too, but not because she was in pain. My tears flowed because I knew that little Sristy now has a chance to fulfil her dream to be a doctor. She will no longer be looked down upon as a curse, a disgrace, an outcast. She will be judged and noticed not first by her disability, but by her countless abilities. And although I may not be able to watch her bright future unfold, I know that her gratitude to Operation Smile will be forever, just as how we have changed her life forever. And that she will repay the kindness she has received in whatever way she can.

Â I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to be part of someone elseâ€™s life-changing moment. It has taught me to always see myself as a part of something larger. I began the mission thinking that students had an insignificant role to play. But now I realize that one of our biggest roles is to be inspired â€“ and in turn inspire others.

Operation Smile Mission to Dhaka

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 08:00:00 -0600

On January 15th Operation Smile Singapore will be leading a mission to Dhaka in Bangladesh. I will be going on the mission as a photographer and student sponsor - for the first time we will be joined by a group of Singaporean students from our local student chapter.

We will also be taking Sheylara along to document the mission and provide updates as many times as the rumoured internet connection in our hotel will allow.

I will post the photographs as soon as I get back to Singapore.

Operation Smile Missions

Thu, 20 May 2010 18:25:00 -0500

Part of this site is now dedicated to the good work done by Operation Smile. I have managed 6 missions to date, 2 per year so far, and I am now trying to find time to make it three for this year.

The second thing that I will be doing is to go back to mission sites more often (I did that for the first time this year) and do a follow-up with some of the patients who are able to make it back for me to meet them and take their photos. This is, perhaps, the most important thing that I can do for Operation Smile since the before and after pictures are such a great demonstration of what the surgeons can do.

I will update when I have an update...

The new CMS

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:02:00 -0500

So, the new CMS, courtesy of my good friend Giles and Redact Solutions, is now live. What I really hope that this means is that I will be able to update this site more than once every 10 years or so...

So, when my photo library finally gets a bit more sorted out (it's happening) I hope to be able to post more and more of the good stuff here and share it around a bit. I should also be able to start uploading to Corbis again, after a long hiatus.