This year marked our Iowa MOST’s 10th trip to Guatemala. Some have come every year; for others, it was their first time. But no matter how many times you go, it’s always a life-changing experience. Personally, I’ve felt so supported on this trip, by people at home as well as in Guatemala. Everywhere we went,…
Read MoreRemember when the dentists told us about oral health not being the highest priority in Guatemala? Well we hoped to do a little something about it. This morning a shiny Hummer H2 driven by local Rotarian Ernesto showed up at the hotel to pick a group of us up. Our mission: to distribute toothbrushes and…
Read MoreThis week, a woman carried her 1-year-old son into the hospital. In her hand was this well-worn card. The card was a promise for the future – a promise she had held on to for the past year. Dr. John gave it to Tomasa almost exactly one year ago. When she came to last year’s…
Read MoreI got a chance today to chat with Dr. Bill and find out the story behind this picture taken during assessments. Her name is Dulce Maria. She came to the clinic last year at the age of 9. She didn’t have a cleft, but her soft palate was very weak, which made speaking difficult. Her palate…
Read MoreDentists play a huge role in helping kids with clefts live happy and healthy lives, and we are lucky enough to have a great group of dental staff on the trip with us helping serve this important function. Even two local dentists, Juan Carlos and Antonio, volunteer time away from their practices in Guatemala City…
Read MoreWarning: surgery pictures may be graphic. Today I got to do one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced – watch a surgery inside an operating room. I got to see doctors put the pieces of an incomplete lip back together, insert a tube into an ear, and close an opening that had formed in…
Read MoreSince the moment Katerin came into the hospital, she won everyone over with her smile. She seemed so joyful, giggling every time someone stopped to remark on how cute she was. Katerin had her lip repaired in surgery today, closing the gap where the left and right sides of her face failed to join together…
Read MoreMartine Dunnwald is a research assistant professor at the University of Iowa. She studies the causes of cleft lips and palates. She’s on the trip collecting data from patients and their families, all in an effort to understand more about clefts. “Ultimately, we want to be able to find a cure for the defect, but…
Read MoreDay 1 of Surgery: Healing for Gerny Remember this little dude? Well his name is Gerny. He is 14 months old and was our first patient today. (I use the term “our” very loosely here as this trip has taught me that blogging is rarely a skill needed in surgery.) Dr. John worked to connect…
Read MoreThe rest of the team arrived in Guatemala City late Friday night but they didn’t rest long. Everybody was up and loaded on the bus to Huehue by 5 a.m. I cannot relay how the 5-hour trek was because this blogger took a Dramamine and doesn’t remember much after that. By noon, we were at…
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