Meet Happiness, an 11-year-old who is already a beacon of resilience and hope. I had the opportunity to sit and talk to Happiness and her mother about her experience with Surgicorps at Beit-CURE Children’s Hospital of Zambia. Happiness is a vibrant 6th grader who has weathered more challenges than most adults. Happiness enjoys school and spending time with her family. Her favorite subject is science, with a particular fascination for comets. Despite her young age, she’s developed a profound appreciation for helping others, which inspires her daily.

Happiness’s journey began when she was just a year and eight months old. The family had just moved into a new home that was still a work in progress. Amid the chaos of unpacking and setting up, a tragic accident occurred. While playing with her older sister Joy, Happiness accidentally bumped into a hot pot of boiling water, which spilled and caused severe burns. The pain of that day was only the beginning of a long and arduous journey. Her family faced an emotional and financial burden as they sought medical help for Happiness’s burns. It was during this challenging time that they discovered Surgicorps, an organization dedicated to providing free surgical care to people in need.

In 2016, Surgicorps stepped in to help Happiness with her first surgery. The team, led by kindhearted and skilled professionals like Dr. Jack, provided the necessary medical care to address her burns and begin her healing process. The care and kindness of Dr. Jack and the Surgicorps team made a significant difference in Happiness’s life, instilling in her a desire to give back to others in the future. Since that fateful day, Happiness has undergone surgeries almost every year to manage and treat the effects of her burn. Each visit to the hospital is a testament to her bravery and her family’s unwavering support. The emotional support from Surgicorps has been instrumental in navigating these challenging times. Happiness’s mother, Harriet, describes her gratitude for Surgicorps as beyond words. The compassion and skill of Dr. Jack and his team have been a source of immense comfort for their family. They eagerly look forward to the next visit in September, hopeful for a potential surgery to further improve Happiness’s quality of life.

Outside of her medical journey, Happiness’s life is filled with the love and support of her family, especially her older sister Joy. At 13, Joy is not only a caring sibling but also a partner in fun activities. The two sisters bond over painting and singing. Whether they’re creating colorful masterpieces or singing their hearts out in the shower, these moments of togetherness are precious to both. Happiness finds joy in the simple pleasures of life. Her favorite color is purple, and she adores dogs. Her favorite activities include dancing, singing, and painting. Whether it’s running around with her siblings or enjoying a quiet moment, Happiness embraces life with a smile and a song.

Looking towards the future, Happiness dreams of becoming a doctor with Surgicorps. Her motivation stems from her personal experiences and the positive impact of Dr. Jack, who was the first medical professional to truly make her feel cared for. Dr. Jack’s kindness and generosity left a lasting impression on Happiness, and she aspires to follow in his footsteps to bring hope and healing to others.

Dr. Lamvy Le, is one of the University of Minnesota Plastic Surgery residents who had the opportunity to join Surgicorps on two trips to Vietnam. Lamvy and her team just got an article published ‘The Impact of Participating in Surgical Trips to Low Income, Low Resource Countries  on Professional Development of Plastic Surgery Trainees’, FACE 5(2): 371-379, 2024. In her article all 35 residents who had graduated from the University program prior to 2020 were surveyed. All but one had gone on surgical missions during their residency training. 47% that had exposure during their residency went on to work on surgical trips after completing their training. One surgeon had completed 40 surgical missions following his training. Most graduates found that this experience made them more adaptable in the operating room, gave them a better understanding of the challenges of poverty, and helped them provide better care of marginalized patients. All of those who participated felt these trips were an invaluable experience during their training.

The residents from the University of Minnesota are very grateful for the opportunity Surgicorps has offered them.

I love medical missions! Being with skilled and like-minded, caring people last week in Zambia confirmed just how good it can be!

This was my 12th time to serve in surgery abroad. In many ways, Surgicorps Zambia was the best yet. DeNese and Lori anticipated all the needs of the entire team and made it appear easy which I know it was NOT! They were always kindly checking that every detail was covered.

Founder “Superman “Jack Demos offered his guidance and leadership. It is his vision of global health that provided us the opportunity to serve and perform at our best. His experience on over 90 missions in 22 countries is so inspiring! I thoroughly appreciated his rapport with the patients and their families, always genuine and professional. I’ll always remember him orchestrating two young girls, his former patients over the years, to take our group photo with his 35 mm digital camera.

There were several patients who really touched my heart. One was a brave young man named Philimon. I met Philimon in the afternoon of triage clinic. Like all other prospective patients he was thoughtful and respectful. One big difference was that he was well into his teen years. Philimon had his right hand contractured up onto his forearm after a candle caught the house on fire when he was just over two years old, or as they say in Zambia, age 30 months. He had already gone through several scar release surgeries and knew well the pain and suffering of postoperative healing. The team hesitated since Philimon had some quality of life. Seeing his disappointment, they went on to discuss, and then explain that technical approach along with the unknown outcome of this potential surgery to lower his hand.  Given all the possible complications Philimon had the trust to move ahead. I think of him now hoping he does well with improved function as well as more normal anatomy.

Thanks to all that made this mission possible.

Sincerely,

Jane Camero, RN

Hood River, Oregon

Kim Rosinski OTR/L, CHT, CSCS

“You are so brave.” “I could never do that.” “Do you need a ton of vaccines to do that?” “Wow, OK, that’s really scary.” “Are you afraid of the malaria medication side effects?” “I’m so proud of you.” These are the responses I heard when I told people I was going on a hand surgery medical mission trip to Africa. This response was not just from my family and friends, but also from my colleagues and my own health care providers.

Ever since I realized that knowledge of the specialty of hand surgery and therapy was limited in most countries, I have wanted to do this type of work. To spread this valuable knowledge. I never thought of this desire as brave, scary, or something to be proud of. I thought of it as necessary, an obligation to be fulfilled in my profession…someday…at some point in my life—but for many years I had excuses for putting this trip off. Now, this is something I regret I didn’t start sooner.

The reaction to my mission trip surprised me and left me wondering: What is stopping more healthcare providers from contributing in this way? How can I convince more people to consider this type of community service, professional development, and self-growth? Not to put off this desire to “someday?’ I hope the answer is to spread answers to the possible reasons why people may not consider this activity in their realm of possibility.

First, if you are anxious about being in a third-world country, do your research! There are plenty of organizations out there that repeatedly go to the same locations and have established relationships with the hospital, hotel, and transportation that will be provided. I chose Surgicorps International exactly for this reason. They make multi-year commitments to specific countries. I was on their 14th trip to Beit CURE Children’s Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. Lusaka is the largest city in Zambia, and the primary language is English. The hospital’s campus had a college campus feel with Wi-Fi, air conditioning in the operating theaters, food, and bottled water provided for everyone. Both locals and far-off tribes know to come to this nonprofit hospital for free, specialized care for their children.

The moment we stepped on campus, our team integrated with their staff immediately and went to work. It was a well-oiled machine organized by the ever-calm DeNese, their Director of Operations. She made sure everyone knew their roles for every day and what to do to prepare themselves to effectively fulfill their roles. The Beit CURE staff was familiar with the itinerary and welcomed our knowledge without hesitation. It was inspiring to see all of these people come together so quickly with the common goal of helping as many kids as possible in the six days we had, knowing there would be physical follow-up from us again in six months.

The top priority of Surgicorps is to make sure the entire team is safe. This is apparent throughout the entire process. From the moment I was accepted onto the team, the portal was easy to use to complete all the paperwork and provided every little tidbit of information to prepare for your trip that you could possibly think of. A hand therapist who had been to that location many times before reached out to me to give me specific advice for my success as a hand therapist at this location, and I was given contact information for the other hand therapist I would be working with. DeNese quickly answered all of the stupid questions I emailed her, and somehow she never made me feel stupid for asking all of these questions! A team Zoom meeting occurred before the trip so you could meet everyone on the team from around the country, and the entire week’s process was reviewed. Surgicorps also provided emergency medical evacuation insurance.

Since vaccination is a hot topic currently, I will just state what I did for this trip. After visiting my infectious disease doctor, she recommended Hep A and Typhoid (orally for Typhoid). This visit could have been addressed even easier by visiting your CVS Minute Clinic since they provide the same services for travel. I was given a prescription for Malarone for malaria. I took this as instructed and had no side effects. Neither did anyone else on my trip. By taking the proper precautions that one would take to visit a third-world country, I never felt this was the issue that I had made it out to be in my head!

What held me back from doing this sooner? Mom guilt. How can I leave my family for that long? What if I’m the one who gets sick and cannot fulfill my mom duties? Is it worth the risk? Now that I’ve completed my first mission trip, going with an organization that has mastered their routine, the fear of risk for future trips is not there. As for the mom guilt, my family survived. My daughter was so proud of me and what I was doing that she even posted a reel on her Instagram about it. Making me think: “Why didn’t I provide this type of role model for her earlier?”

 It’s cliché to say I got back more than I gave, but it’s true. I really cannot even attempt to put into words all of the emotions, lessons, and growth this trip provided for me. As Surgicorps Team Zambia walked to our bus to leave the hospital for the final time, after the celebration of songs and testimonials that brought all the tears, the staff, patients, and family followed us all the way to the bus. They were continuing their songs, taking pictures of us like we were rock stars, and thanking us over and over for coming to help their children. One mother hugged me and said, “I pray you come back with your knowledge; we need your knowledge to come back.”

She’s right—our knowledge needs to come back. They are working with limited resources and seek knowledge. I implore you to share your knowledge. Even if you think you’ve only had one year of experience, and that’s not enough, you’re wrong. You have the knowledge they seek, and you will learn so much more about yourself and clinically. If you’re on the fence, consider this type of service. Help me send more knowledge back to Zambia to answer this woman’s prayers for her child.

Mary Barnes, MOT, CHT, CIDN, and Adam Crelling, MS, OTR/L, CHT, were honored to join the 2023 Surgicorps Mission in Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to fabricating custom orthotics and providing education for post-operative patients, Adam and Mary provided conservative care to non- surgical patients. Mary and Adam were very grateful to have the opportunity to work, collaborate and learn from Surgicorps hand surgeons Cathy Tang, MD, Rich Montilla, MD, and Warren Schubert, MD.

Mary and Adam were joined by Alexei Lyapustin, PT. In addition to assisting in the OR, Alexei provided important post-op care to neck and shoulder patients.

Making a lasting difference

Adam and Mary were excited to work with PT and OT employees of Ho Chi Minh City Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital. These skilled and compassionate therapists assisted SurgiCorps as interpreters and shadowed Adam and Mary. They were eager to follow-up with our patients to ensure great continuity of care. SurgiCorps hand therapists donated all leftover supplies including thermoplastic material, Velcro, OTS orthotics, silicone putty and foam for scars, pulleys, scissors, goniometers, theraband and therapy tape.

Surgicorps volunteer helps establish Vietnam’s first Hand Therapy Society.

Surgicorps volunteer Mary Barnes has taught hand therapy and orthotics courses in the United States and internationally through the American Society of Hand Therapists and other organizations.

This year Mary taught a two-day Hand Therapy and Orthotics course at Ho Chi Minh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, sponsored by the following professors:

• Pham Ngoc Dat, MOT, BPT, professor of Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation at the Ho Chi Minh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, specializing in orthopedics and musculoskeletal conditions;
• Nguyen Huynh Ngoc Mai Tram, MOT, BPT, professor of Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation at the Ho Chi Minh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, specializing in Mental Health and Psychosocial Rehabilitation; and
• Le Thanh Van, Msc. PT, Head of the Rehabilitation Department, Ho Chi Minh University of Medicine, and Pharmacy.

Over thirty eager professionals completed the course, including the following OTs and PTs from Ho Chi Minh City Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital: OTs Pham Thi Quynh Quyen, Hoang Thi Diem, Tran Trieu Vuong Dung, and Ho Le Trung, and PTs Phung Khai Vinh and Pham Nguyen Tu Uyen. Many of these dedicated professionals also volunteered as interpreters for SurgiCorps.

Providing training in the use of materials that have limited availability locally is not a sustainable solution. In addition to teaching orthotic fabrication with thermoplastics, Mary purchased and donated a 3D printer to the university. The cost of the 3D printer was around $300 USD, but the cost of the plastic is very inexpensive (pennies per orthosis). In addition to orthotics, 3D printers can also produce assistive devices and equipment such as goniometers, grippers, cup holders. The possibilities are endless.

With the support and encouragement of the International Federation of Societies of Hand Therapy (IFSHT), the course participants are forming Vietnam’s first Hand Therapy Society and joining IFSHT as an Associate member. IFSHT also noted a goniometer to the university.

In the beginning of November, Surgicorps concluded another great Surgical Mission in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was the 19^th trip to Vietnam and the second trip to a new hospital for Surgicorps in Vietnam. Over 80 patients were helped. The majority of our patients were young children, though many adults were treated as well. Operations included cleft lip, cleft palate, congenital hand and complex burn scar reconstruction. Unique on this mission, four residents joined us . Three of our residents are plastic surgery residents and one an anesthesia resident. A University of Minnesota study has found that 50 percent of our residents who have an experience like the Surgicorps mission during their training go on to be involved with missions during their careers after the completion of their training.

Surgicorps is excited to be planning a return to Vietnam this next year and continue to work to improve the lives of the poorest of the poor in Vietnam.