Mercy Medical nurse travels with plastic surgery team to Honduras to rebuild faces, lives

2008-04-16 19:57:31 -

SANTA ROSA DE COPAN, HONDURAS-- Katie Simmons, RN and Nurse Coordinator of Blood Conservation at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, OH, traveled to Honduras in February with Central American Medical Outreach, Inc. (CAMO) plastic surgery team for her third year.
'For all my years (25) in the operating room, when you meet a surgeon like Les Mohler you just want the whole world to know him, too--to learn,' said Katie. 'And also see how well a mission group can work together and how organized it can be,' she added.
CAMO Founder and CEO Kathy Tschiegg described one case that stood out, 'He was a perfect little baby boy whose eyes would smile when we spoke to him. The exceptions to his perfection were the multiple deformities of the face,' said Tschiegg. 'His one ear was a skin tab. He had a cleft lip and palette. The area for his mouth extended to the jaw joint with skin tabs at each side of his face.'
'I looked at this child and then to Dr. Les Mohler and Dr. Linda Camp. ‘Where would they start?'' Tschiegg wondered.
'I asked God to bring someone to help him,' said Jenny Rosario Hernandez, the 22-year old mother who fed her little son by carefully dripping milk from a cup down his throat.
'I was so impressed by the love of his mother, said Kathy Tschiegg, Central American Medical Outreach, Inc. (CAMO) Founder and CEO.
'I was surprised how well nourished he was,' said Dr. Les Mohler, retired plastic surgeon from Sunbury, OH, who reconstructed the five-month old's palette. Jenny prayed that God would bless the surgeon's hands.
The baby was given back to the mother after surgery and she wept uncontrollably. The team thought perhaps her expectation had not been met.
'It was very emotional. My child is so beautiful. I had so much joy that I could not stop crying,' Jenny described seeing her son for the first time after surgery. Later she asked for a photograph of Sergio and said she had never wanted a photograph before.
'Dr. Mohler won't tell you, but he's had a cleft palette procedure named after him,' Many of his team members said.
The team specializes in rebuilding ears-a two to four-year process-either from birth defects or violence. Gangs often slice off the ear of their victims to mark the abuse they've inflicted.
Teresa, 17 years old, was born without one of her ears. The team created ear cartilage of bone grafted from one of her ribs and performed the second surgery this year to further form the ear.
At the end of their last day a man came to the eye clinic. 'He had a growth from his eye biopsied two years ago, but he couldn't afford to travel to get the surgery,' said Dr. John Thomas, eye surgeon. 'One thing I've learned is to know your limits.' He consulted with Les.
'Maybe we can do this,' Les told his team. 'It's up to you.' They finished the surgery around 10 PM.
'You feel harried, but with love,' said Simmons of the work they do.
Since 1993, CAMO has renovated the Hospital de Occidente, public health and community buildings and continually expanded to now offer 17 healthcare programs in Santa Rosa de Copan. CAMO, a humanitarian aid organization based in Orrville, OH, cares for more than 143,000 medical needs with an average of $2 million in donated medical supplies, equipment and expertise annually. CAMO, a 501(c) 3 non-profit, multiplies every $1 donated into $4.
To learn more about the caring work of CAMO, visit: www.CAMO.org