Paying It Forward
Iowa MOST 2018 was a successful trip in many different ways: maintaining the perfect record of the mission in terms of zero fatalities, which Medical Director John Canady always emphasizes as the most important statistic of the mission; 57 medical procedures at Salus 1 including cleft lip and palate surgeries, tonsilletomies, tubes, obturators, dental extractions,…
Building Brighter Futures Together
There are so many people we meet here who touch our lives and offer their trust and friendship so that their child has an opportunity to receive medical help. One very special kid is Fernand0–he certainly has a special place in our hearts. Fernando’s father, Ricardo, is a nurse at a private hospital in Guatemala…
Reconstructing Lives
The Iowa MOST team is 2 days into surgeries, and there have been a wide variety of needs: tooth extractions, obturators (when the palate cannot be closed), cleft lip, cleft palate, tubes in ears, and a tonsillectomy. Many kids with cleft lip/palate have ENT (Ears, Nose, Throat) needs. The team works together closely, assessing our…
Screening day-2018
We are excited to start posting about the 2018 Iowa MOST mission! Most of the team arrived on Thursday around 9 p.m. after a long day of travel by plane and by bus. Friday was a day of organization and preparation and things went smoothly enough to allow most of the team a few free…
Iowa MOST educational outreach
Iowa MOST has always done some type of educational outreach within the surrounding community of Huehuetenango, but over the past three or four years this has grown. There are a number of reasons why outreach is an important aspect of the annual mission: it helps build relationships within the community, it supports projects that local…
Day 6: Innovations and Iowa MOST
In order for any project to thrive for the long-term, constant revisions and innovation must take place. Iowa MOST is a project that has been adept at this, and has therefore been able to add new medical services as well as outreach to the scope of the project when it makes sense, and stay relevant…
Day 5: The Dental Team
Integral to the success of the Iowa MOST mission is the dental team, and while not all cleft lip/cleft palate projects have them, the dental team has been a part of the project since the beginning. Dr. Bill Gates, a dentist in private practice in Durham, North Carolina, is on his 8th trip here with…
Day 4: Sugeries
Note: we are rejoining the blog after technical difficulties (see our Facebook page for write-ups about screening day and the first day of surgeries). This morning I observed my first surgery–que milagro! The team operates two OR rooms and six-month old Maria Guadalupe was scheduled for the cleft lip surgery in OR #1 first thing…
Day One: Preparation and reunion
The team had a busy but wonderful day today. Many old friends were reunited and new friendships were forged. The Hospital Especialdades and Dr. Oscar Marraquin and his staff were gracious and welcoming, making way for the 37-member team and all of our supplies. After delivering, unpacking and readying things at the hospital for…
