Should We Call Him Dr. Scott?

One of the softer spoken members of our club is also the prestigious holder of a PHD in chemical engineering from U.C. Berkeley and a Post Doctoral degree from Max Planck University in Frankfurt, Germany. Scott’s responsibility on this trip is the “Sterilizer” – meaning, his goal is to have instruments ready, clean, and available for each surgeon when needed.

After obtaining this prestigious level of education, Scott Wheelwright joined Abbott Labs and was instrumental in the development of a diagnostic test for AIDS. When six pharmaceutical companies were supplied with a vial of the AIDS virus on the same day, Scott savored the competition. He and his team worked tirelessly for two years and their dedication paid off, resulting in not only an effective test for AIDS but also the founding of a multi-million dollar publicly traded company.

These successes would eventually allow Scott to resign from Abbott Labs and start his own pharmaceutical company and spends much of his time as a consultant advising other companies with FDA compliance.

While his work is important, Scott readily admits he does it for his six children and the love of his life, Jenette. Having four kids in college and two more on the way is a great motivator. He is also very involved in the Saratoga Church of Latter Day Saints.

Guatemala 2008 is Scott’s first Rotaplast mission but it won’t be his last. He has been attempting to go on a Rotaplast mission for several years and jumped at the chance to go when the mission was announced. He approaches his assignment in Guatemala with the same dedication he applied to all of his commitments and is finding it just as rewarding.

One interesting fact about Scott is his amazing memory. He can recite poems for at least an hour. He knows every hymn in the book. And, he can do math calculations in his head…on the spot! He works hard...see?

(Mostly) Goofy Pictures

Here are some pictorial highlights from our trip...highlighting some other members of our medical staff, as well as some of the goofiest people here!

Our medical director, Dr. Ron Gemberling...in trouble with the guatemalan police...










Our medical records director, Jitka Cymbal, doing her job!










Team pediatricians, Dr. Linda Getz - Kleiman & Dr. Marco Baisch




Our mission director, Rosa Maria Joyce, and assistant director, Debby Rice...you can definitely tell who is in charge!




I´ll post more tomorrow. The computer here is being VERY SLOW...and 5:30am comes early!

The Life of an OR Nurse

Jeff Laird, an OR nurse with 30 years experience, hails from Philadelphia, PA. He is on his first Rotaplast trip. He came on the trip because a member of the St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, they practice “stewardship,” or giving back of your time and talents. He was encouraged by co-workers to join a Rotaplast trip. Though not a Rotary member, he is very impressed with how we have come together as a team, so quickly and efficiently. His reaction to this trip is that it is “unbelieveable.” He has also found the people of Guatemala to be very warm.

His interests include playing bass guitar – in fact, he played at the funeral of the famous Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Tug McGraw. He also attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and his specialty is baking – which he describes as a “science.” He is the only person we know who has driven a truck 145 mph on a NASCAR race course.

As an OR nurse, he is responsible for all the supplies for each surgery he is involved with, works with the anesthesiologist to put the patient to sleep, and gives instruments to the scrub tech or the surgeon.

He will celebrate his 54^th birthday tomorrow with us!

“He’s not heavy, he’s my brother”

Amilcar and Selvido are brothers who will forever be connected. Sixteen years ago Amilcar was born with a severe cleft lip. He traveled here with his brother Selvido for 8 ½ hours on 4 different buses, leaving at 2:30AM to get to Guatemala City. Because another sibling had died during an operation for a similar deformity Amilcar’s mother refused the surgery, as she was too afraid to risk the loss of another child. Selvido, being the older brother and seeing the suffering Amilcar had to endure decided he had to go against his mother’s wishes.

Amilcar is one of 11 children in his family. Not one of them can read or write, or have had a day of education. His father was shot and killed one year ago by his neighbor. Selvido and another brother are the only monetary support for the entire family. Now in the home there are four brothers and two sisters, and 3 of the sisters have abandoned the family. Amilcar does not work or go to school. He spends his day gathering wood on his bike. Selvido earns $130 for two weeks of work, and the trip to Guatemala City cost $490 for the two of them. Besides the cost of the trip Selvido had to challenge his mother and face her anger in order to make the trip. Neither he, nor his mother, will ever regret his decision.

Selvido has always been concerned about his brother. Amilcar is the only one in the village of 600 with a cleft lip. Amilcar has never left his town in 16 years. Because of the cleft lip, he would never look someone in the eye, lowering his head every time someone would come near him. Not wanting to face the taunting of other children he refused to go to school. Loving his brother as much as he does Selvido always wanted to do something for him. This week he did.

After 16 years, surgery lasting about an hour has now created a new person. Amilcar can walk into a room without shame for his looks. His brother is thankful. He says, “Thanks to God, the doctors arrived. Without this opportunity, we would have had no other.” Selvido is the kind of person who will continue his support of his brother as Amilcar tries to improve his life, but more importantly he is the kind of person we should all aspire to be.

Amilcar now can look people in the eyes, and he can say, “I’m like you now.”

Another Perspective

Rotaplast missions, like life, become whatever you make of them. I came to Guatemala for adventure, and to help people. This trip has evolved into so much more.

The medical people who have accompanied us are such compassionate, dedicated individuals. They give up two weeks of their precious time to help children and families they will never see again. All in the hopes of making the world a better place. Most have done these missions many, many times. Doctors, nurses, speech pathologist, and dentists use their combined talents to fix what fate and environment have created. They are the type of people you hope your children become. To give, and ask nothing in return, is how this world is supposed to work.

To give a child a normal life is a beautiful thing. The parents, who somehow know the possibilities we provide, have come from far away. They have no way to pay for these operations, and most never will. They smile at us, even though deep inside they are frightened. Small people, mostly under nourished and uneducated, who place their trust in the doctors from the United States. It is a big responsibility, and a special privilege to be able to help them.

We will come away from this trip changed. We have learned a lot about each other, the people we are helping, and the people helping us make this possible. As we step through this journey, doors open. New people appear, and they are wonderful. What we are doing here seems trivial to us, but it is a god send to the people we serve. The new friends we have each made will be remembered a lifetime. I will miss them.

I hope God will give me the strength, and the opportunity, to do this again. What started out as an obligation has turned into an adventure. I have laughed; I have cried; I have worked hard, and I have enjoyed myself immensely. While I miss my family, I would not trade this experience for anything. Thank you to everyone on our team for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful experience.

Paul

A Girl...Remembered

Josephine Peña comes from a remote village, seven hours away. Bringing his daughter for surgery was the first time the father has left his village in seven years. The father’s only earnings come for 3 months out of the year, when he plants and picks coffee. The rest of the year he grows pinto beans and corn on a lot smaller than the size of the room we were in. To complicate matters further, the mother of the children left the family, leaving the father with 3 kids to take care of on his own.

The father and daughter were accompanied by the local priest, who had spent the last year and a half trying to get them help. As he told the story, the priest broke down in tears. He cried because there are no resources available to help, and he loves the people he works with. He describes his mission as “trying to help those who have been ‘forgotten’” – like Josephine.

The first time the priest came to Josephine’s house, she hid from him. We then learned that she had not been out of the house for the first four years of her life because of the way she looked. Josephine has refused to go to school and be in first grade because the kids would make fun of her.

Today Josephine comes here to repair the cleft in her lip. Today her life changes.

Profile of a Plastic Surgeon

Sibrand Schepel, M.D., is a Rotaplast veteran. He has been on 6 trips with Rotaplast, and 10 trips with Interplast, which is another cleft lip and palate mission group. This year alone, he has already completed 5 missions. In the last few years, he has traveled to Pakistan, Guatemala (twice), Ecuador, India, Tasmania, and returned from Brazil 3 weeks ago. He hails from the Netherlands! (We bet you got that from the drawing...)

He is a retired plastic surgeon with many other hobbies, including having a pilot’s license since age 14, sailing, vacationing in Northern Finland, and hiking. You can always find Sib reading his book between surgeries...he´s an avid reader as well! Sib told us a great story about how he took his family (wife and 2 children) on a whirlwind vacation around the United States, traveling over 35,000km in a VW camper. They saw 25 states in all.

Sib says that he’s “never done anything more rewarding in his life than cleft lip surgery.” He recalls one surgery on a 65-year-old man…when his wife first saw this man after surgery, she fainted with joy. Sib says that in 1-2 hours he can completely change someone’s appearance…and with a young child, change their life in the process. He hopes to be able to continue these missions for many years.

Sib, or “Dr. Holland” as Debby Rice (the assistant mission director) calls him, also loves to have some fun. Here are some pictures of his other talent…besides plastic surgery!