I got an email from the co-founder and chief executive officer from Operation Smile. I felt so bad I couldnt go. Dear Elena, I dont have a photographic memory — far from it. But theres an image from our very first medical mission back in 1982 thats stuck with me through the years, as sharp and clear as if it happened yesterday: A mother in the Philippines, offering me a basket of ripe bananas cradled in her arms. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she approached me, her daughter shy and quiet by her side. Her little girl had a gaping hole in her lip, but she was already resigned to the fact that her daughter would not get surgery that day — and maybe never would. I could barely hold back my own tears when I told her, Maybe next year. We just didnt have the time or the supplies for one more surgery. We couldnt help. Yet still the mother insisted we accept the bananas — the only gift she could afford to show us her gratitude for trying to help her daughter. I never learned her name, and I never saw her again — but to this day, I havent forgotten her. I thought of her generosity as my wife Kathy and I gathered our friends and returned to the Philippines to help more children the next year. I think of her every time I enter the operating room at a medical mission to fix a patients lip, and every time I see a childs eyes widen in disbelief the first time they see their new smile in the mirror. And Im thinking of her now, as we finalize our plans for one of the biggest, most ambitious medical missions weve ever run in the Philippines - the Gift of Smiles. In just a few weeks, hundreds of volunteers from around the globe will gather at six different locations in the Philippines with one shared goal: to perform life-changing surgery for 700 children in just one week. Its a tall order, I know — we havent run a medical mission of this size in years. But as an Operation Smile supporter, I also know you agree that we have no choice but to do everything we can to help children with cleft lip and cleft palate. Elena, thats why I hope that youll stand with us today. The Gift of Smiles medical mission starts next week, so there’s not much time for you to join in and be a part of this huge undertaking to transform so many lives: That first medical mission, over 30 years ago, taught me something that still inspires me each and every day: time doesnt stop when we go home. The children we leave behind are still there — still struggling to eat, still cast out by their families, still waiting for someone to reach out and help. We have to be that someone, Elena — because right now, there isnt anyone else. Thats what this mission to the Philippines is all about: being there for every little girl and boy who needs us. And though 700 surgeries in one week is a huge undertaking, its just the first step were taking as part of an even bigger plan to make sure no child — anywhere — is left to face the future without hope. We have some fantastic, game-changing plans in the works for our upcoming fiscal year, each one of them part of our mission to create a world where no child suffers from cleft. I cant wait to tell you more about these plans in the coming weeks, and I hope youll be a part of making them happen. But first, weve got to lay the groundwork — and that means making sure that our next medical mission in the Philippines is an incredible success. 700 children, in seven days, at six locations around the Philippines: I know we can do this, Elena, but only if we work together. Thank you so much for standing with Operation Smile, and all the children who come to us in need. Dr. Magee with Sarban Sincerely, Dr. Bill Magee Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Operation Smile
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 01:18:36 +0000
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