Jerson Yodan, age 14; Geibi, age 4; and Deiler Carlos, age 2, pre-surgery, along with their parents, Dr. Tom Albert, and Kelly Jensen.
Remember last year’s miracle family? The Peña Córdova family from San Ignacio? Here’s a summary: The mother and father traveled with three of their six children to receive cleft lip surgeries. Their journey from the jungle, over the mountains to the coastline takes 20 hours by bus. It was an honor for the FACES team to operate on the children of this family.
The Peña Córdova Family has touched the lives of the hospital workers, the Lions Volunteers and the FACES Team.
Last week, during the 2015 surgical week at Hospital Belén, the family returned to show us the results and to say thank you. For all three children the surgeries were very successful. Their palates and lips have healed beautifully.
This year, the mother brought her niece with them to the Surgical Campaign so we could evaluate their cousin, Normalinda. This young girl came to us with a very wide cleft. Even though she’s nearly a teenager, she does not speak, and because of the way her cleft has affected her appearance, she has not attended school.
Normalinda
The Surgical Team agreed to make space in the schedule so she could return home to San Ignacio with a complete lip.
The results are remarkable. Normalinda’s surgery was very successful, and after a night of rest in the hospital, she got dressed to return home with her mother. Before leaving, she took a moment to hug everyone in the waiting area, including the family members of other patients. For a girl who is not accustomed to human interaction / attention, she took a moment to connect with each one of us. We hope that with her new smile, others will be able to see her loving personality, and above all, that she will be able to see the remarkable young woman that she is growing up to be.
Normalinda with Delia, Emperatriz
Normalinda with her mother and with FACES Volunteer, Billie
Local Lions members escort Normalinda and her mother to the bus stop