A view of Pucallpa, Peru, from the sky as a few members of ISMS Operation Kids and I fly over the lush landscape in a waterplane.
Here a few members of our team lounge after the waterplane journey. Roman, Laura, Joan Blanco, Marta, and Dr. Stephanie Cohen anxiously wait for a ride into town.
This is the sign for the main hospital in Pucallpa. It says, "Office of external medicine for axial computerized tomography."
Dr. Armando Reque Garcia was the pediatric surgeon on duty for this mission.
Here I am with my favorite patient, Daisy. From the day we arrived, she followed me everywhere I went and held my hand.
This is one of the three operating rooms our team used.
Even though there was a language barrier, everyone had so much fun together. Here a few of the Peruvian nurses pose for the camera. They were so sweet; they gave me handmade gifts on the last day.
Dr. Stephanie Cohen, ISMS' plastic surgeon, makes preoperative marks on a little girl before surgery.
I caught a shot of this nurse taking a break from an exhausting day in surgery. We all worked so hard and such long hours, and it showed. But the outcome was definitely worth it.
One of my favorite Peruvian nurses, Yuri, poses with me for a shot together during some downtime.
Our team trauma surgeon, Dr. Kathy O'Hara, consults with the orthopedic surgeon.
Dr. Michael Girshin, our anesthesiologist, and I ham it up for the camera between surgeries.
This little girl sits waiting to go into plastic surgery for her ear.
The small village of Pucallpa is run and paid for by missionaries. Here a little girl washes her clothes at a faucet in the hospital.
It seems that doing laundry at the hospital is a regular occurrance: Another villager left theirs to dry on the bushes outside the hospital.
The nurses couldn't keep their hands off this beautiful baby boy. It seems that baby cooing is a universal language!
On the left, pediatric surgery is being performed on a day-old baby with a separated windpipe. Peruvian doctors film the procedure to learn every move Dr. Victor Valda makes, while on the right Dr. Stephanie Cohen performs plastic surgery. Having two surgeries take place in one hospital room would never occur in the States...
A closeup of Dr. Victor Valda working on the day-old baby with Peruvian pediatric surgeon Dr. Armando Reque Garcia. It was unbelievably heartwarming to see American and Peruvian doctors working side by side to help the lives of these children.
Father and son share a quiet moment together.
It was excruciating to have to turn children away—that we sometimes had to say no. Some of the surgeries these children needed were too complicated to be performed outside the U.S. But ISMS was there to do something for those we could help. Here a nurse and I are all smiles after a successful surgery.
Dr. Stephanie Cohen walks her patient into the operating room to perform surgery on her ear.
Mother and daughter sit together in the waiting room. The girl is prepped and ready for surgery on her hands with Dr. Tucci, the orthopedic surgeon.
ISMS nurse Maryann Kourgialis and Dr. John Walsh bring a baby out of surgery and head to the recovery room.
A resident doctor makes his rounds through the halls and the crowded recovery rooms.
Two brothers entertain themselves while waiting to see the American doctors.
Dr. Armando Reque Garcia and Dr. Eduardo Portugal Neyra headed the Peruvian team and were such a joy to be near. Their hard work and dedication was felt and shared by everyone on this mission.
ISMS nurses Lisa, Laura, and Rachael sit together for a break in the recovery room.
On the last day of a very successful trip, ISMS Operation Kids pose for a team photo before leaving the hospital.
And here is the team photo of the surgeons, nurses, and hospital staff of the Peruvian team. Before we left, they threw us a small reception in appreciation of all the hard work and successful surgeries we accomplished. It was truly an amazing experience that I feel so honored to have been a part of.
