A few weeks ago, the Judith Lombeida Medical Foundation completed our 5th medical mission to Ecuador in support of those in most need. This trip was held in Esmeraldes, Ecuador. This was a cleft lip, cleft palate, and hand surgical trip. In all, we treated 27 patients.

Esmeraldes is a very poor, mainly black community near the Colombian boarder. It is a port town for oil as well as fishing by local inhabitants. We worked at a public hospital called "Hospital Delfina Torres de Concha" - Delfina Torres De Concha was the wife of a local individual in Esmeraldes. This was a collaborative effort between JLMF, the Ecuadorian Air Force (known as the FAE), the Peace Corps, and the local community. Our group was headed by Dr. Warren Schubert, a world renown plastic surgeon from St. Paul, Minnesota. There were 19 mission participants in all, 13 (4 were surgeons) from the United States and 6 (1 surgeon) from Ecuador. The FAE provided security, transportation, and logistical support. The Peace Corps help arrange patients and interpret for this trip.

One story related to this trip centers on an individual named Ramon. Ramon is 30 years old. He lives about two hours Southwest of the city of Esmeraldes. He just started the first grade because his family would not send him to school when he was young due to his cleft lip and cleft palate. He heard about our mission via the radio and came because his first grade teacher told him he needed to speak better if he was to do well in school. We went to his home prior to his surgery to talk to him and his family. He had not had the operation before now because they did not have a radio or TV so they did not know about these trips in the past and they certainly could not afford to do this privately. Ramon's goal is to become a cook. He loves to cook and we were able to get a taste of his abilities while visiting his home. We are happy to report he successfully complete a 5-hour operation. He will be provided speech therapy locally. We will follow up with Ramon next April to see how he is doing and wish him all the best.