Carolyn's Favorite Patient, Ivanna

Clinic day.  She always had that smile!!

Dean checking her over & getting her scheduled for her surgery; skin grafting & reconstruction.

Her fingers were contracted from severe burns when she was 4 yr. old. Our team did surgery on her hand last year.

Ivanna with Dean & I after church.

With a piece of one of our nurses' birthday cake.

Ivanna & her mother.

She loves her baby sister.

Just before her surgery.  What a little trooper!!

Every year there are children that quickly become our "favorites" & I think Ivanna is my all time favorite.  See her story below in one of my blogs.
Carolyn

Some of our cleft lip/palate patients

                                                  Their lives will be changed forever now.

Pictures at the orphanage

Children at the orphanage have such sad & tragic stories.

Laudry drying in the sun!

A boy doing his laundry.

Home Safely

I will add some more pictures later but I wanted to let all of you know that we made it home safely and give you a few of my reflections. This trip was different but amazing. I guess I say that every year. We did not do as many surgeries as some years but the end results were great. Our days were 11 to 12 hours rather than the extremely long days that we have had some years. This gave us more time in the evenings to eat together, worship together and find out how everyone had spent their day. I feel so privileged to be a part of a team that has been called by God to serve in this way. At the beginning of our journey I packed a pair of cowboy boots in one of our totes before they were trucked cross country by pickup. I always do this so I will have something to wear to church in Puerto Cabezas. The totes arrived after a 30+ hour trip with all of our supplies except my cowboy boots. It struck me yesterday as we were landing in Omaha that I will gladly trade that pair of Tony Lamas for the lives we were able to touch on this mission trip. We spent a few days of R&R prior to coming home which did not go exactly according to plan but was still very enjoyable. Thank you once again for all of the prayers, support and encouragement that all of you give all of us.
Dean

Thursday evening

It seems Carolyn and Sue have done the informative post so I will post some pictures. We had another great day and it is great to see our patients begin to recover from their surgeries. By the way there are no HIPPA laws in Nicaragua.  Dean

Thursday afternoon

Can't believe it's already Thursday & tomorrow will be our last day at the hospital. We will have to pack up all the totes at the hospital, bring them back to the compound & then attempt to organize them for next year.

An update on little Ivania. Her surgery went well & she is recovering beautifully. She still is smiling in spite of her pain. She, along with her mother & baby sister, will probably begin their long journey home to the jungle soon. One of the Nicaraguan nurses said that it will take them a long time to get home. They will have to take a bus to a village & then walk several hours. From there they will take a donkey & then I'm not sure about the rest of their trip other than it's far from here & their home is in a remote village in the jungle. I wish her nothing but the best & can only wonder what her future holds for her. She will always be a sweet memory of time spent in Nicaragua.

We are planning on some of our Nebraska team going shopping for things for the kids in the orphanage tomorrow. We had special requests from donors to use their money for the orphanage & we want to be able to get pictures to show how their money was spent. The need is tremendous here so we can spend it many different ways that will benefit them.
Hope all is well at home& thank you for following our journey!
Carolyn

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

This year's mission has a completely different feel to it. In the past we have worked at a frantic pace, with more patients than we could ever hope to take care of. But this year has a calm around it. Our doctors have requested not to work such long hours. We have been leaving for the hospital around 6 30am and getting back to have supper with our team at 6 30pm. We have done at least 2 cleft lip and palates a day. With 4 to 5 ENT cases on our other bed. And I can say it has been much more enjoyable than returning to camp at 900pm!!  We have had fewer patients too. The had been bad before our arrival making travel for the villages even more difficult. The weather has been great not as humid as past years. But still warm enough for a lovely break from the Nebraska weather. Sorry all of you left behind to shovel. The OR at the hospital as been completely remodeled. Just finished up a couple of days before we arrived. It is clean, clutter free, for the most part. The restroom  toilet even flushes. I am so happy for my Nicaraguan friends, that they have a nice work environment to work in. The most reward part has not changed. I have been filled joy seeing old friends both team members from California and Nicaragua. Being able to be part of a team that is blessed t++qo change a few children's lives. I am looking forward to sharing all our stories. SUE

Tuesday night

The time is going by quickly. Today my favorite patient had her surgery. Ivania (not sure of spelling) is an adorable 10 year old who was severely burned in a house fire when she was 4. She lives a long ways away in the jungle & we don't think has had any education. She has the biggest, most infectious smile imaginable & you can only wonder why she is always so joyful & happy. She freely gives hugs to us & has the sweetest personality. She was having skin grafting & some reconstruction done today. She has scarring all over her body & you can only imagine the torture she went through when she was burned. Please keep this sweet little girl in your prayers.  Can't wait to see her tomorrow & give her a hug.  Carolyn

Tuesday night

Well we made it through another day. We may not be doing as many cases per day as we have done on previous trips but we are really turning out some great results and we get done at a reasonable time. The last case on our bed was over 4 hours but well worth it. Things have really been going smoothly. The  OR has been completely redone since last year. It is amazing what a coat of paint and a new floor will do for a place. So far I haven't been visited by any lizards this week. The power is much less dependable than it has ever been. We have lost power several times each day. The generator at the hospital kicks in very quickly so the lights barely flicker but we have no backup here at the compound. Thanks to all of you that have supported us and continue to keep us and the team in your prayers. The picture is of my first patient this morning. What a cutie. So far I haven't done a patient over 30 pounds or older than 3.

Day One

Well we have our first day behind us. We actually were all finished and back to the compound in time to eat supper while it was still warm. We did cleft surgery on 2 of the cutest girls ever. Oh wait they are all the cutest ever. It was a great day. A little slow to start but the first day always is. I figured if I was still laughing after the first patient was extubated before we even got started with the case it had to be a good day. The mother of one of the patients was from so deep in the jungle she didn't know how to answer where she lived. The pictures are of two of our cleft patients. The arm restraints were made and donated by my aunt. They were a big hit. The other picture is of one of our  Nicaraguan scrub techs that I tried to make into a Husker fan by giving him one of the scrub caps my Mom made. The next  couple of days look a little busier but hopefully we will get a better start. We are all safe and happy to be here.   Dean

Monday night

Our 1st day at the hospital is now complete. Walking into the hospital & being warmly welcomed by our friends was so heart warming especially for me after missing the trip last year. Tamra & I picked up where we left off 2 years ago working in the ditzel clinic, Karl had his MacGyver moments that only happen in Nicaragua, & Sue & Dean whipped the operating room into shape as only they can do. Cleft lip & palate surgeries were done as well as other ENT surgeries & will continue the rest of the week. Am sure there will be more walk ins as the week goes on which will add to the surgery schedule. There are children who have quickly become favorites with their sweet smiles & personalities. Tomorrow will be another busy day so off to bed.  Carolyn

Schedule has been started

Dr. Carstens arrived after church today so we had all of our cleft lip and palate patients in worship with us and we had them hang around afterwards for scheduling. I would say that it looks like a smaller group than previous missions but we know that is subject to change without notice. Church was inspirational as always. For any pastors that are following, service was a little over 2 hours so stop stressing if you go a little long. The picture is of our patients and their families waiting for Dr. Carstens arrival. The other is of the young man and his brother who sat next to me in  church. I hope to continue to keep you updated as the week progresses but rest is important and sometimes hard to come by.  Dean

Saturday evening.

We have completed our clinic to evaluate our patients for next week. We saw more returning patients than we have seen on any of our previous missions. It was great to see the results of our previous efforts. Most of the returning patients will have the next stage of their repairs done. We also have many new patients. One group was delayed on their journey because the bus had to wait for the road to dry from last night's rain. There apparently will be more patients trickling in as travel  conditions improve. On the road system here it doesn't take much rain to bring things to a stop. It is dinner time so more later.

We flew to Puerto Cabezas this morning & dug right in going through totes that have been stored here, trying to organize things. The totes that we brought as well as the California totes are being driven across country & will hopefully be here by morning. The California team arrived this afternoon. Tomorrow we have clinic & expect to see several hundred people, many coming long distances from remote villages in the jungle.  There will be many children with cleft lips & palates that will be scheduled for surgery next week.

We have visited the orphanage & were immediately surrounded by children who have suffered such loss & heartbreak in their short lives that we can't begin to imagine. Many love getting their pictures taken & then can't wait to see it. And they are so cute!!!

Hope all is well back home.
Carolyn

Good morning from Managua, Nicaragua!  We flew out of Omaha yesterday morning at 5:45 & arrived here @ 12:15. All flights were on time & we got through customs without problems! It was about -10 in Omaha & in the 90's here! The heat feels great!! We will be leaving here later to fly to start our week in Puerto Cabezas. Let the work begin! Please keep us in your prayers.

Nicaragua 2015

The big day is almost here!!  Our team will be leaving early (REAL early) Thurs. morning from Omaha to Houston & then on to Managua, Nicaragua.  If all things go according to plan, we should arrive in Managua around 12:30 PM.  After the brutal weather we had over the weekend, the 94 degrees forecast for Managua on Thurs. is going to feel wonderful!  Hopefully, we will get through customs without any problems.  That is always a guessing game.  Once we're through customs, we will go across the street from the airport & check in at Las Mercedes (a Best Western) and spend the rest of the day & night there.  Our totes of supplies, as well as the totes from the California team, will be hauled across country by pickup to Puerto Cabezas on the Atlantic side where we will be working. We will then fly over to Puerto Cabezas Friday morning & the work will begin!  We are so excited to return & feel so privileged that we are given the opportunity to serve the people of that region of Nicaragua.  

We will be working long days with surgery starting on Monday & continuing through Friday & our mission will end Sat.  We will try to blog as time allows & with the availability of internet service which can be unreliable.  Please pray for us & especially for the people that we will be serving.  They are the poorest of the poor &need all the love, support & prayers we can give them.  
Carolyn