People who had names
that translated into “Abandoned of God,” “Cursed,” and “Deformity” have been
renamed “Beautiful,” “Blessed” and “David” thanks to the help of Dr. Tom Boeve.
The otolaryngologist with Beloit Health System returned from
a six-day trip to South Sudan in early November where he and two other
surgeons, two anesthesiologists and a registered nurse worked to perform 90
cleft lip and palate surgeries.
“It was very busy. We
operated 10 to 12 hours a day, just because we didn’t want to turn people away,” he
said.
As a result of the
surgeries at least 15 people changed their names to represent their
transformation in a culture which previously defined them by their physical
differences.
The surgeries were
organized by world Medical Mission, the medical arm of international
relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. Samaritan’s Purse pilots flew to 15
different villages for a total of 30 trips and 10,000 miles to fly families
into Juba Teaching Hospital.
“Within a day
post-operation, they could hop on a plane and be flown back to their villages,”
Boeve said. For more details please visit original source here
