Our 2024 Guatemala Cleft Trip: Triage Day

On Sunday, we kicked off our second cleft surgery trip to Guatemala!

The team welcomed close to 60 vulnerable children and their families for triage at the Obras Sociales Del Santo Hermano Pedro Hospital in the heart of beautiful and historic Antigua.

Filled with hope, families journeyed from far away rural villages to bring their children in need of cleft lip and palate surgeries. Children born with cleft often experience challenges with feeding and speaking as well as stunted growth and development, and surgeries can be quite expensive for these rural families.

Volunteers armed with bubbles and toys entertained and distracted the waiting families.

During triage, every child and their parents met with the volunteer nurses and staff who carefully examined them and prepared them for the scheduled surgeries throughout the week.

The age range of our patients spans a whopping 52 years. The youngest patient, Eric, is two months old…

while the oldest patient is 52-year-old Ronald!

We are thrilled that our surgeons were able to add Ronald to their surgery schedule.

Twelve beautiful children will have cleft surgeries tomorrow.

The generosity and kindness of our LWB community make all of these life-changing operations possible, and we are so grateful!

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