By David Clark – 17 January

So today was my most emotional day so far….we are in day 3 of the mission. Please look for our foundation on Facebook. Look for Bourget Foundation on Facebook. The first operation was an infant girl with cleft palette. She was crying in the beginning, however, Sarah was rocking her in her arms to the beat of some music….it took some time to find the correct beat for the little girl to calm. I posted the before and after pics of this little girl on the foundation facebook page. Putting an 8-month-old infant to sleep with anesthesia can be difficult….waking them up is even more challenging….apparently they give you false signs of waking up. Removing the tubes too soon can create challenges for the anesthesiologist and doctors. This kid was brilliant. The before and after pics looks great. Doctor Bourget really made a huge difference in the future of this young girl. The second patient that came in was a young lady with a severe issue with her breast. Unfortunately, it had to be removed. This was a long and complicated operation. It was a very large tumor and as a lamen…it appeared difficult to remove. We don’t know what the future holds for this young lady but to me it appeared to be a very sad story. That said, the Dr extended her life for now.

The difficult part of the day for me was shortly after we took a lunch break. I was sitting by myself in a chair reviewing the photos we took for the day. Suddenly I started crying and didn’t know why. Nobody had noticed and a regrouped me quickly. The sights and activity I have witnessed over the past three days caught up to me. Seeing kids in pain and young women losing parts of their bodies is foreign to me. The emotions of being grateful for being here, hopeful for the future of this village and happy to see people become well again may have taken its toll. The tears were just emotions overflowing. I would not change this opportunity for anything. The people that live here have almost nothing but seem to always be happy. I am so looking forward to the next four days. It is so gratifying to see how appreciative the village is to have us here. The team is working so hard and long hours are simply part of the experience.

That’s it for now. More to come. We have a great team and everyone seems to be enjoying the team we are with.