The holiday spirit arrived early in Santa Marta, Colombia with a big assist from the Hudson Valley.
In October, Poughkeepsie-based facial plastic surgeon M.T. Abraham, M.D., led a team of nurses, physicians and other staff on a mission to Santa Marta to treat children with congenital facial deformities. The trip was organized by Abraham and Healing the Children, a national charitable organization committed to providing medical help to youth around the world.
Abraham, who has a long history of humanitarian work in economically challenged countries like Guatemala, said the recent mission was a testament to the spirit of the Hudson Valley medical community.
“The medical professionals in this area are looking to give back,” he said. “They’re wonderful people.”
Twenty volunteers accompanied Abraham to Colombia, each paying his or her own way to volunteer. The team was supported with donations of medical supplies and equipment from local hospitals and medical groups, including Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Fishkill Ambulatory Surgery Center, Kingston Hospital, New Century Medical Associates, TLC Pediatrics and others.
“It was a great bonding experience,” said Abraham. “We were all working hard, pushing ourselves to the limit. It was trial by fire, really. You really get to know what people are capable of. It’s amazing how far people will push themselves.”
Abraham said the team routinely worked from seven in the morning until nine in the evening, and one day didn’t stop until midnight. Over 100 procedures were performed on 65 patients at Fernando Traconis Hospital in Santa Marta, an astonishing number considering the short 10-day stay (only five of which were spent operating).
“We had to turn some people away, which was heartbreaking,” he said. “We simply didn’t have the time or the resources to take care of everyone.”
Area of expertise
Abraham moved to the Hudson Valley five years ago. Prior to that, he was completing a fellowship in facial plastic and microvascular surgery at UCLA. He is the only head and neck microvascular surgeon between Westchester and Albany and is one of 100 or so nationwide.
“I can reconstruct any defect on the head or neck,” he said. “So when we were looking for someplace to go, we picked a location that had that kind of need.”
Healing the Children scouted Santa Marta and learned that it had been five or six years since a team of facial experts had visited the Colombian city.
“You could pick a number of different places, though,” said Abraham. “In some ways, people in the United States don’t appreciate the type of care we have available. You never see an un-repaired lip or a palate defect in this country because no matter what the poverty level, people here still have some access to health care. This was a chance to help people who normally wouldn’t have any hope at all.”
An organization called UNIMA (English translation: United Today for a Healthier Future) got the word out about the team’s arrival and provided food and security for Abraham and his crew during their stay in Santa Marta.
Abraham said the trip was exhausting, but even more rewarding than he expected.
“Some patients trekked for days to see us,” he said. “It took us forever to get down there and we were tired, but people were already lined up out the door. We screened 200 people on the first day. Typically we screen that many over a number of days. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but it turned out to be phenomenal. We were all pushed to the breaking point, but we ended up providing these kids with the highest level of care.”
The team even posted a blog chronicling their experiences in Colombia (http://www.healingchildren.blogspot.com).
“It’s the first time I’ve been involved with something like that,” said Abraham, whose team is planning its next mission to Brazil in the summer or fall of 2008. “I did it to acknowledge everyone involved. But there was an ulterior motive. I think the more publicity we can get for efforts like this, the easier it will be to pull it off the next time. It’d be great if we could get people interested through the blog. There’s so much need and every bit helps. I think the blog really captures the emotional aspect of an experience like this.”