Operation International Team New York completes mission to Ghana

The staff of Holy Family Hospital welcomed Operation International Team New York for its Mission to Techiman, Ghana this March. It is the only large hospital that covers a large region of Ghana and provides care for over 250, 000 patients every year. Yet the hospital has a skeleton staff with one official surgeon and one official gynecologist. The staff, though hard working, is certainly overwhelmed and the resources are extremely limited, if present. Operation International Team NY had two General surgeons, two OB/GYN surgeons and a Plastic surgeon. The team routinely worked late into the evening to perform 68 complex cases. The team’s Pulmonary Critical Care Doctor also treated a variety of non-surgical patients throughout the week. The team donated medical equipment. The effect of this visit on the staff was quite fulfilling to all team members. The appreciation of our work is reflected in this warm letter the hospital administration sent the team. Below are excerpts from the hospital letter.

“On behalf of Management and staff of Holy Family Hospital, Techiman I wish to express our profound gratitude to you for your show of generosity in the donation of various medical equipment(Monitors, Laparoscopic machine, LEEP machine, etc.) and medical supplies to our hospital. Most especially, for your expertise and precious time provided to bring relief to the numerous patients who received medical and surgical services during your visit.” Read the full letter…

Myhanh’s Daily Blog from Ghana

One of the new nurses on our team was Myhanh Nguyen. Myhanh now lives in CA, quite a distance from her childhood home in a refugee camp in Thailand. She assisted in a reconstructive surgery that was done to a face of a frightened child who is a victim of child abuse. She felt that the most fulfilling moment for her was when the child felt safe and at peace while holding her hand and looking in her eyes. Her daily blog is reflection of her emotions during the mission. Below are excerpts from her blog
“1 Month before trip, my inspiration for going on a surgical mission:
As a scrawny 8 year old girl in the refugee camp of Phanat Nikhom Thailand, I beat up a few boys . As retaliation, they ganged up on me one day, held me down and forced another young boy to kiss me. I was quite traumatized by this incident. Not so much because I was 8 years old and think boys have cooties. But because this little boy had a complete bilateral cleft lip and palate. Yup, that was my first kiss….” Read the full blog