Clinic is an emotional roller coaster ride. The families come with infectious hope. When the Project Perfect World surgeons determine that we can help a child, we rejoice with the family. When the surgeons decide that the time is not right or the surgery too dangerous for the situation, we empathize with a mother's tears.
Patients and their families show up at clinic early in the morning and wait to be seen by one of Project Perfect World's surgeons. They wait in a loud, hot, crowded waiting room. I am always impressed with their comradery. They arrive in the morning as strangers, and by the evening they seem to have known each other all their lives.
One of the last patients we saw Sunday evening was a young man, Jose, who had been assessed for surgery for the last ten years. His foot had turned due to a neurological problem following meningitis, and he walked on it's side. He is a tall, strong 17-year-old. I can only imagine the pain he must have felt when he placed his weight on his foot with every step. His mom brought him to the Project Perfect World clinic last year without an appointment and was turned away by local staff. She said that her biggest regret is leaving without being seen by one of our doctors. 
This year they came to clinic again without an appointment. They waited patiently all day, and politely insisted to the local staff that they would like to be seen. When the surgeons saw Jose's foot, they knew immediately that surgery could greatly improve Jose's quality of life.
Jose had the surgery to correct his foot today. It was a very emotional experience for him and his family. After 10 years of waiting, a lot of pain, and even more patience - Project Perfect World was able to help Jose make a new start.
We also spent a lot of time preparing for the week. An advance team comes a few days early to get a jump on the work. Project Perfect World has such a great relationship with Roberto Gilbert la Hospital de Ninos in Guayaquil, Ecuador that they allow us storage space in the hospital year round. Preparation includes unpacking, sorting, and organizing a staggering amount of supplies.
Operating room nurses and techs set up the ORs, and an intensive care team prepares the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for the week of work. In addition, Project Perfect World brings an instrument tech who must organize all the instruments and prepare them for use.
Quote of the Day: One of our scrub techs described the coming week with the statement, "It will be long, and we will be tired, but we'll have fun."
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