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Epiphany
Posted On 12/12/2007 02:02:50 by ScrubDucky

I often find myself disgusted with society and the way the world is...and I sometimes wish I could just leave it all behind and disappear.

 Just a few days ago, I was feeling like that again while sitting on my couch and staring at the TV when this add for an organization called "Operation Smile" came on. This group consists of healthcare professionals who travel to the poorer parts of the globe and perform surgery on kids with cleft lips/pallate deformities - free of charge. They were showing the stories of several kids, their life with the deformity and the whole process of changing it.

Then they got to a Vietnamese boy named Thanh. Thanh was 9 years old with a cleft lip. He had trouble eating, drinking and talking because of it. He was ridiculed and outcasted his entire life because of it. He was excited to go to school on his first day, but when he got there all the kids made fun of him - his mom said he ran home and cried and he's never been back to school since...Basically, his life was being stripped of him and its due to something he had no control over.

Thanh was selected by operation smile and in only about an hour they corrected his lip, and changed his entire life....Here are his before and after photos http://www.operationsmile.org/testimonials/thanh/

His story really touched me. It also got me thinking... I'm currently a pre-pharm student, I had always thought about switching to med, but after watching that show I think I will switch to med and become a doctor. I would absolutely LOVE working with Operation smile or Doctors without borders or any other similar organization. The thought that I could one day help and change a kid like Thanh's life for the better is so exciting! That would be so fulfilling and rewarding, It would be my dream job!!!

Here is another kid's story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHwf6qv5i5g  btw, I'm sure that most of us can relate to these kids in a way. Speaking for myself, as someone with social anxiety, I often feel like a caged bird, limited from reaching my full potential in life due to anxiety. Its the same, only their S.A. is a cleft lip and my "cleft lip" is S.A. You know what I mean? Imagine if someone took 1 hour and corrected my anxiety, freeing me from the cage thus changing my life...Amazing.

So yeah, sitting there on that couch it was like someone hit me in the face with a bat. First of all, its nice knowing there are people out there willing to volunteer their time to help these poor kids out. My faith in humanity has been restored. And second, I think this is it! This is exactly what I want to do with my life! smile



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Viewing 1 - 7 out of 7 Comments

From: woo
02/27/2008 03:38:07
wow. thats really touching, great for you and all those you will help!!
I am considering doing something similar when i graduate, but maybe ive not got the the nerve you have - hopefully tho.
Best of luck.
woo x


From: Nicolay
12/13/2007 12:29:09

I've thought about medicine too. In my perfect world, Operation Smile is almost exactly the type of thing I'd like to do. I've been cursed with a profusely bleeding heart :P

A good friend of mine was also interested in doctors without borders. I started reading a book of his, Hope in Hell: inside the world of doctors without borders, by Dan Bortolotti. It's an illuminating, somewhat disturbing read so far. Actually it's causing me to feel quite disenchanted -  perhaps I should read the whole thing before making up my mind.



From: teekers
12/12/2007 11:09:48
Congrats! I think it's a great decision and your motives are right on. I wish you the best of luck!


From: millenniumman75
12/12/2007 09:06:23

That's -> DOCTOR Ducky! :)

I have also heard of this organization.  It is a very generous thing to do.  So many kids out there need surgeries like this and can't get them.  Not only are they being healed physically, but also emotionally and spiritually - not to mention improving their health! :)



From: spifftastic
12/12/2007 08:56:23
I've seen that sort of thing on tv before.  I was really touched by this show on discovery health about a girl from Afghanistan who was badly burned but survived.  Maybe you've seen it.  She had limited movement due to how the burns healed, and some doctors agreed to restore her movement and everything for free.  It was incredible how "normal" she looked by the time they had finished.

And ER really made me interested in Doctors Without Borders, because they had episodes where a few of the doctors did that.  If it's what you think you really want to do, go for it!  I think it's a great way to really help people.  You may even want to check out getting a MPH in international health.  It might be beneficial for what you want to do.  There are quite a lot of people in my epidemiology program who already have professional degrees, and there is at least one med student who is getting his MD and MPH concurrently.


From: Hypatia
12/12/2007 07:39:07
Go for it, Ducky! Smile


From: stoogefreaky
12/12/2007 03:59:27
SurprisedWow...Laughing That is awesome! You too want to help others? I think I've seen that on TV. I don't think I can be in the same field as you but I do have other ways of wanting to help people in need. That is my dream to better the world, but at the moment my SA is in the wayCry.


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