DOCTORS, NURSES TO HELP KIDS IN AMAZON FOREST LOCAL PASTOR RECRUITS TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS.Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA - A local pastor is finalizing plans for a team of Los Angeles area doctors and nurses who will leave in April for the second medical mission to Santa Clarita's sister city in Ecuador. The group will spend a week in Tena, a city of about 20,000 in the Amazon rain forest, where surgeons will correct cleft lip and palate Cleft Lip and Palate Definition A cleft is a birth defect that occurs when the tissues of the lip and/or palate of the fetus do not fuse very early in pregnancy. deformities for dozens of children who live in outlying villages. ``It's very rewarding for a person to see the happiness and joy in the children - how their faces change when the doctor is looking at them - and the parents cannot express their gratitude,'' said Amparo Cevallos, who reached out to the mayor of Tena to provide lodging and meals for the group. Cevallos and her husband, Guillermo, are co-pastors of the Centro de Amor Cristiano Church in Newhall. Six doctors, including two anesthesiologists, and four nurses will volunteer their time, and some have donated frequent-flier miles for the trip. Thirty children were treated during the earlier trip - in October 2004. ``The first trip was so successful that doctors in both communities, the U.S. and Ecuador, want to continue to provide these life-changing opportunities to these kids,' said Elena Galvez, a management analyst for the city of Santa Clarita. ``It's a challenge to get doctors. They're donating all their time. We didn't have to twist anybody's arm. They wanted to go back.'' The facial disfigurements may be more than cosmetic. An untreated cleft lip can result in speech problems, and if the teeth are affected the child may have trouble chewing and digesting food. A cleft palate cleft palate, incomplete fusion of bones of the palate. The cleft may be confined to the soft palate at the back of the mouth; it may include the hard palate, or roof of the mouth; or it may extend through the gum and lip, producing a gap in the teeth and a cleft blocks the tongue and could cause a child's words to sound unintelligible UNINTELLIGIBLE. That which cannot be understood. 2. When a law, a contract, or will, is unintelligible, it has no effect whatever. Vide Construction, and the authorities there referred to. . ``A lot of times people are judged as mentally retarded or developmentally delayed,'' said Jennifer Ard, an operating-room nurse at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. In the past year, Ard has launched Los Angeles-based Milagros Para Ninos Foundation - or the Miracles for Kids Foundation - made up of doctors and nurses who travel the globe on medical missions. The delegation to Tena will have three surgeons, including a pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. reconstructive surgeon. All but one member of the medical team are based at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. A general surgeon General surgeon A physician who has special training and expertise in performing a variety of operations. Mentioned in: Appendectomy will teach local doctors how to use laparascopic instruments, so they can make small incisions and perform surgery with the aid of a tiny camera embedded in the scope. ``A lot of times, they get equipment donated from different companies or groups, ... and they don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how to use it or how to use it safely,'' Ard said. ``(We) will be able to teach surgeons to do things we're doing on their own.'' Tena, capital of the Napo Province and once a key colonial trading post trading post See post. , is now a center of commerce. It is located five hours southeast of Ecuador's capital city, Quito. The Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. International Program, a nonprofit group, has joined with Milagros Para Ninos Foundation to organize the trip. The goal is to establish relationships that foster education, economic growth and cultural awareness. More than 100 children are on a waiting list for the procedures. Cevallos and a Tena pediatrician have arranged for a dentist to treat children in the outlying villages. For this purpose, the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission has donated two collapsible dental chairs at Cevallos' request. The group is due to leave April 29 and return May 6. Cash donations are being sought to help defray de·fray tr.v. de·frayed, de·fray·ing, de·frays To undertake the payment of (costs or expenses); pay. [French défrayer, from Old French desfrayer : des-, the cost of medicines. Volunteers are also being sought to assist the medical crew. No experience is necessary. An unscheduled day during the weeklong trip might be spent rafting or kayaking on the Amazon River, a popular destination for water sports water sports Urophilia, see there . A translator who speaks the local dialect, Quecha, will be on hand. In May, another group will travel to sister city Sariaya in the Philippines on a medical mission. For more information, contact Amparo Cevallos at (661) 263-0512, or Elena Galvez, at (661) 255-4317. Judy O'Rourke, (661) 257-5255 judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com |
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