GRATEFUL 9-YEAR-OLD PATIENT RETURNS SMILES.Byline: DENNIS MCCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Paige Atkison and her mom, Lisa, were exhausted. The two-hour drive from their home in Bakersfield to see Paige's doctor at Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care organization, based in Oakland, California, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield. Medical Center in Woodland Hills had stretched to almost three hours, and they both knew from years of making this trek that the trip home wouldn't be much better. But what the 9-year-old girl had to tell Dr. Labib Samarrai was too important for e-mail or a telephone call. Paige wanted to deliver the news personally so she could see the smile that always lit up Samarrai's face whenever his favorite patient did something special. They had developed a close bond over the past nine years, since Samarrai performed the first of eight surgeries that turned the 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. that Paige had been born with into a beautiful smile. And now she wanted to help her plastic surgeon plastic surgeon A surgeon specialized in reconstruction or cosmetic enhancement of various body regions, most commonly the face–nose, chin, and cheeks, breasts and buttocks; PSs remove fat deposits through liposuction; PSs reduce scarring or disfigurement in his upcoming mission to put that smile on the faces of dozens more children with clefts. Paige climbed up on a chair and motioned the doctor to come close. Then she whispered whis·per n. 1. Soft speech produced without full voice. 2. Something uttered very softly. 3. A secretly or surreptitiously expressed belief, rumor, or hint: whispers of scandal. the news in his ear, as if it were too important to share with anyone else. "$9,120," she said, "so far." Samarrai took a step back and laughed. Then he gave her a high-five and a hug. "That's a record, Paige. You should be so proud of yourself," he said. "Thank you so much." No one had ever raised so much money for any of the dozen medical missions he had made during the past 25 years with Operation Smile, a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. group that repairs clefts for children in developing countries. Paige broke into a big smile and snuck snuck v. Usage Problem A past tense and a past participle of sneak. See Usage Note at sneak. a peek over at her mom, who was beaming with pride. Suddenly, the Atkisons weren't that tired anymore. Their daughter was 2weeksold when Lisa and Michael Atkison handed Samarrai their infant with the disfiguring cleft lip and said only one word -- "please." "When I looked into his eyes that day, I knew he cared about us," Lisa recalled Wednesday. "That he would do everything in his power to help our baby, and he has. "That's why we make this trip all the way to Woodland Hills when there are doctors closer to us Paige can see. She only wants to see Dr. Samarrai." He helped her, and now it's her turn to help him, Paige says. Ever since she became old enough to understand what he was doing with Operation Smile, she has wanted to do something to help him reach as many children as possible. She began by hosting two dances at St. John's Lutheran School Lutheran schools and education were a priority for Lutherans who emigrated to the United States and Australia from Germany and Scandinavia. One of the first things they did was to create schools for their children. in Bakersfield, raising $600 -- enough to cover two operations on the medical mission. It wasn't enough. She wanted her doctor busy during his upcoming three-week mission to Egypt. The Atkisons plastered plas·tered adj. Slang Intoxicated; drunk. plastered Adjective Slang drunk Adj. 1. brochures around their neighborhood, then most of Bakersfield, about Smile Missions, the organization Paige created to raise money for Operation Smile. Soon, the sponsors and letters of support started coming in, along with the checks, including one for $400 from her dad's former third-grade teacher. Another man sent her a $500 check with a picture of his son, who was born with a cleft lip and palate. His son is 31 now, a musician and composer living in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Paige keeps that man's letter close. It tells her all she needs to know about her future: Anything is possible. "Do you still want to be a plastic surgeon when you grow up?" Samarrai asked her, as she and her mom got ready to leave late Wednesday afternoon for the long drive home to Bakersfield. The little girl nodded and did the math. If she continues to get straight A's in school and studies really hard, she could be out of college and medical school by the time she's 25 -- 16 years from now. "Will you still be here, Doctor?" Paige asked. Samarrai smiled and nodded, handing her a small King Tut jewelry jewelry, personal adornments worn for ornament or utility, to show rank or wealth, or to follow superstitious custom or fashion. The most universal forms of jewelry are the necklace, bracelet, ring, pin, and earring. box from Egypt as a gift for all her efforts. "I'll wait," the doctor said. dennis.mccarthy@dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 How to help Donations can be sent to Operation Smile, in care of Paige Atkison, P.O. Box 22137, Bakersfield 93390; or see www.smilemissions.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Paige Atkison, 9, had a cleft lip and palate that were corrected by Dr. Labib Samarrai, who is going on a medical mission with Operation Smile. The Bakersfield girl has been conducting her own fundraising
Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Box: How to help (see text) |
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