May 2009

On April 8 our Face the Challenge surgical team entered the room at the National Hospital (NHOS) where prospective patients — far more than we could treat — waited quietly in three rows of chairs. One by one, the specialists examined their disfigured faces, reviewed their records, and pondered what to do.

Three hours later, six patients were selected for their lengthy surgeries on April 9-10. They were chosen based on who had the most pressing needs and what skills and available supplies could match these needs. All these surgeries went well.

The most remarkable need was for a 23-year-old woman, Phuong. When she was twelve years old her lower jaw began to swell. She lived with her impoverished family far away. They desperately hoped someone could remove her aggressive giant cell tumor, but they lacked the means to travel or pay for any operation.

Eleven years later Phuong joined this group of patients and her 3-pound tumor had invaded her mandible and threatened her life. Pale, anemic, and fearful, she watched as the specialists reviewed her CT scans. Each image was extraordinary, showing massive and "moth-eaten" bony tissue. She stoically acquiesced to what was life-saving — complete removal of her lower jaw and lower teeth.

1. 22 month-old Tai is comforted by his mother in the recovery room. 2. 23 y.o. Phuong-2, giant cell tumor. 3. Mother holds 15 month-old Lam after her #7 cleft repair. 4. Gabi with 23 y.o. Phuong's mother. 5. Mui Ne beach. 6. Fisherman drains boat on Mui Ne Beach.

On April 9 Dr. Randy Robinson was joined at the table by several surgeons, including Drs. Lam Hoai Phuong (NHOS Director), Chanh, Lam, and Viet. In four hours they performed their first-ever mandibulectomy. The team placed a titanium bone plate shaped like a mandible and two rib grafts to become her new jaw joints.

This surgery went smoothly and at this point Dr. Robinson stepped to the second tier so the Vietnamese surgeons could step up and close the incision. Stable, Phuong was transferred to the recovery room where we would meet her mother.

Perhaps 4'8", her tiny body trembled all over. She peered into the recovery room. This tiny woman was Phuong's mother. We invited her in. She took a few steps but only to see her daughter's gauze-wrapped face from afar. Phuong was sleeping quietly. With our encouragement, Phuong's mother stepped closer. She beheld her daughter, covered her own mouth, and sobbed. Gabi Stevens, PACU RN, surrounded this long-suffering mother in her long-armed embrace. Her burden lifted, this weary mother's humble gratitude poured forth:

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. . . .I am so poor. We live far away. We have waited eleven years and now you have helped us." We trust Phuong will heal well and she and her family will know His peace and comfort.

On April 1-12, 2009 our twenty-third international team returned to Vietnam for the nineteenth time. The Face the Challenge team included:

• Randy Robinson, MD, DDS, Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon, Leader, Centennial, CO
• CAPT. BC Shauver, CRNA, MBA, Nurse Anesthetist, Jacksonville, FL
• Michelle Jaskunas, RN, BSN, CNOR, Operating Room Nurse, Denver, CO
• Cindy Niles, RN, Operating Room Nurse, Golden, CO
• Gabi Stoeger-Stevens, BSN, RN, Recovery Room, Evergreen, CO
• Ginger Robinson, BSN, RN, Liaison/Recovery Room Nurse, Centennial, CO.

On April 4-8 the FTC team joined six Odontomaxillofacial Hospital staff from District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. They were:

• Le Thi Viet, DDS, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department Director
• Pham Nghiem Chanh, Surgeon
• Le Van Kim, MD, Anesthesiologist
• Nguyen Huong Phong, Anesthetist
• Le Thi Canh, Operating Room Nurse
• Ho The My, Surgical Assistant.

These two teams traveled together to Phan Thiet, a fishing city next to Mui Ne Beach. They operated on 12 pediatric patients with cleft lip and palate, nasal cleft, and facial cleft deformities.

The Denver Center for Crime Victims, www.denvervictims.org , selected Dr. Robinson as the 2009 recipient of the Norm Early Victims Rights Award. He helped with the facial reconstruction of a woman who suffered a gunshot wound. Her account is featured at: http://cbs4denver.com/video/?id=25014@kcnc.dayport.com.

On April 24 Ginger received the University of Missouri-Columbia Sinclair School of Nursing Humanitarian Award. It is given to a recipient who "applies . . . nursing knowledge, compassion and caring to vulnerable populations on an ongoing basis." www.nursing.missouri.edu/magazine

We remain grateful for your many prayers and faithful support for FACE the Challenge during the past 15 years to help ~1,051 patients. As God wills, we look forward to the twenty-fourth trip.

"May the love of Jesus fill me [us] as the waters fill the sea."

Randy and Ginger

Face the Challenge remains an all-volunteer humanitarian non-profit organization. There are no paid employees. Donations go directly toward surgical efforts.