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December 2007
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"If you want to travel fast... go alone. If you want to travel far...go together.."
— African Proverb
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Face the Challenge has traveled far since early 1993. We could not do it alone. We are thankful for:
over 150 volunteers who have traveled internationally on 21 trips, those who helped with individuals who traveled here for surgeries, and the many donors who covered related costs.
We are certain that the prayers of many supporters have opened borders, smoothed paths, and eased the recoveries of over 1000 patients in 15 years. Through your involvement you have been ambassadors bearing hope to the most needy. You are meeting the challenge, ". . . let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." -- I John 3:18
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, September 2007
On September 10-16 Randy and Ginger Robinson returned to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving at the new Tan Son Nhat Airport Terminal. This venture was both educational and affirmed relationships.
Dr. Robinson presented on facial surgeries at an "Update Modern Technology" [sic] conference. Dr. Le Trung Chanh, a kind surgeon friend of 12 years, ably did the simultaneous translations. About 300 Vietnamese surgeons and dentists attended. It was remarkable to note their ages now span two generations. A younger generation of surgeons born after April 1975 has arisen. They came from Hanoi, Hue, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta. Some traveled for days by train to attend.
The conference hosts unexpectedly asked Dr. Robinson to give an impromptu presentation about FTC to these surgeons. He shared our mission of showing compassion, then showed patients on whom our teams have operated there since early 1995. The surgeons gave genuine applause and many personally expressed their gratitude for FTC']s help with hundreds of indigent Vietnamese patients.
The conference was hosted by the National Hospital of Odontostomatology (NHOS) where our teams have operated since the beginning. It is now directed by Dr. Lam Hoai Phuong. About 25 surgeons and nearly as many nurses from the NHOS attended. Dr. Robinson also did demonstration surgeries at the NHOS that were shown on closed-circuit television as part of the seminar.
We believed knowing more names was important. So we had FTC logo tags embossed with 98 names of the staff; many of whom wore them proudly. Now to remember their names. . . .
We next visited the Odontomaxillofacial Hospital (OMFH) and met with Dr. Hunyh Dai Hai, hospital director, and Dr. Le Thi Viet, oral and maxillofacial surgery department director. We gave Dr. Viet an English version of her lecture on orthognathic (jaw) surgery, translated by FTC patient and friend Miss Thu Ha Ngo. Dr. Robinson did post-operative consultations on patients who had surgeries done for fractures and tumors by the FTC team last May.
Finally, we brought 32 current text books (~$7,000.00 total). These surgical, anesthesia, and nursing texts were purchased from FTC donor funds at discounts through professional suppliers. We donated 16 texts each for these two hospitals. They will guide surgical staffs as they treat patients with complex needs, especially for tumors, trauma, and growth deformities.
Ho Chi Minh City, April 2-13, 2008
Our next surgical team of nine will include*:
- Randy Robinson, MD, DDS, Craniomaxillofacial Surgeon, Centennial, CO, Leader
- Jeremy Williams, MD, Plastic Surgeon, Castle Rock, CO
- William "Pepper" Denman, MD, Pediatric Anesthesiologist, Winchester, MA
- Steve Pugh, MD, Pediatric Anesthesiologist, Greenwood Village, CO
- Anesthesia Fellow, Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, MA
- Jenea Robertson, Surgical Technologist, Colorado Springs, CO
- Patsy King, RN, Peri-Operative Nurse, Aurora, CO
- Gabi Stoeger-Stevens, BSN, RN, Post-Anesthesia Care, Evergreen, CO
- Ginger Robinson, BSN, RN, Liaison/Post-Anesthesia Care, Centennial, CO
This team of servants desires to offer comfort and lasting hope through their teaching and surgical skills. Each conveys esteem for patients and their loved ones; some nurture as if these patients were their own children. It has taken years to build the trust that exists between the staffs and us. These slow steps have opened doors for friendship and successful surgeries. It is more difficult to say "Tam biêt" ("good-bye") at the end of each trip.
*Current cost/person: ~$3,300.00.
When lives touch there are sacred opportunities to allow His love to pour through us to others. As God has allowed, our teams have now done 1009 facial surgeries. . . .We pray such blessings will multiply far beyond our best reckonings in this wonderful journey. Thank you!
We gratefully say, "Thus far the LORD has helped us." -- I Samuel 7:12
Traveling Together With You,
Randy and Ginger Robinson
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