Phuong

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 3½-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.

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.