Today was one of my favorite days. We went with Dr. Bernie, a Filipino doctor, to find the patients that had lip and cleft palate repairs during past missions. Now this is not as easy as you might think as there are no home addresses or street names so you have to be a bit resourceful. Unless you are with someone who knows the area, you will have to inquire at Barangay Halls (similar to neighborhood community centers) or with people you pass on the road hoping that you just might find the patient. Well we were fortunate in that we found 2 prior patients that had cleft lip repairs in 2006. We found Famela Niebla. She is a very quiet, shy little girl that lives with her family in a small cluster of huts. She is now 11 years old, lives with her mother, loves school and her favorite subject is English. The family was very gracious and prepared a little local cuisine…..boiled sweet potatoes and bananas.
