Through the Healing The Children campaign, more boys and girls from different regions of Colombia will have the chance to improve their quality of life, as professionals from various countries are meeting today in Neiva to assess and clinically intervene in minors.
DIARY OF HUILA, HUILA
The reason why the Healing The Children brigade arrived in the city of Neiva originated from the initiative and effort of two great leaders from the South Colombian region, Carlos José Fajardo Rodríguez and Ramiro Gutiérrez Perdomo, who with their great commitment and philanthropy decided to contribute to the well-being and quality of life of low-income boys and girls who live in different areas. In this regard, Diario del Huila interviewed the logistics director of the Healing The Children event, Roberto Fajardo.
“Carlos Fajardo, who was my father, and Ramiro Gutiérrez, together, managed and put together the first day in 1993 and with Dr. David Hoffman they have been developing the program that has come to Neiva every year, with the exception of the corresponding periods to the pandemic. This is going to be the 28th anniversary of the conference, as most of you know, my father passed away two years ago and I started working with him approximately 17 years ago as a logistics director, based in the United States and I have continued in this process for years. more than 15 years. With Dr. Hoffman we were able to link some 53 health professionals, including doctors and nurses, most of them from the United States”, Roberto Fajardo narrated.
Impact
Referring to the footprint that Healing The Children generates in children and adolescents impacts not only their lives, but the hearts of those who have the opportunity to closely follow all the actions that are carried out in order to contribute to their well-being and quality. of life.
“We have benefited thousands of boys and girls since 1993, it is important to specify that we have performed more than 4,300 surgical procedures, taking into account that several of our patients have cleft palates and require three or four surgeries during their first 20 years. years of life and they have practically grown with us, and we have also had the good fortune to see them grow,” said Fajardo.
Regarding the ages of the benefited boys and girls, Fajardo confirmed that they depend on the pathologies and normally range from six months of age to 22 years, since patients with cleft palates and cleft lip require many surgeries. In addition, he announced that among the procedures that will be carried out from today until May 24 are those corresponding to the two aforementioned diagnoses, necrotia, which is damage to the tissue of the tips of the ears, also known as porcine syndrome the necrotic ear, PENS, for its acronym in English, clubfoot or flat foot and hip dysplasia that responds to problems in that area of the body.
“We have plastic, maxillofacial, and orthopedic surgeons, as well as anesthesiologists, pediatric doctors, nurses, and operating room support staff, in addition to those who support me with logistics, they come from various countries, including the United States. States and Spain, but many of them are from Colombia, specifically from Neiva who have decided to contribute their time, knowledge and experience to help children. This year we have a relatively smaller group because after the Covid 19 pandemic, it is the first time that we will have the opportunity to return, after 4 years and it is like starting almost again to learn again to do everything in a certain way. more organized, with less risk of the population catching covid,” added Fajardo.
Among the requirements for boys and girls to undergo surgery is belonging to low-income families that in one way or another manage to communicate with the University Hospital so that their pathology can be evaluated.
“In previous years we had very large calls, but today, due to the pandemic, there is a high risk of illnesses for patients, family members, and the doctors who are members of the group, therefore, currently this cannot be done, you have to select children and, as always, evaluate patients before choosing them. It is important for us to be able to return because that way we can continue with the program to try to work for the children not selected this year and also do the appropriate control and follow-up of the children,” said Fajardo.
On the other hand, Fajardo reiterated that the most important thing is quality and that the figures are secondary, however, in this version it is intended to serve and benefit more than 70 boys and girls, depending on the cases and the feasibility of carrying out surgeries, since today it is expected to assess about 200 minors.
Cases
To continue, Fajardo shared some details of two of the anecdotes that have marked his future during the more than fifteen years that he has been in the campaign’s administrative team.
“I always remember a young man named César and I think we are going to see him today. César’s story is very beautiful, he was born with a cleft palate and mom and dad sent him to an orphanage, however, the grandmother wanted to raise the child, she brought César when he was between 6 and 7 years old, from that moment the surgeons They have done wonders with it. After the process, he was able to speak very well, now he is a university student in Ibagué and he is a star for us because we saw him grow as we saw his confidence rise, so I will never forget him. Actually, I have a lot of stories,” Fajardo said.
Undoubtedly, another of the cases most remembered by Fajardo has to do with a minor from the department of Amazonas who spoke his native language and after the surgical interventions has become one of the star examples for success and progress. evidenced.
“Another case is that of a child from the Amazon, the truth is that he did not speak Spanish and arrived needing lip surgery. This family traveled for two days and when they arrived they hadn’t eaten for that same period, when they arrived they saw the serum and wanted to take it, that shocked me a lot, the doctor was able to isolate the child, it benefited him and he turned out well, better. Seeing a child arrive from the jungle was something very shocking for me,” Fajardo described.
Finally, Fajardo exalted the work of all the organizations, both public and private, that contribute to the campaign being carried out, since his leadership contributes to breaking the borders of indifference.
“The surgeons who come from the United States have no relationship with Neiva, but they love this city, they love coming and they are happy to be here, it is something special, it is like a family and this motivates us to continue impacting the lives of all the families we have the opportunity to serve. The training of all doctors allows more children and adolescents to have quality of life and to continue their development process with less difficulty. We have many examples of the transformation that we generate, of the achievements that they are beginning to achieve and of everything that The work we do means to the population,” concluded Fajardo.