A Happy Interplast Patient

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Originally uploaded by interplast.

More than 300 people - some traveling for more than 8 hours on foot and bus - came to the Interplast "clinic" in Loja, Ecuador. Clinic is a day when medical professionals evaluate the cases of children in need.

The Invisible Man in the Operating Room

What one word describes my first time in an operating room?

Steadiness.

Steadiness especially marked the work of the anestheiologists. Richard, the team leader, told me their job is to be invisible by providing a perfect background environment for the surgeon. So, in essence, Richard said what they do is secret. To be good is to have no limelight. Can you imagine if you are perfect at what you do, yet no one notices?

Richard compared their "invisible" nature to that of a submarine. He served in the Navy on submarine patrols...with no one knowing their whereabouts.

Now I know the silent strength behind a steady operating room--the anesthesiologist.